And thus it begins. After surviving yet another dreary summer period, the videogames industry is about to gear up for that ever crucial fall/holiday season onslaught where companies will be slogging it out for your hard earned cash over the next four months, culminating in the prestigious Game of the Year accolade and that elusive Christmas number one spot.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves here; it’s only early September, and we’re here to cast a reflective glance back on the last stranglehold of summer, namely August. Fortunately, things weren’t quite as depressing as we had initially anticipated (unless you count the weather over here in Blighty, but that’s another story altogether), with worthy efforts from the likes of PSN outing Shank and mobster sequel Mafia II scrapping it out for the contents of your wallet.
It was a tight vote, but 2K’s narrative-heavy mobster outing ultimately bagged our Game of the Month accolade for the month of August 2010. Indeed, while not quite the open-ended experience we had hoped for (no side missions to indulge in, for example), the game offers a compelling storyline rivalling any of Hollywood’s efforts, gorgeous visuals, intense combat and copious and diverse amounts of mission objectives to tackle. In addition, the voice acting is bloody brilliant to boot, helping to immerse players in the dodgy, gangster-ridden streets of 1940s/1950s fictional metropolis, Empire City.
Here’s a snippet from our review:
“Mafia II is an epic adventure with a story that rivals some of the best mobster movies. Players are brought in to Vito Scaletta’s rise in the family ranks through an engaging narrative, intense action sequences, and a well-crafted vintage city setting.”
In addition, here’s what a couple of our readers had to say on the sequel:
Ocelot1987: “This game is a lot of fun. The story is epic and makes it worth the price alone. It is true that there is not much to do in the city aside from getting drunk or buying a sandwhich but I do spend a lot of time buying new clothes and tuning up my new cars. Making your own liscense plate is fun. When you go looking for your car you can say yep thats my car. Fighting and shooting is epic too. I say go buy the game or if you have a lot of free time rent it and beat it fast.”
Doggyps3: “Oh man i bought this game today and it’s so much fun i got like six straight hours and i’m on like chapter 7 or 8 i’m talking my time with this game is off da chain… i think the game looks absolutely amazing i don’t have such a great computer or a 360 to compare so for me i gotta say it freaking awesome… i love this game it has a 9 in my book…”
Don’t agree with our choice for August 2010’s Game of the Month? Be sure to let us know what game you think deserves the accolade in the comments section below.