Mafia II - Review

The highly anticipated sequel for fans of Italian mafia released the August that just passed. Acquiring this game for just a time killer until Halo Reach, I was surprised. I will fill you in from what to expect from 2K's promising mobster game. Was it worth buying or was it just another kick in the head?

Saying Mafia II has an eminent, intriguing plot would be a diaphanous statement. Vito Scaletta is one of the huge amount immigrants that splashed in America in the early 20th century. His family came in America circa World War I during Mussolini's reign in Italia. Vito lived a childhood we've all seen before. Sneaky critter running in the streets planning mischievous excursions. Sooner or later Vito turned into an official adult. At 18 Vito was called for the World War II where he fought alongside the Americanos. The opening sequence where he is in the battlefield for the war is a great prologue and kicks the game with a powerful start. We get used to the controls and has a nice stationary gun sequence that keeps the blood pumping. Vito returns and finds out his family, after his father's death, is in debt. Only with his sister, Francesca, attempting to support Mrs. Scaletta, Vito has to help his family like a good mama's boy he is. Despite my lame humorous attempts, I feel for the family even in the beginning of the game. His helpless, elderly mother relies on her children and Francesca's optimism amplifies the tragedy of the situation. This makes you feel that Vito has enough things on his shoulders fast in the game and immediately absorbs you in the action.

Vito initially was going to return to the war but after mundane tasks like picking up crates and placing them on trucks, he refuses to work like this for such low wage. He then sways towards Joe Barbado for a better job thus making it more risky. Joe deals with Vito's war situation (not having to return) and then immediately endows him with work. Very risky work. From there, Vito deals with the Mafia. The plot has its own typical Mafia routine like selling cigarettes and assassinating the guy that messes with the Mafia. It's the gunfights that pique the game's action. Albeit gunflights are surrounded by everyday tasks like waking up everyday and performing the uniform things Vito does everyday (answer phone, dress up, drink a beer) I don't see this as a flaw. You see, if Mafia was a non-stop action game with driving and plot-line kept building up the game would drag on too much. Not only does this break tension but it builds suspense and keeps the pace seamless. The later half of the game is when the action builds up even more where revelations come in the game and plot twists become more common. Right when Vito believes he has it all, something happens to screw his visions up. Crime doesn't pay is the main theme with an ending that totally reinforces this.
BTW, there's a scene that references Mafia I. It caught me by surprise.

The soundtrack of the game is top notch. I mean, rarely do I download songs due to games' amazing soundtracks (Rock Band and Fallout are two of the games I just had to) but Mafia II excels with its soundtrack. The 40s to 50s music constantly playing on the radio as the time period progresses always sets the mood. There's even some specific music played during specific events in the game for example: Before the cross reference of Mafia I and II would occur, the music on the radio was Mafia I's theme song. The tune gave me a smile since I was glad to see the devs didn't forget what made Mafia so popular. The reference itself is beautiful. All this also applies to the voice acting. Vito's genuine Italian accent with Joe's cocky attitude but sometimes sensitive further execute the game's plot in a prominent fashion. All major characters have that genuine Mafia feel in their voices especially when threats drop from Mafia members. You can cut the tension with a knife.


Visual-wise, Mafia II once again succeeds. The environment is a replica of New York giving its own unique vibe as time progresses. The end of the game is a rainy evening with deserted streets, to further emphasize the tragedy of the story. See, Mafia all revolves around its story. Voice actors are amazing, environment is outstanding and gameplay elements all synthesize for a better plot experience. Mafia is not the typical GTA clone. While the environment is decent in size, there's no point in exploring as much as the slick map teases you. Characters look mostly great except some face designs I didn't like and bland interior areas. Other than that, top notch here as well. Cars look like 40s-50s cars and every citizen in the street wears something or says something to convince you this is 20th century America. An example is Joe referring to his pleasure girls as broads. I also dug the suits that are provided. You get a sense of gratification when after all that killing you lay some money on the table for an expensive suit and get that achievement where you buy your first luxury suit.

Mafia II until now impressed me in all aspects. Visuals and graphic design, atmosphere, voice acting and soundtrack and of course its magnificent plot. The gameplay of Mafia doesn't let down either but this is where more flaws come in. Despite Mafia being surprisingly amazing, the gameplay itself is also great but inconsistency is an issue. Mafia's cover system mostly works but sometimes you'll get shot in the head while you're perfectly concealed and sometimes standing behind some glass can make you live for another day. I also don't like the fixed cover where you press A and sluggishly move behind a wall until told otherwise. I mean, dynamic cover that automatically locks you on should be implemented, like Saboteur for example. Since Mass Effect 2 perfected the tap to cover system I won't cut Mafia alot of points for that. Other than those flaws I can say Mafia delivers a solid shooter experience. The pacing isn't perfect, I think the gunplay always delivers some epic moments when you reach them. Fighting the Irish, dealing with meddlers of the Mafia and etc. The best gunfights come towards the end of the game where the story picks up pace and Vito's gunfights have much more meaning rather than to satisfy your itchy trigger finger. Driving feels sometimes slippery but other than that, it's good. The police are too observant and will chase you even if you go over the 40 limit while driving but are easily escapable.

People complain that Mafia doesn't have a free-roam portion in the disc of the game where you can execute side missions like in GTA. While there are few side missions in Mafia II like wrecking cars for extra cash, and some side missions in the DLC, I disagree with these people. Mafia is a story-centered game. The environment is there for show-off if you must. I'm not disappointed for not exploring since looking around the polished environment is enough. It's big enough to travel from objective to objective without getting stagnant and small enough to get to destinations without driving getting monotonous. Like I've also mentioned, breaking up the pace is an important factor since then you can fall trap to games like Kane and Lynch where you just tap A behind a wall and push RT after waves and waves of enemies. No variety whatsoever in terms of gameplay.

Vito Scaletta provided me 15 hours of fun on Hard difficulty, which should be the default difficulty by the way. Despite some frustrating moments with the cover system and aim assist not working properly, the guns felt and shot perfectly with no overpowered enemies or cheap deaths for my part. Mafia II is a game that will provide you a very solid story experience and an amazing mobster story that is probably the definitive game for mafia fans like Godfather was for movies. Excuse me now, my Mafia mood is present and I have to watch some Boardwalk Empire.


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