Gangsters, guns, alcohol, drugs, and broads galore. That’s the ever-sweet sound of the 40s and 50s with its Mafia based characters lighting up even today’s entertainment. Movies such as the Godfather have forever cemented the Mafia in the entertainment industry. Along comes 2K with Mafia II, a game centered on a young man as he enters the underground world of crime. Can Mafia II achieve greatness and join the ranks of classics such as the Godfather, or sleep with fishes?

Story

The plot follows Vito Scaletta, an Italian War veteran who has just come home from World War II. He learns that his sister and mother have been stuck with the debts his father accumulated over the years. Vito recruits help from his longtime friend Joe Barbaro and the two enter a life of crime and gain rank until they are eventually recruited into the Mafia itself.

Mafia II’s story is rather good. It truly emphasizes the American Dream and that it isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. Vito experiences losses, revenge, and retribution throughout his journey and it is one journey. All the characters within the game are given very nice specific personalities, although a little cliché. Thankfully the game strays away from what other open-world games try to do which is shoving tons of characters down the player’s throat. Mafia II minimizes the characters to a manageable number making sure the player can keep up.

The campaign is also home to some absolutely fantastic cutscenes that truly help carry the game. It’s easy to force yourself through some of the games missions just to get to another cutscene. The story really is that interesting, even if some of it may be a little bit predictable.

However there is a glaring issue within the game, because if you have to force yourself to get to the next cutscene then there’s a problem. Pacing is the problem here. Despite having an excellent tale, Mafia II makes some slip-ups in some of the chapters. Some of them are just really boring and add little to the plot as a whole. In fact some of the stuff feels just like filler to pad out the games length. There is no bigger crime to this then the Fuel stamp mission, which just wastes time and brings nothing to the overall tale. Plus it is these missions that make it very hard to continue on when it feels like you’re learning nothing in return.

Mafia II tells a great story especially with its cutscenes. The only real problem is the pacing of the tale. Other than that though, it’s very easy to get sucked into the world and care about what happens to certain characters.

Score: 9/10

Design

Mafia II puts on a very good first impression. The game opens up with a long car-ride through Empire Bay (New York City equivalent) that introduces you to all the fantastic sites while you listen to 1940s Christmas music. From the very get-go the game is able to pull the player into its setting making them forget that it’s just a videogame. The first set of missions also give you sense of freedom that a bunch of side-quests will open up and you could sink hours into Empire Bay. Heck, even the in-game map shows 10 square miles to enjoy.

However after spending a couple of hours in the game it becomes painfully obvious that there is nothing to do in Empire Bay. All the dots on the mini-map are nothing but gas stations, mechanics, and places to get a drink. It doesn’t make much sense why Mafia II even has a giant open-world when there is just nothing to do but drive around in the outside, which becomes very boring really quickly.

Missions within the game follow a very linear path. A destination is displayed on the mini-map and Vito has to drive there. The missions are then started with each one varying. Some involve intense shoot-outs while others involve being stealthy. This wouldn’t be a problem at all if the missions just didn’t end so quickly or go on to long. Some of the stealth missions and fetch quests go on far too long past their welcome while the shootouts never reach their full potential and end right when things are starting to get good.

The always-bright spot is the atmosphere though. Empire Bay is dripping in it and it never fails to impress. From the many soundtracks to the propaganda posters to the fashion, everything just feels authentic. Plus watching the change from the 40s to the 50s is quite impressive as literally everything changes.

Mafia II’s design is very flawed. The game always feels like a linear game trapped inside a sandbox with neither managing to provide much to the experience. Plus while the story spans 10-15 hours, there just isn’t much to do within the game, which is a pity since the city is so detailed.

Score: 6/10

Gameplay

Like the design, Mafia II tries to be many things with its gameplay. While it isn’t broken or anything, it just feels uninspired.

Mafia II splits its time between driving, third-person shooting, and melee combat. Basically the game tries to be Uncharted/Gears of War, Gran Turismo/Forza, and Tekken all in one game. This becomes a huge problem in the game because none of the sections are fleshed out and remain in the simplest form.

Driving is very slow and very painful due to many reasons. A giant foray of cars, each with its own handling and stats, are available to drive, but these cars just aren’t made that well use of.

Cops are literally everywhere making even stealing a car a real pain. While it is easy to escape from them they are still everywhere. They turn on you even if you tap the car in front you and they will most certainly turn their sirens on should you go above the speed limit. The most glaring issue though is the Mini-Map. Usually mini-maps are supposed to help a person get from one spot to the other but 2K managed to make the mini-map as difficult to decipher as possible. At times it is literally impossible to decipher where the red line is. Many times you may find yourself take a wrong street and when you try to correct it you hit something or someone and the police come at you. It is mind-numbingly frustrating to have to drive when dealing with the mini-map.

The next 3^rd of the game is dedicated to third-person cover shooting. Here the controls never feel natural in any way. Mafia II becomes like other open-world shooters and their controls. It feels awkward to shoot and hide behind cover. Some strategy is employed with a destructible cover mechanic, but it’s never really developed enough to make use of. The mini-map is also a glaring problem here. Vito is a pretty fragile man and can die very quickly, he also can’t blind-fire for some reason so he needs all the help he can get. The mini-map is supposed to be there to help you figure out where enemies are, but sometimes it doesn’t. This is very frustrating when the map shows nothing yet there is an enemy in a corridor with a shotgun and annihilates you especially when the game employs a very crushing checkpoint system.

Melee combat is actually pretty good despite being simple. You have light, heavy, dodge, and counter-attacks. While it is simple it is also extremely satisfying, especially the excellent finishers that adapt to the location of the player. It’s a nice detail that adds some fun to a mediocre game.

Mafia II’s mechanics all work, but it just isn’t fun to play. The mini-map is a huge culprit in this, especially when such a large portion of the game depends so heavily upon this device. Nothing is broken, but it feels very uninspired and if they had just focused on one part, then the game could’ve been something great.

Score: 5/10

Presentation

Despite problems in the way the game plays, there is no denying that the game is a looker. 2K really did put some time into making the games presentation fantastic and it does pay off. Models and textures for the main characters are fantastic and the way their lips move when they talk and how their faces react are just perfect.

Empire Bay is also a very pretty city. While there isn’t much to do, there is a lot to see. Empire Bay certainly is some very good eye-candy. The atmosphere that comes along with the city is also very authentic and really provides the sense that this is a real breathing city.

A great cast also fills in the shoes of the characters providing very strong performances. Some of them are cliché, but you really need that cliché in this genre to really make it work.

Of course Mafia II does have some problems. There is a lot of noticeable screen-tearing and frame-rate drops. There were actually a couple of times where the game froze for a couple of seconds and then picked up. Pop-in is also a giant problem, especially with some close-up objects.

The worst problem found though was that the game managed to crash once after a certain cutscene. The screen just remained blank and the console had to be restarted.

Mafia II is a great looking and sounding game. It has some visual problems, but there isn’t much that can detract from this good-looking game, especially the expertly crafted cutscenes.

Score: 7/10

Final Thoughts

Mafia II is a game that tries to do too much when it doesn’t have to. Anyone looking for a great story presented in a great way should defiantly come and give Mafia II a look if they are willing to overlook quite a few issues.