The Top 10 Games of 2K Games
05. Mafia II (2K Czech)
August 2010 - PC, OSX, PS3, X360
In 2010 in the south of France a 91-year-old woman by the name of Mrs. De Florian passed away. Following her death and the reading of her will, her heirs learned that there was a lot more to her than they knew.
One of her secrets was a piece of real estate in the form of a large flat in Paris that, when the German Army was on the verge of marching into Paris, she quietly closed and locked, then departed, never to return again.
As the estate slowly worked its way through probate, an agent was sent to complete an inventory.What he discovered was several significant objects, the least of which was a Belle Époque era painting by Italian artist Giovanni Boldini valued at something north of $3 million.
Nearby that painting - the subject of which is a very beautiful woman in a flowing pink dress with large puffy lace shoulders that quite literally flows off of her shoulders - was a stack of hand-written love letters wrapped in ribbon.
When the letters were read, they revealed something priceless in the form of a secret that was very nearly lost to time - you see the beautiful woman in the painting was Mrs. de Florian’s grandmother, Marthe de Florian, who was herself a celebrated French actress.
Not only that, but the letters - which were from the artist - revealed that Marthe was his lover!
So to recap - apartment in Paris locked up for 70 years, valuable painting, letters, glimpse into the past very much like a time capsule - are you with us? Good!
So here is the thing - eight years is two lifetimes in terms of video game technology. Two lifetimes during which video games became something completely different. If we took practically any video game from that era and put it, side-by-side, with a modern game, they would be nothing alike. Except for one small thing...
You see when this particular game was created - the game that established the Mafia game series - it was something very much like that locked flat in Paris.
Created by Illusion Softworks and published by Gathering of Developers in 2002, the game was more than just a game, it was a snapshot of things to come as well as things that were.
That game appears rather crude by today's standards; eight years ago it was very nearly cutting edge for PC games, and what is more, it also happens to be a game that was a harbinger of things to come!
You see, Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven numbers among the first games to make serious use of the fusion of motion picture and video game, a genre we know today as the open-world sandbox shooter.
Mafia II is more than simply an updated Mafia - it's a brand new story that takes place years in the future (as compared to the first game of course) and while it is not strictly speaking a continuation of that first story, there is a connection - but we can't talk about that.
In this new Mafia the player is protagonist and anti-hero Vito Scaletta, a Sicilian immigrant who spent a brief period in Italy during World War II and then came home and ended up in the Mafia. Seriously...
Think lots of crime in great variety, a collection of Playboy magazines (don't ask), mayhem and barneys worthy of Goodfellas, and a shot at redemption!
There is a reason that Mafia II is our Number 5 choice for the Top 10 games from 2K Games - so if you have not yet played it, well, play it!
No Spec Ops: The Line? What is WRONG with you?!
I am surprise that Skyrim: elder scroll isn't on there but hey it your top 10 not mine :P