Mafia II

aka: Mafia II (Classic)
Moby ID: 47964
Windows Specs
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Description official descriptions

Vito Scaletta is an Italian immigrant in the United States. Born into a poor family from Sicily, he grows up in the city of Empire Bay and soon becomes best friends with Joe Barbaro, who convinces him that crime is just a way to get easy money. After having attempted a robbery, Vito is arrested and offered a choice by the authorities: go to jail or join the army. Choosing the latter, he is drafted and sent to Italy to fight Mussolini and his followers. After being injured and discharged, he returns to Empire Bay and learns that his deceased father owed a large amount of money. Willing to protect his family from debt collectors, Vito contacts Joe, and the two gradually begin to steer their lives towards organized crime, unaware of the price they will have to pay for that.

Mafia II shares the theme and the basic gameplay concept with Mafia; though it takes place at a later time and follows the life story of a different protagonist, the game's plot has a few connections with that of the predecessor. The game's story begins in the 1940's and extends into the 1950's. The story follows a linear path and is divided into chapters, each telling a separate episode in Vito's life and his trials and tribulations after getting involved with the mafia.

Like its predecessor, the game combines free-roaming driving with third-person shooting stages, focusing on the latter. Though the player is free to explore the city (driving a car or on foot), most of the driving gameplay is confined to the missions, which involves getting to the destination, stopping to buy items, hijacking different cars, etc. There are noticeably less chases or violent encounters during the driving sections than in the previous game. Police may arrest Vito for speeding or violent behavior; the player has the option to bribe officers in exchange for freedom.

The third-person shooting mechanics have been overhauled, featuring a cover-based system similar to that of Gears of War. Vito's health regenerates over a short period of time and cannot be restored by other means. He can be easily killed when running in the open; therefore, taking cover and periodically shooting is the prevalent tactic. In addition to firearms from the previous game (Colt 1911, tommy gun, pump-action shotgun, etc.), there are World War II-era weapons in the game, such as the MP 40 and M3 submachine guns. Vito is sometimes assisted by Joe or other characters during the shooting stages.

One portion of the game, which takes place inside of a prison, has melee-focused brawls. Players can explore interiors to find collectibles, more specifically vintage Playboy magazines to unlock the erotic photos within. The PlayStation 3 version of the game includes exclusive access to the DLC, The Betrayal of Jimmy. It is available for free only to those who purchase the base game.

Spellings

  • 四海兄弟 II - Simplified Chinese spelling

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Credits (Windows version)

680 People (571 developers, 109 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 77% (based on 53 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.7 out of 5 (based on 104 ratings with 4 reviews)

The storyline saves this from getting the hit.

The Good
Well I wasn't expecting this to be the killer game the first one was. But even though this sequel was maybe disappointing, it was over my expectations, which by now you should know were very low.

Well the game delivers when it comes to the storyline. The characters are voiced superbly and very natural movie-like acting. As for the cut-scenes they're always entertaining to watch and never drags on. This is one feature that made the first so great. Vito is a level headed and likeable protagonist. Many other interesting characters to be found. This is the main reason to play this sequel.

Game play is pretty much like the original, take the Grand Theft Auto games and mix it with Max Payne and you've got mafia. Driving feels more realistic though just like the first game and you tend to drive safe here. Cars don't seem disposable as they were in GTA, you'll probably hang on to one car for a reasonable period. Cars are from the 40's and 50's, they all look delicious and can be modified (engine tuning and tire rims) at a body shop. Color, License plate can be changed to legalize your car. The Max Payne part is the gun fights. There is also reasonable good and easy controlling fist fighting. Thanks to the use of modern physic engines you get a good visual experience. Glass flying, shattering even walls chipping etc.

The theme is done right, you feel like you're in the 40's and 50's thanks to the art direction, city detail and licensing of music from that era. The details of the city are fantastic, another highlight. The game is divided into chapters, after a mission you can do whatever you want in the city and then go sleep on your bed to start the next day/chapter.

The Bad
Well you don't get to do a lot in this city other than the standard rob shops, buy items, piss off cops, shoot pedestrians, drive around or run over people. If you've been playing all the GTA games then like watching porn you'd be dead bored of this by now and want something more creative. But to be fair Mafia was never exactly a “Free Roaming” game, it just gives you an open world. Side missions would have been a good way to extend this games life. Instead they're relying on the modern trend of Downloadable Content (DLC) and Cliff hanger endings. The ending of this game is comparable to you about to get it on with your girlfriend in your room. As she's about to take her clothes off and you're harder than the nightmare mode in Doom, your family comes back from that weekend out of town. She picks up her top and you're screaming “NO, NO! Don't let the credits roll, that can't be it?!” Whatever happened to the good old days of having a full game shipped in the box?

Lot of wasted potential, like the stealth mission in the start introduces some promising features which hardly will get used latter game. Driving occupies 70% of this game, while shooting 20%. It's kind of like a less annoying Farcry 2, at least you don't have to deal with annoying re-spawning A.I. I love linear games but this game seriously needs a more non linear approach to some of it's missions. Sometimes the game tuns into Indigo Prophecy where you're simply pressing the use key to create a rather interactive cut scene. For example you have to pick up the correct color cigarette and toss it at your partner. While it does act like a break from all the shooting and driving, it's not even a mini-game, nor interesting and very slow. Therefore killing the already low replay value of this game. As for the A.I. it looks smart at first but then you realize it's just "take cover for a long time then shoot" or "I got a shotgun time to rush".

The Bottom Line
Mafia 2's flaws and average gameplay is easily overshadowed by its storyline and presentation. Thankfully the flawed gameplay never reaches unplayable territory. The replay value is quite bad unless you want to refresh yourself with the storyline. If you're not a fan of the series I would wait until the price drops for PC or just rent it if you're playing on console.

Windows · by dreamstealer (126) · 2010

Wins the award for best presentation

The Good
As I mentioned in the title of this review, the presentation is nothing less than stunning; The city and the people that live in it give the impression that it's all real, the music on the radio fits the 40's and 50's very well and people who know a bit about history will notice the huge amount of details in this game. All i can say is: "wow".

The story is very interesting to follow and it's very well written. Unlike most storey-based games it didn't lose my interest and I never stopped playing the game because I was getting bored either.

Once you actually get to use your guns the cover-based shooting works, it is nothing original, but at least it works.

The Bad
The city may be huge, but there is barely anything to do in it and the things you can do fail to be worth your time. Even if you buy all the clothes in the games, fill your garage with beautiful cars and still have a few million dollars in your pocket the story may decide you lose it all.

The story also demands that some missions have no action at all. I lost count of how many missions had me drive people to a building just to watch a cutscene before driving them back to their home.

The story is well written, but it does become pretty obvious that all you are doing is trying to gather enough money to pay people back. The way Vito just keeps losing other people's money is a display of admirable stupidity.

The Bottom Line
The game has an amazing story, but it sacrifices way too much gameplay for it, but that aside this is a pretty cool game. A little love for the Godfather-style is a requirement. The presentation is beyond what we (used to) consider good and the game is very immersive. I do recommend renting this game for a week or two because replay value is nowhere to be found.

Xbox 360 · by Asinine (957) · 2011

Retro style meets modern lack of substance

The Good
The first Mafia will always remain one of my favorite games. It had unique quirky charm that made me ignore its flaws and enjoy it immensely, without trying to compare it to GTA games, which had been the obvious inspiration.

In terms of story and presentation, the sequel succeeds - at least partly - in capturing the spirit of the first game. The cinematic direction of the numerous cutscenes is very good. Character graphics and animation are beyond anything I've seen in a video game; even Mass Effect doesn't reach this level. The voice acting is uniformly solid and convincing. I couldn't shake that New York Italian accent from my speech after a session of this game. You can feel the vice, the coldness, the cruelty; but nothing is overdone, there are no cartoony exaggerations: everything is gritty, merciless, and realistic.

The story of Mafia II is not bad. I've read criticisms, heard people saying that Vito and Joe are shallow and unpleasant, and the story is just about betraying and killing everyone. Well, that's true. But it's a story about mafia, no? Organized crime. Gangsters. So yes, Vito and Joe do very bad things, and so do everyone else you encounter in the game. But that was just the point: to show how false ambitions, perverted sense of respect and extreme cynicism turn an ordinary guy into a merciless killing machine. Yes, Vito's soul becomes hollow, but it can never become completely so. This fact is not taken lightly in the game. And in the end, it becomes clear that Vito's spirit and his vices can never be reconciled.

The atmosphere of the 1940-ies and 1950-ies is very well-realized - the clothes, the propaganda, the jazz music, the rampant racism and misogyny. Of course, it concentrates on the dark side of United States of those years. And it does it very well, in a somewhat brutal, but poignant fashion. Though the city's beauty is largely ephemeral, it does feel nice to drive through a cozy neighborhood on a sunny day or shoot assorted mafiosi in a stylish apartment decorated by retro posters.

The Bad
Mafia II is unsatisfying in all of its basic gameplay categories: as an open-world "sandbox" experience, as a shooter, and as a driving game.

As a free-roaming game, Mafia II lets you do just that: roam (and even that not quite freely). Otherwise, its city offers nothing interesting. There are no optional missions. No decisions to make during missions. No possibility to choose the order of the story missions. You can't go online or buy property or drive a taxi or have a girlfriend or anything that was so fun in Grand Theft Auto games. Everything else is a beautiful, yet superficial decoration. The ultra-linear structure of the missions and the hollow nature of the city make the experience pale in comparison to the GTA behemoths.

It was certainly "forgivable" eight years ago, when the first Mafia came out; but now, people expect more, and rightfully so. Mafia II is a typical modern game: classy presentation superimposed on simplified, reduced gameplay. It gives you the scenery but forgets to give you fulfilling activities to go with it.

The world is also full of artificial borders. In such type of games, a big part of the fun is to be able to drive anywhere. In Mafia II, you can drive pretty much only on the roads. Sure, you can wreak havoc in a park or something, but not much more. You can't access water at all. For some reasons mountain roads are adorned by annoying fences that you can't drive through. So instead of performing a spectacular car jump from a mountain top, you'll have to drive down the same road you used to go up. Same applies to on-foot navigation. Why can't my character jump? Why can't he swim? Why doesn't he fall of a cliff, why are there magical borders preventing him from doing that?

Mission design in Mafia II is exceedingly weak. There are no imaginative setpieces, no variety, and for the most part almost no challenge at all. The first part of the game is particularly bad: it is built like an inflated "tutorial" where you perform menial, tediously executed tasks to advance higher in the ranks of organized crime. It may be realistic, but it's boring both in concept and execution. I imagine it would have been possible to create a fun minigame based on passing around cigarette boxes, but the game doesn't even want to do that: you just have to press a button whenever you want to and voila - task accomplished.

It doesn't get much better than that. Many missions literally consist of calmly driving somewhere, sitting through a lengthy cutscene, and driving back. Even though you can drive cars, there are almost no missions at all focused on driving. In fact, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that driving in the game is mostly a cosmetic element. There are no tense chases, no exciting shoot-outs, no racing, no time limits, no fun action-loaded setpieces and next to no diversity in missions generally. The only type of mission that involves solid gameplay are the third-person shooter sequences, which are much less numerous than expected.

However, those shooter fragments absolutely cannot hold a candle to the first Mafia. That game had hardcore, challenging shooting gameplay in generously designed levels you could tackle in different ways. There was basic freedom of decision and pacing that is essential to 3D shooters. Not so in the sequel, where you are glued to predictable, formulaic episodes taking place in tiny, sterile locations. Cover-taking is so over-emphasized that you'll be shredded to pieces if you try fighting in the open, but will dispatch any foe with enough patience if you just play the sitting duck. The levels are thus severely limited by the abundance of artificially placed furniture and debris just screaming "take cover behind me!". You don't need to use your imagination - just do exactly what the game wants you to do and you'll be fine.

The Bottom Line
Mafia II nicely recreates the atmosphere of a historic setting, and its storytelling is acceptable. However, as a game, it is but a sad reflection of its predecessor's glory, failing both in its treatment of open-world gameplay and as a regular action title.

Windows · by Unicorn Lynx (181780) · 2014

[ View all 4 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Gah. Indra was here (20756) Apr 21, 2011
Main storyline ending Daniel Saner (3503) Jan 28, 2011

Trivia

Japanese version

In the Japanese version, the collectible Playmate photographs were censored with black bars over breasts and bottom.

References: Mafia

While the game isn't a direct sequel to the original Mafia, there are a few nods to the original game: * Excerpts from Tommy Angelo's testimony against Ennio Salieri appear in the loading screens; * The music playing in the restaurant at the beginning of Chapter 5 is from the original game; * One of the trucks has "Lost Heaven, Brno, Empire Bay" written on the side (the city from the original game, the home of 2K Czech, and Mafia II's city respectively).

References to the game

Mafia 2 was parodied in an episode of "Die Redaktion" (The Editorial Team), a monthly comedy video produced by the German gaming magazine GameStar. It was published on the DVD of issue 11/2010.

Awards

  • 4Players
    • 2010 – Best Localisation of the Year

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Kaddy B..

OnLive added by firefang9212.

Additional contributors: Cantillon, crispybacon, Patrick Bregger, Starbuck the Third, Plok, Victor Vance, 一旁冷笑.

Game added August 28, 2010. Last modified March 24, 2024.