Title: Mafia II
Genre: 3rd Person Action/Sandbox
Developer: 2K Czech
Publisher: 2K Games
Rating: BBFC - 18, ESRB - M
Formats: PS3, Xbox360, PC.
Synopsis:
Vito Scaletta is the son of Sicilian immigrants, moved to the US in the periods between WWI and WWII in search of a new life, and the American dream. Unfortunately, they are practically worse off in the US than they were in Italy. With a drunken father, and an ailing mother, Vito quickly falls into the wrong crowd, meeting Joe Barbaro the energetic bachelor. With no experience in a life of crime, and no one to turn to, Vito is quickly busted breaking into a local store. Given the choice between jail, or conscription, the story quickly meets up with Vito and his squad dropping in to an Italian city, to liberate it from the local fascists.
During the ensuring gunfight, a local Mafioso orders an entire unit of Italian troops to surrender through the method of megaphone. Being the honourable man that he is, the troops quickly surrender, and Vito understands the power that the Mafia holds over the locals.
Back in the USA on leave after being shot in the firefight, Vito meets back up with Joe, who arranges for Vito's injury to suddenly appear much more serious on paper than it is, and Vito is honourably discharged from the Army. The pair then embark on a career in the Mafia, after being "made". After some time, Vito is then thrown in jail, where he meets Leo Galante, consigliere for Mafia don Frank Vinci. Leos associates then reduce Vitos sentence after he agrees to work for Leo while inside.
Once released, Vito meets back up with Joe, and the party then kicks back off again. But crime rarely pays, and Vitos past then comes back to haunt him.
Mafia II is one of those games that can be amazingly fast to burn through, or very time-consuming, depending on how much you get into it. Sandboxes generally have strictly defined storylines, but have the option to leave them for significant amounts of time. This works incredibly well in Mafia II, with only a few jobs that come through to push the story forwards, with the player being given map waypoints that they can follow, or leave to wander.
The one thing that lets Mafia II down in this sense, is that because Vito is locked up for several years, you effectively have 2 sandboxes, with the cars, clothing, and in some cases the stores all change significantly in that period.
Story-wise Mafia II falls very squarely into the whole "Sicilian gangster plot, with a family twist" section. Like an American sitcom, there's always a moral in there somewhere. In the case of Mafia II, it's the good old fashioned CRIME DOES NOT PAY part right there in the face. Vito gets busted twice during the story. The first sees him come within an inch of being executed during the war, and the second sees him being locked up for about 6 years, where he gets into fights, and everything that goes with a prison life.
It also tries to reinforce the wholesomeness of family, with Vito protecting his sister from an abusive spouse, and him spending the first section of the game getting the money to repay his deceased father's debt to a loan shark. There's also the whole WINNERS DON'T TOUCH DRUGS, with a deal with the Chinese families over heroin going down the shitter very quickly, with Vito, Joe and Henry being ambushed quite literally outside the door.
Other than that, it's told very much from the perspective of Vito, and his moral salvation, protecting his biological family, his Mafia family, and his professional relationship with Joe and Henry.
Gameplay is largely what you'd expect from a sandbox action game, in the similar vein of GTA. You can steal whatever non-story car you want, store it in a garage where they magically warp to any of your properties (which you earn from the story missions), tune them up, change the plates, etc... The omnipresence of the "one-time" is counteracted nicely by a number of wanted levels. Police will either want to fine you, arrest you, shoot you on sight, or shoot with automatic weapons. They also can take details of your appearance or what car you're driving, making the proverbial (and literal) body shops all the more important.
Combat though, is another kettle of fish. With no luxuries like body armour, or lower calibre weapons, you get period weaponry like the 1911 semi, everyone's favourite Thompson SMG (the definitive Mafia weapon, I'm sure you'll agree), right through to more exotic weapons like the MG42 (don't ask about that...), and a number of weapons clearly smuggled out of the WWII supplies. As you'd expect, damage stacks up very quickly, with you only being able to take about 3-4 shots before making a trip to the morgue. Luckily combat is cover-based, and massive gunfights generally turn into a scene more out of the Wild West, than "dignified" Empire Bay. Health regenerates after a few seconds, but never to 100%, amking longer fights a bit hairy at times.
Missions generally take a few attempts on the higher difficulties, and especially later on in the game, with mobs at about 15 guys against 1 not being uncommon, and in a couple of occasions you're completely unarmed, or unable to use any guns.
Stealth is also briefly touched upon, with a story mission having a very short sequence that takes a few attempts to figure out (with the usual face palming yourself for being so stupid when you see how simple the solution is), but other than that it's largely guns-blazing.
For the fluff, having a huge number of licensed songs from period artists makes driving to missions all the more better, with a fair few of them being stuck in my head (Damn you 1940s for having catchy songs). Vehicles handle about the same as you'd expect for a car weighing about 4 tons with no suspension. Clothing is largely superfluous, except for looking sharp, and losing the police when they get your description.
Outside of all of that, Mafia II's a quite enjoyable game, with challenge in the right places, and just enough freedom to stop it getting too constrictive. Combat flows nicely, and the weapons have a palpable thud when firing. Melee is a little clunky, but given that you only use it in a few places, isn't really a problem.
Scores!
Graphics: Fast HD graphics, amazingly well made period sections keeping the immersion going, despite the sandboxing at times. A
Gameplay: Stereotypical Mafia story, complimented by accurate period pieces, and loving crafted areas. Let down a bit by a bit of a chunky repetitive combat system, with fire from all angles killing you frustratingly often while you're in cover. B
Replay: Sandboxing allows for a lot of exploration, areas not touched by the story are all open. Collectibles keep the treasure hunt open in the form of licensed Playboy centrefolds, and artwork unlocks. Large numbers of cars to find and a database to fill give a number of measurable things to find. DLC already released adding a few more things to do. B+
Overall:
Finely crafted Mafia games can be a little hard to find, but Mafia II has just about the right mix of story and sandbox, gameplay and period immersion. Holds up well in comparison to others in the genre, but let down a little bit by sheer frustration factor in a few places. Otherwise a fine addition to collections, and DLC is already on its way to expand the game further. A
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