Could be. The first mission shouldn't be too hard as it's mostly an introduction to the game. But the easiness of the demo doesn't dampen my enthusiasm for this game one bit. I'm sure it will either increase the challenge later on, or include difficulty options.

Is there a way to disable the Depth of Field effect? I like in in photos but not in games, like my visuals sharp.

Well, my PC's maxed it's hospitality here at my desk. Can't play it on medium when it gets hard on action, and I can't play it on low to save my life. *sigh* Time to pay the tax man for a new PC.
(note to self: good on melachony, but you'll get it over in a few days. No new pc for at least a year)

Never played the first one, will definitely play this one. The models look great I think, though I have to play in a lower resolution which is horrible. Decent frame rate at least, gets up between 40-50s.

If you want to explore without a time limit it can be done by modifying the EXE as described in this thread--or download my fixed version right here and dump it into C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\mafia ii - public demo\pc (or wherever your Steam folder is). If done correctly the timer will be permanently frozen at 9:59.

This demo was about as perfect as can be I thought, the only downside being no real AA.

I was unimpressed, but then again, I didn't really enjoy the first one.
The pornography seemed out of place and distracting (and not in a good way), in my opinion. It seemed like a cheap attempt to get more sales.

how is it a big deal? small thing, in a brutal world little nudity is that bothering?
I know you Yankees have issues when it comes to naked bodies but the playboy magazines are just a bonus. like them pick them up don't like them you can easily avoid them. and its erotic magazine not pornography btw.

I have nothing against nudity in games. At all. At least, not when it's done with a reason other than to get teenage boys aroused. It's banal, it's cheap, and it's blatantly lowest-common-denominator. It's also saying to half of the population, "Fuck off, there's nothing for you here. This is a game for men, by men, so you can just go away."
Playboy is pornography. It is the portrayal of sexual material for the purpose of erotic satisfaction. I have nothing against porn, nor Playboy. However, if I want to look at porn, I'll seek it out myself. It's like how shows on HBO or Showtime put in tits because they can. It's not artistic, it's not classy, it's just porn because they know it will get more viewers.

You just need a second GPU if you want the PhysX.

I think you're overreacting, but that's just my opinion...
I thought it was neat, as Playboy was a big part of the culture then. It wasn't all in your face in the game, imo.

like Chuau said: playboy is big part of american culture of 1950s when sexual revolution took place. In a world of gangsters playboy was a must read magazine. So does strippers (which we saw in trailers)
Playboy is not pornography. it is erotic magazine. it potrays women naked. that's it. doesn't emphasis on sexuality nor it shows acts of sexual nature. Learn the difference mate.
You are seriously overracting. it is a small bonus as far as we know completely avoidable. You want to see the pics. you pick up a magazine. You feel you don't like it? don't do this. Whats your problem with that?
oh.
yes.
mafia 2 is targeted at a male audience. that's good. Hollywood produces enough crap targeting both audiences. I don't want to see that in games.

Yeah, because putting naked women in sexual poses isn't putting an emphasis on sexuality. You're just using ad hominem attacks to make a point without providing any evidence. Playboy makes no claim that they aren't a porn magazine. Their official stance is that they're fine with people considering what they do to be pornography.
It doesn't target one audience, it excludes one audience. How would you like having gay pornography lying around? I guarantee you that it would lose sales and get widespread criticism from the teenage boys they are targeting with this move. By the way, way to assume that women don't like to play the same games as men. Many do, but hostility due to the fact that the vast majority of women in games such as these are hardly dressed, unrealistically proportioned women who exist merely to draw in the male crowd.
If the developers truly wanted to show the culture of the time and didn't feel like debasing themselves, they could have easily used pin-up girls. However, they decided to eschew the rational approach and choose something that will get them all of the horny 13-year-olds.

What's the difference between playboy girls and pin up girls? they are all naked.
First thing: Unless US playboy is different to european ones...
no. playboy is not pornography
They don't put woman in sexual poses. You don't see a girls spread wide, pointing their butts at the camera. There is no empahsis on certain body parts. and the lower one is often hidden.
you could put clothes on them and they would look like they are advertising clothes.
Porno =/= eroticism. That's why I said that you americans have weird ideas about nudity.
It does not equal sex.
About the exclusion:
So what?
There might be not enough games for girls out there but that's not valid argument why Mafia 2 is not targeting both sides equally.
Like i said:
that trend is a load of crap. 90% of current movies are unwatchable because of that.
You are also making silly argument about gay porno. Gangsters of 50s did not look at gay porno. and if they did they did it in secret. so having it in the game is not appropirate.
I am asking you again:
If you don't like it why would you watch it? it is a bonus. not vital part of the game. You are acting like having a naked woman in non-sexual position was something really bad.

So Playboy itself admitting that people viewing it's content as pornographic have a valid claim isn't meaningless? Honestly, you're so busy trying to stereotype me that you're avoiding my evidence.
Gaming is a men's club. How would you feel if 95% of the games on the market, and 99% of the good games, actively went out of their way to make sure you felt objectified and insulted while playing the game?
I'm posing a hypothetical about the gay pornography. I'm asking you to put yourself in a woman's shoes. Is that too much to ask?
To go into Poe's law territory, how would you feel about a game that had a bonus mini-game where you were a Nazi in a concentration camp in which you attempted to find the fastest way to execute Jews, homosexuals, gypsies, and all the other groups Hitler went out of his way to slaughter. Or a mini-game in which you brutally rape, torture, and execute someone. I realize this is orders of magnitude more severe than what is present in Mafia 2, but I'm addressing your point directly. I mean, it's just a bonus, right? You don't have to do it, right? Or would its presence put a bitter taste in your mouth about the whole game?

I have no idea what US playboy said but european version would never claim that. They are men's magazine and associating with pornography would surely damage their sales.
Nudity is not pornography. When you go to art gallery and see paintings of naked woman. are they porno? what about pictures? are they porno too? There was once a gallery of some famous photgrapher (woman). full of naked women and men. was it porno?
Like i said:
you yankees are weird. A boob shows up on national tv and people make a big deal out of it.
nudity =/= pornography.
You are blaming the fallings of whole industry on one game? Listen to yourself.
Game is about gangsters in 50s.
50s were men's world. Women in kitchen and all of that. Mafia 2 aims for realism so no strong female protogonist but men in dirty underwear, being sexists and looking at naked pin up girls.
There is nothing wrong with a game being targated only at one sex. Do you blame sex in the city 2 for not being fun for you (or for majority of men)?
it is a weird thing to ask. Gay magazines were not part of gangster's culture were they?
Bonus? yes. but how does it fit with the theme of the game?
If it was WW2 game ala HoI3 then having concentration camps is more than appropirate. I am still angry at empire: total war not having slavery or Fallout 3 not having killable children.
And no. it is not to satisfy a weird fetish of mine but appropirate applications of morally wrong things which expands the game and depthens the experience
and again for god's sake: Like them pick them up. don't like them. avoid! It just nude pictures.