How many side missions are there, or how long do they take? How do they compare/work with the main story?

Why did you choose to have three families instead of 2 or 4?

It took weeks to design the Mafia II booth for E3 and days to set it up. These pictures chronicle the process of creating 2K's space, as well as turning the Mafia II booth into Empire Bay.

The first two images show the Mafia II booth while it is still in the process of being constructed. And yes, that is actually half of a car, straight from the time period.

Before journalists got to see Mafia II, they had to sign in at the front desk of the 2K area. Some of Mafia II's amazing screenshots were front and center for our guests to look at as they waited.

First, a snapshot of the road leading in to the E3 convention center. Next, a shot of the front of the finished Mafia II room, with a winter scene from Empire Bay spreading out behind the presentation TV.

After all the finishing touches were put into place, Empire Bay came to life in the midst of E3. These two shots are close ups of the area to show you how much detail went into every aspect of the space.

Denby and Jack are back for our third Mafia II podcast. This episode gives you a deeper look at the characters of Mafia II, and hopefully will help you envision who you'll be spending time with when you step into the world of Empire Bay.

You can douwnload it from our Downloads page

Source: Mafia2Game.com

Martin Zavrel, Development Manager at 2K Czech, talks about his work in the studio and on the game. (You may already know Martin from around the 2K Forums -- if so, here's your chance to learn a bit more about what he does when not posting about Mafia II!)

Tell us about your background - how long have you been at 2K Czech? How did you get in the industry?

Originally I started out as a game journalist. I was freelancing for several media outlets (online, print, television) before settling down as a chief-editor of magazine Doupe. By that time, Petr Vochozka, who was Illusion Softworks CEO back then, approached me. He told me that he liked the ideas and opinions in my articles and that I should make better use of them by actually making games, not just writing about them. Obviously this was an offer you can't refuse. I joined the studio in 2004 and since then I have taken on several duties on few consecutive projects, starting with Hidden and Dangerous 2: Sabre Squadron.