"Mafia 2" is out this week, but if you're still on the fence about playing another mob inspired game, maybe you just need to get in the right mood. I recently had the chance to ask 2K Czech's game producer, Alex Cox, about what movies and television shows he recommends gamers watch to help prepare themselves to step into the shoes of "legitimate businessman" and WWII veteran, Vito Scaletta. Here are Cox's picks for five of the best stories to watch to get you in that skull-cracking state of mind just in time for "Mafia 2."
"I'd say you should watch 'Godfather 1' and 'Godfather 2.' You should watch 'Goodfellas.' You should probably watch 'Mean Streets,' because the story of 'Mafia' is more about the wise guys, ya know the guys on the streets and stuff like that, and that kind of vibe that comes across in 'Mean Streets' as very raw... I'd say to watch 'The Sopranos' in general for the same reasons. It's because it's about the other guys, the story is not about the Dons and such, it's about the interaction with the characters."
Bringing it back to the characters, Cox had this to say about two of his picks, "'Goodfellas' and 'The Sopronos' are probably the closest thing stylistically to what we're trying to do here to make it feel like the wise guys, and not the Dons I think that’s a good sort of way of describe how we're picturing it."
Cox also noted that by the time potential "Mafia 2" players are done watching all of the seasons of "The Sopronos," they'll "be pretty happy to come along and play 'Mafia' at the end; it'll be a good break." Funny thing though, he didn't mention anything about going back and reading old Playboys. I guess gamers should just save that for when the game actually comes out.