Mafia II Review

Game: Mafia 2
Reviewed Platfom: Xbox 360
Other Platforms: Playstation 3, PC

It's 1945, world war 2 is raging on seemingly infinitely, thousands of men are dying in dank pits and... What are you doing? Drinking fine wine, wearing the latest fashion and driving the best cars money can buy. For this is the life of the Mafia, as the game sets out to present through the protagonist Vito Scaletta, an Italian American who scrubs up nice and his best buddy Joe's, an Italian American who's a bit chubbier, optimism of the lifestyle. To them the mafia is money, cars, women and most importantly, power. This leads onto one of the best and most involving storylines i've partaken in within a game.

It is impossible not to at least reference grand theft auto within the review. The mechanics are essentially the same for most of the game. It's a third person game in the same vein, You run to cover before the enemies shoot you and pop out to get them whenever you can. The difficulty is definitely alot higher however, i found myself turning around corners to be killed in one shot. However, this is usually because i'm moving too fast, and will only occur later in the game when alot of enemies have magnums, and the enemies with shotguns throughout the game. This brings me to the checkpointing system, checkpoints in missions are a very important ingredient in a game where you have to traverse a large environment to get to and from the mission, Mafia 2's checkpoint spacing was very good throughout. There was one moment very late in the game where it seemed as though they had missed a checkpoint in the middle of a fight. You start on some docks, fighting your way up to a warehouse. This bit is hard within itself, but after this you enter a warehouse. This is where the bullshittery of the game is, the only defining, stand out, bull shit momment. You are trapped in an enclosed enviroment with about 10 guys with guns that'll kill you in 2-3 shots, and a man chucking molotov cocktails which have some sort of ultimate area affect damage because they drain your life so fast it isn't funny, and to make matters worse, you go back to the start of the docks if you die. The only way i could find to do this was to, as soon as i entered the warehouse, sprint to the other side, under the balcony the guy with molotovs on and camp the stairs. It felt cheap, but on hard difficulty anything else was suicide.

Not to say the gun segments aren't fun, the last little segment especially. In which you have to drive to the planetarium, it's raining and the building looks ominous from the car lot. The situation and setting were so epic i decided to change from my summer shirt to proper Mafia garb and buy a tommy gun to suit the situation. Because the story had become so involving i knew i'd regret it if i didn't dress for the occasion. However, this gun segment made me feel like Tony Montana in Scarface, walking down the hall with my machine gun, gunning fools down. I was powerful because i was angry at the people i was shooting, and it was fun as hell.


As anyone who has played GTA will know, the missions become monotonus, drive somewhere, shoot some fools, drive back, Piss. Get's boring fast though, and whilst GTA breaks this up with things like darts, arcade games and some side missions. Mafia does something i think GTA could learn from. Every mission you do advances the narrative, you have one mission at a time, and the variety is brilliant. At the start of the game you'll be having fist fights with people, a simplified mechanic, but one that keeps the combat intense. Hold a to dodge, b for a light hit, and y for a hard hit. Timing is everything, and when you learn to counter punch later, things become even tenser. There are also a few segments to break up the shooting where you have to sneak around metal gear style, usually with a no kill bonus. Typical Mafia tasks are also at hand like extorting money from people, which, whilst not at the height of entertainment, really helps to show how things are run. The variety of the game kept me playing through in one sitting. I couldn't say this for GTA IV, which i still have not finished, Mafia 2 is helped in this department as the campaign in around 8 hours long, which is fine, as this is NOT a free form, free roam game. It is an action adventure title in a GTA vein. This is the only xbox 360 game i have played through twice, and i think there is replayablility to be had from the game-play alone.

The collectibles. Yes, they're playboy magazines, no, it's not tasteful, but theres nobody complaining. In no other game can i try to open a door by pressing x and instead pick up a picture of a topless woman. There are 50 "playmates" to collect, along with 159 wanted posters. You also unlock more artwork by playing through on different difficulties. So if collecting things is your thing, or you want to see some topless 60's chicks, Mafia 2 has some more stuff for you to do!

The best aspect of the game is probably the setting. The game has...4 setting changes within it. One chapter you're in world war 2, another you're in snowy 1945 and halfway through the game you're in 1951, theres even another setting which is very unexpected. But one of the best settings in the game. The music and colours in these periods really represent the time. In 1945 everything is snowy, and theres a sort of depressive feeling overhanging the world. Whilst 1951 has you driving around listening to "rock and roll" with bright colours everywhere. You just need to play it to feel the vibe.

Overall, this game is not the greatest, however, the narrative is movie worthy. More specifically a great movie. The game is fun, and it actually includes things that gta could learn from, it's not as good as red dead redemption gameplay wise, whilst better in a narrative sense.

"If you have the money to spare for a game, get Mafia 2, it's got some of the best atmosphere out there, and an ending that'll stay with you for a while."

Image credit: 2nd image: Coventry-telegraph.co.uk