Mafia II is, oddly enough, the sequel to the 2003 open-world action/adventure game, Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven, the first good Grand Theft Auto clone set in prohibition-era United States. Developed by Czech Republic-based developers, 2K Czech, the sequel does exactly what the first game set out to do: draw ‘heavy inspiration’ from Rockstar’s iconic series and try to improve on aspects that didn’t seem ‘polished’. While Mafia II does succeed admirably to a large extent, the ultra-linear nature of its plot is sure to put off sandbox purists, GTA fans, and Italian-American coalition groups (google ‘UNICO’ and you’ll know what I’m talking about). Okay, the last party are probably more concerned about the stereotypical portrayal of Italian-American mobsters than the lack of side missions, but fortunately for 2K Czech, this ‘negative’ publicity seems to have given a substantial boost to Mafia II's sales, particularly in the UK.
Everything in an open-world game relies heavily on its setting, and in Mafia II, Empire Bay (a fictional version of New York City) serves as the battleground for killing, shopping, robberies, beatings, arson, heavy drinking, solicitation, extortion and other fun mob activities. You play as Vito Scaletta, a son of Italian immigrants who came to the States in search of the American dream, and after a fair amount of clichés involving his father’s death, heavy debts and a stint in the army to avoid a jail term, Vito is now a tough SOB who is ready to do anything to make some money leading him to seek employment as a professional criminal. With the ultimate aim of becoming a ‘made man’ in one of Empire Bay’s families, Vito hooks up with his old buddy Joe Barbaro, who introduces him to the best scum-bags in Empire Bay. Vito’s incredibly linear
career development and rise in the hierarchical structure of the various families depends entirely on you, the player. I say ‘linear’ again because linearity isn’t something you would normally associate with a game of this type.
The story in Mafia II it told through various ‘chapters’. Each chapter consists of a mission or a couple of missions and while the structure itself is very formulaic, there is enough variety to keep things interesting. The story takes Vito through locations that include Sicily, Empire Bay and a correctional facility — there’s a fair amount of mêlée combat in prison, and thankfully, 2K Czech didn’t compromise on its design. It’s just a shame that hand-to-hand combat has little-to-no application in the game’s gunfights. Speaking of which, some of the game’s set-pieces are great mostly thanks to some very good shooting
mechanics which are a considerable improvement over GTA’s. Mob justice can be imparted through a variety of weapons, including tommy guns (both military and the 50-rounds-per-clip mob version), shotguns, pistols (including the .44 Magnum), revolvers, molotovs, hand grenades and World War II weapons like the German-made MP-40, the M1 Garand and the ‘grease’ gun. The game features some very polished shooting and a well-implemented cover system. You’ll often be faced with a large amount of enemies of various racial and social stereotypes and it’s good to see that it doesn’t take much to drop them (2-3 rounds from a handgun or rifle, one round at close range from a shotgun). Similarly, it’s pretty easy to get killed despite the semi-regenerating health system, so you’ll find yourself spending more than just a few minutes recuperating after getting hit. Unfortunately, the driving isn’t very good, with cars feeling heavy and slow, but then again, it’s probably what the cars of that era were like. Vito can’t fire his gun while driving, but his passengers seem to be able to squeeze themselves through the tightest windows, firing volley after volley of gunfire and near-impossible angles.
The writing in Mafia II is significantly better than in the first game, with the sequel sporting a lot of humour while managing to remain gritty and dark at the same time — a notable improvement over the writing from the first game. Joe Barbaro’s arrogant, pig-headed impulsiveness greatly complements Vito’s level-headed, pragmatic nature and the two of them form a great team. Fortunately, the writing and dialogue delivery remain consistent throughout, with all the gangsters including Henry Tommasino, Leo Galante, Eddie Scarpa and Carlo Falcone being very convincingly portrayed by their voice actors. The game’s visuals are a treat for the most part, with cutscenes, lighting and textures looking sharp. More importantly, the game performs really well even during the most intense gunfights, with no drops in frame-rates.
Verdict
If you’re able to look past the stereotypes, aimless driving and linear gameplay, Mafia II will let you live the violent and notorious life of a 1950s-era gangster... and I think it’s a fair compromise.
— videep@gmail.com
