Mastertronic picks up former Acclaim title Made Man

Mastertronic has announced plans to publish Made Man, the Mafia-themed PC and PS2 action game that was originally in development at Acclaim's Manchester studios.

When Acclaim went bankrupt in September 2004, the Made Man development team was dissolved - but former members established a new company, SilverBack Studios, after receiving an investment from Fund4Games.

Made Man, which has been created in conjunction with best-selling author David Fisher and former mobster Bill Bonnano, sees players working their way up through the ranks of the Mafia. Locations range from the jungles of wartime Vietnam to the urban sprawl of New York City during the seventies and eighties, and the game uses a proprietary physics system that's been designed from the ground up.

"This is about as close to really being in the mob as a game can be. You turn your back on the wrong person, that's it, game over," said Bonnano, who once belonged to the Bonnano crime family.

"I have worked with author David Fisher to make sure every level, every scene, every detail, actually represents the inner workings of organised crime. No question about, it this is as real as it gets."

Mastertronic MD Andy Payne added: "With Made Man, we're doing to the Mafia videogames genre what The Godfather did to Mafia movies."

Made Man is out in September.