Product Features

Genre: Action and Shooter
Publisher: Take 2 Interactive
Release Date: August 27, 2010
Available Platforms: PC, PlayStation 3, XBox 360

Mafia 2

Summary
Reviews
Trailers
Price History

Mafia II is 2k Czech's stunning new sequel to Illusion Softwork's original free-roaming game of 2002, Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven.

You take on the role of Vito Scaletta, a Sicilian-born American and World War II veteran who sets his sights on a better life, and who will do whatever it takes to achieve it. The game is set in the fantastic scenery of Empire Bay (a mix between the cities of New York and San Francisco) during the late '40s and early '50s. You are able to experience what life was like with detailed models of real vehicles along with music from the era.

The game involves a lot of driving, either cruising through the city between locations or travelling at speed in car chases, both of which feel intuitive and realistic. You spend the rest of your time on foot walking through the city or exploring the interiors of the buildings of Empire Bay. This includes exciting firefights between anyone from armed civilians and mobsters to the police. There is also the ability for hand-to-hand combat in the game, which at first seems like a good addition, but after a time I, personally, find becomes a bit monotonous and takes the edge off a great storyline in places.

The graphics for the original Mafia game were, in my opinion, ahead of their time compared to similar games and I believe the same is true for Mafia II. Although controversially the graphics were reined in for the PS3 version to improve the frame rate, this doesn't appear to have affected the experience of the game according to many review scores being of similar or higher value than the Xbox360 version.

Aki Proud December 11, 2011 PS3

****

This game is well worth a play through. Yes the game play experience is poor compared to GTAIV, and the polished cover & gun play of Uncharted, but it gives something that no one else has been able to do so far (and does it far better than both Godfather games), which is, to create a totally believable 1940/50's gangster experience. The story is very good and you really feel for the games main players, not to mention the impeccable recreation of the 40/50's era in the city in which you roam, the attention to detail in the ambiance is fantastic. Get past the fact that it does not compare to its peers, immerse your self in the people, story and ambiance and you will be reward with a rich, atmospheric game play experience. Highly recommended.
Paul Martin August 25, 2010 360

****

The Mafia series has always been well received by both the critics and public. The first game in the series was Mafia developed by Illusion Softworks. The game was initially made for the PC before being ported to both Playstation 2 and Xbox in 2004. The game received high praise with almost perfect reviews scores and high hopes of a sequel. In August 2008, Mafia 2 was announced with the release of an impressive promotional trailer. The development team of Mafia 2 is actually the same studio the developed Mafia despite now being called 2K Czech. The team promised the most authentic Mafia game to date before release, have they managed to deliver their promise?

The story takes place in Empire Bay, a city that has been based both upon San Francisco and New York City with influences of Chicago and Detroit. The game is based between the period of 1945 leading to the final conclusion of the game in 1955. You will play as Vito Scaletta, the son of Sicilian immigrants and World War II veteran. On his return from the war Vito will discover his family is in debt left by his dead father. To redeem his family name and repay the debt Vito chooses the life of crime. However, as Vito begins to earn more money and respect than his father did in a lifetime he decides to continue and achieve the ultimate goal of becoming a 'made man'.

The game map is be completely open ended much like GTA IV the player will be given the open world of around 10 square miles. The only difference is that no restrictions are placed on the gamer allowing them to roam around the entire game map from the very beginning. The controls are responsive and well mapped out allowing gamers to control Vito with no frustration. Although similar to GTA IV, Mafia 2 has taken a more realistic approach allowing Vito to only take little damage before actually dying. This can at time make areas of the game very difficult and push the gamer into taking cover alot more than you would in the likes of Rockstars GTA series. The cover mechanic is very well implemented within the game, but it will feel over used on your playthrough. The law within the game is also very strict making the gamer have consequences of actually breaking it. Even simply pushing the speed limit will cause the police to chase you down and bring you to justice. Despite the law being very strict there is however the question of the AI when running the likes of a red light, which seems very odd given the depth the police aspect has been given. When being a naughty boy or girl the police will even go as far as broadcasting your clothes and license plate to there fellow officers. Despite being realistic it will no doubt be one of the main criticisms about the game for alot of gamers and critics. Admittedly it wasn't much an issue for myself as I actually was impressed with the realism, but there are times when it will annoy you especially if you wish to speed things up when getting from A to B. The game mechanics such as auto aim also feel very GTA IV like. Simply tapping it will auto lock onto an enemy target and allow for easy kills the majority of the time. The most impressive thing about the Mafia 2 gaming world is the destructive environment. Given the game's free roam environment the 2K Czech team have really pushed the limits to see the game is as authentic and realistic as possible. Taking cover behind a wooden fence will only keep you safe for a small period of time as the wood begins to chips away. The most surprising thing is there are thousands of destructive objects within the game such as windows and even stone pillars keeping gamers on their toes. The games story and side quests will allow any gamer to spend an extensive amount of time playing the game giving good value for money, although the biggest downside is no online gameplay. No doubt GTA IV is Mafia's main competition, therefore to not provide any online game modes seems ludicrous. This may however, as stated above improved other aspects of the game and allowing the developers to focus on providing a better single player gaming experience.

The graphics are amazing, both cutscenes and during free roam. The city feels realistic allowing the authenticity of the game to flow. 2K Czech have really outdone themselves given the amount of area to explore mixed with the in game realism and artwork it does provide a new gaming experience. Its almost like your watching a movie rather than playing a game. The only downside would be the lip sync with the audio. It doesn't always seem to move in time; although this isn't always the case it does make you think it could have used a little more work before release. This won't make the game bad or average but will stop it from becoming the masterpiece many hoped for.

The audio is by far one of the most impressive things about the game. Both voice acting and authentic 1945 era music really hit the spot. Even the smaller sound effects such as breaking a window or crashing your vehicle allow the game to feel that little bit more special compared to other games on the market.

Overall there is alot of fun to be had with Mafia 2. The games authentic music, great voice acting and impressive graphics are but a few positives the game has to offer. The games does provide a different style of gameplay from what you would expect in the GTA series, but given the amount of depth the developers have gone into it's easy to appreciate the games realism. Saying that I generally believe that it will split the gaming community making it form a love or hate relationship to those that play the game. Personally I loved the game despite the small negatives that include, poor lip sync and no online gameplay the game still managed to hit the high mark that was expected. Highly recommended, its an offer you cant refuse! 8.8/10