Mafia II for PC reviewed by Graham Clifford

Mafia II has a lot to live up to. Its predecessor certainly built up a loyal following and rightfully so. The story and cast were excellent and it was packed full of frantic gunfights which were aided by an excellent physics engine. It was Grand Theft Auto’s superior and the most surprising thing was that it came out of nowhere. There was little hype or expectation and that probably helped a little. Seven years later and Mafia II has finally seen the light of day. Talk about a sequel had begun almost five years ago and one wonders why we had to wait so long to see it, but more importantly was it worth the wait?

You didn’t see nothing...well nothing original anyway
Mafia II involves shooting things, driving around, more shooting, more driving and a little stealth. That’s about it really. The GTA gameplay mechanics seemed to have remained consistent this decade and looks to be going strong into next, which is a shame because the genre is getting a little stale and with the power of the modern gaming machine a lot more could have been achieved. The basic cover system (which can be found in nearly every other game these days) also makes an appearance and while it’s implemented adequately it’s hardly an innovate feature. One feature that is missing is the ability to blind fire. The AI has it, but oddly enough you don’t.

Another annoyance is the difficulty curve. Frankly, it’s nonexistent. After the first quarter of gameplay, I had to change the difficulty level to hard. Even there, it’s still a walk in the park. The police offer little challenge. One sharp turn seems to leave them in your wake. Other mobsters don’t cover themselves in glory either. They casually wander into your vision for some easy killing and even when they do take cover their movements are so easy to read that they walk into your bullets. The missions themselves offer little challenge as well as they require little thought. The settings and objectives all sound interesting, but all they amount to is gunning people down. Usually, everything is laid out for you so all you do is drive there (uninterrupted mostly), park, walk, shoot and exit.

The stealth feature was the most interesting part of the game, but unfortunately it was not used enough. Only a handful of missions require stealth and even then it’s only for a small part of the mission. I would have liked to have seen missions be completed in a number of ways, but instead the game holds you buy the hand and does most things for you. You just follow a linear path to the objective and shoot anything that moves.

Lots to see nothing to do
Mafia II is set in the fictional city of Empire Bay and my word it is stunning. The detail is fantastic, During the winter cars collect snow on the bonnet and hood when stationary. The cars also collect dust and dirt based on where they have been so expect a mucky vehicle when going off road. While the city looks amazing there’s actually very little to do. Most buildings are closed off and any sort of free roaming becomes very boring very quickly. The pedestrians and drivers might as well not exist as well. They don’t go anywhere, but wander aimlessly around the city and have absolutely zero interaction with you and minimal interaction with themselves.

The first Mafia game was praised for its story and I expected the strong writing to continue. You play Vito Scaletta, a young man with a rebellious attitude and a lust for wealth and recognition. Sound familiar? Well, it should as it’s the premise to every gangster movie ever made, but that’s a minor offense compared to how the rest of it unfolds. The start of the game actually sets the story brilliantly. A young Vito has been sentenced to jail, but avoids it by choosing to join the army and fight in WW2 and that’s where you begin the game; fighting the Germans and Italians situated along the Gustav Line. After a tough battle Vito is wounded and sent home temporarily. The walk from the cab to Vito’s home through the alleyways creates a wonderful atmosphere and unveils the various characters that inhabit the district. Once Vito makes it to his apartment the story slides into a rapid decline.

Drugs are bad mmmmkay...
Vito is a hard man to sympathise with. Initially, he is forced into a life of crime to pay off a family debt as the game tries to create a hero forced into unfortunate circumstances. Fair enough you’d say, but Vito only joined the army to escape prison, he has attained forged documents to exaggerate his injury in order to stay home permanently and has beaten up a man long before hearing about this debt so he wasn’t actually the angel to begin with. Throughout the game he also murders and maims numerous people, but when asked to push drugs he’s hesitant as he’s worried what they will do to the community. So there you go kids, don’t do drugs, it’s wrong. Murder however, go for it.

Mafia II borrows heavily from every gangster movie and TV series and while harmless borrowing here and there is fine overdoing it makes the plot predictable. You should easily able to spot the red shirt from the beginning. Also, expect to bury bodies rotting in the trunk of a car in an unmarked grave, deal with a drunken friend accidentally killing somebody, struggle with allegiances and find enemies among friends just like in every second episode of the Soprano’s.

The lack of various character models can ruin immersion as well. Your best friend’s girlfriend can be seen in nearly every chapter, but not in her normal role, but as an extra, stripper, courtesan, party goer, girlfriend of another person and any other general role that needs filling. It’s shameful as they don’t even change her dress, which is very distinctive, but change its colour. The main story charts the rise of Vito and it does an OK job of doing so. However, the game contains little character development. Hardly any learn from their mistakes and evolve. You will also meet a lot of characters, but it’s hard to invest emotionally in them as their screen time is brief and usually they are hardly mentioned for the rest of the game until something major occurs to them and when it does occur it’s hard to care as you don’t have enough emotional attachment. One positive is the excellent voice acting (with the exception of some God awful Irish accents) and the direction of the cut-scenes.

If you're not careful you'll get us all whacked. Ha, ha! Body in a wood chipper!
Mafia II looks and sounds great, but offers little in terms of gameplay. The opening few chapters will engross you, but as the game unfolds you find repetitive gunfights and a cast of characters that get less and less interesting in a predictable story. The game’s ending doesn’t tie up a lot of loose ends either, but instead leaves the door wide open for an inevitable sequel so may we all meet again in Mafia III: The Quest for More Money.

Mafia II is out now for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and is available online at Amazon.