2K Games’ Mafia II Playable Demo Available Now

[Apoptosis]

2K Games’ Mafia II Playable Demo Available Now

Gamers invited back in time to immerse themselves in action-packed epic mob drama

New York, NY – August 10, 2010 – 2K Games announced today the availability of a downloadable demo for Mafia® II, the action-driven epic crime saga for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Windows PC. The demo is now available for free to download from PlayStation®Network, Xbox LIVE Marketplace, and via Steam and select Internet portals for Windows PC. Set in Empire Bay, a fully realized and immersive 1940’s and 1950’s American urban cityscape, the Mafia II demo invites gamers to experience the title’s intense shooting, white-knuckle car chases, compelling characters, engaging narrative, and decadent and meticulously crafted atmosphere. Mafia II will be released on August 24 in North America, August 26 in Australia and August 27 internationally.

While the game spans two eras, the Mafia II demo invites gamers to dive into the “Buzzsaw” level, which takes place during the summer of the ‘50s – a time considered the “Birth of Cool”, and with it, rock ‘n’ roll, hot rods, and rebellious attitudes. In the demo, Vito Scaletta and his buddies, Joe and Henry, are sent to take out a mobster known as “The Fat Man”. This mission showcases the vibrant edge-of-your-seat action, era-evoking cars, memorable characters, and a snapshot of the expansive city of Empire Bay in this colorful era.

Mafia II centers around Vito Scaletta, who has started to make a name for himself on the streets of Empire Bay. He’s someone who can be trusted to get the job done. Together with his buddy Joe, he is working to prove himself to the Mafia, a move which escalates to crimes that generate bigger rewards, bigger status, and bigger consequences.

Mafia II is rated M for Mature by the ESRB. For more information on where to download the Mafia II demo, please visit www.mafia2game.com/demo. For information on how to pre-order the game, please go to: www.mafia2game.com/preorder. To get immersed in the mob experience, please visit: www.mafia2game.com/frankiepotts.

2K Games is a division of 2K, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO).

[InspectahACE]

Too bad performance issues mar the demo a bit(other than the driving part) ...but it looks damn good and the gameplay is just as good. Just the performance sucks at the moment. I'm sure NVIDIA will release a new driver to fix it in the retail version.

EDIT: ^^^^ PhysX was set on High when I played. I set it to Medium and it played better, though not perfect.

[Apoptosis]

PhysX is still broken... In fact it's running on the CPU and not the GPU unless you do this:

In your Windows Control Panel under Programs and Features, find NVIDIA PhysX System Software and right click. Select “Repair”. Reboot.

You should not run into the problem.

Steam is supposed to be releasing a patch/update for the demo, but as of right now the method above was the only thing you can do to enable PhysX on the GPU. My FPS went up by more than 10 FPS by running repair. I saw you playing on steam this morning when I was benchmarking ;)

[InspectahACE]

Ill try that method. Was a kick in the bits n pieces to have two GTX480's get crippled like that on the high PhysX setting. As long as it runs good after patches and on the retail version, this game looks to be a hit. Reminds me of the Scarface game, only alot better.

I saw ya too ;) Almost said something about the fps to ya on Steam but I figured here is the best way.

[Apoptosis]

I'm shocked it came out broken...

Not sure what NVIDIA and 2K Games was thinking... Also the disclaimer at the start of the demo was interesting too.

[InspectahACE]

I'm shocked it came out broken...

Not sure what NVIDIA and 2K Games was thinking... Also the disclaimer at the start of the demo was interesting too.

Seriously....Especially with all the advertising and hype I've seen for it. I thought the same of the disclaimer too. I figured it was for the level layout, not the performance

[Apoptosis]

2K Games won't respond to my question on performance either... go figure.

[hark]

Pretty cool game. I like the setting. Though for whatever reason, anti-aliasing does not seem to work.

[Apoptosis]

did you download the patch?

What video card are you playing on?

[InspectahACE]

Runs a lot better after repairing the PhysX..then again, they may have patched it too. Either way it runs tons better. Now we just need the retail to arrive. Demo is too short