Other magazines we'd like to see in Mafia II

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Playboy announcement prompts outburst of idiocy

In a move intended to bring "sophistication and classic imagery" to the upcoming Mafia II, publisher 2K Games today announced a licensing agreement with Playboy, enabling it to use more than 50 covers and centerfolds from the magazine in the game.According to 2K President Christop Hartmann, the mags will "add a unique element of authenticity to the game," which is set in the 1940s and '50s,and "illustrate the power of Playboy's influence on the attitudes and culture of that generation."

Much as we applaud what appears to be a slavish attention to detail that aims to rival that of Mad Men, we can't help but think that 1950s hoods would want to read about more than just the latest stereo equipment and the essaysof Kurt Vonnegut. And to be fair, Playboy wasn't the only publication with a death-grip on the hearts and minds of our grandparents' generation.

So for realism's sake, we took it upon ourselves to insert a few other era-appropriate magazines into Mafia II's gameplay, to demonstrate just how much a few more licensing deals could enhance the atmosphere.


Above: Everyone used to read the Saturday Evening Post. EVERYONE


Above: Nothing says "Good Housekeeping" like tastefully shattered glass walls


Above: Popular Science asks if we can make the "Death Seat" safer. Obviously not


Above: Kinsey's study on human sexuality sent shockwaves through the back-alley mugger community


Above: Think how much it would flesh out random characters to know they died as sci-fi nerds


Above: We assume this was a fairly routine occurrence back then

Mar 8, 2010

Mikel Reparaz
Mikel Reparaz
After graduating from college in 2000 with a BA in journalism, I worked for five years as a copy editor, page designer and videogame-review columnist at a couple of mid-sized newspapers you've never heard of. My column eventually got me a freelancing gig with GMR magazine, which folded a few months later. I was hired on full-time by GamesRadar in late 2005, and have since been paid actual money to write silly articles about lovable blobs.