Written by Jedclark
Mafia 2 is a game based on the mafia, obviously. You play as Vito Scaletta, a boy brought to America in search of a better life, but only finding poverty. It borrows a lot of elements from Scarface (Joe calls someone a "****ing cockroach"), The Godfather, The Goodfellas (the bit where they are in jail and they spend time in a decent cell) and The Shawshank Redemption (he almost gets raped), and those are just what I noticed, so there could be a lot more. This does spoil it a bit, as you realise it isn't that original, but it is still a very good game.
The gameplay is like that of any classic sandbox game. You can drive cars and use weapons. You drive through the "mean streets" of Empire Bay, the games location. It isn't a very inspiring place, but it'll do. The police are simply awful, but chase you for anything. It is awfully realistic in that sense. (But then you can rob a shop, and not have 1 star on you.) You nudge a car, they're after you. You go too fast, they are after you. The game is let down on its shooting, which is just awful. A lot of the guns crosshairs are just too big. Also, you'll only ever need the pistol as it mostly one shot kills everyone once you have the magnum, so the other guns are made to feel useless and you just won't need/use them. You can rob shops by holding a gun to the person at the till. You can also crush cars for money.
The game is a great take on the mafia, one notable thing it does this is the characters. There are great characters, from Vito himself to Joe, and then Leo Galante. They are accompanied by very funny dialogue. Some parts of the speech will have you in stitches. There is also a good feel to some sentences, such as the last line of the game.
The story of the game is excellent, and it is one of the best games I've played story wise. You go through Vito Scaletta's life as he quickly gets into more and more **** (quite literally at one point). I really enjoyed the story, it kept you wanting to play more and more, until the excellent ending. The game has been criticised, I can't see why. It was excellent in almost every way.
The graphics are very good. The cars are well animated, and actually feel like they come from the time – the 40s and 50s. Also, a great thing graphically is the change in clothes as the time goes on. They change from beach shirts to more... normal clothing. Vito slept in the same vest and pants for about 7 years, though. A bad point is the crappy framerate at certain sections.
The controls are good. They are memorable and simple. The game has a few bugs, and shoddy civilians. (I was fighting a guy, and his twin brother walked past.) It's lasting appeal, however, isn't very large. It has a decent 10-15 hour storyline, and quite decent sized DLC but after that, nothing is luring you back. There are Wanted Posters and Playboy Magazines to collect, but that is just tedious and not really fun.
The soundtrack is amazing. Filled with classic songs from the 40s and 50s, it makes any car trip on the journey awesome. You'll find yourself sitting around doing nothing, just listening to the radio. It is that good. It also brings a great atmosphere to the game.
The voice acting is laughable. Well, the voices themselves are good. They are classic... Mafia-style voices. Especially Joe's. And the old bosses have great voices, too – but voices are majorly out of sync with the lips that it just ruins it.
In my opinion, Mafia 2 is an excellent game with even more excellent characters and dialogue, let down only by its annoying shooting. It is a game you'll really enjoy if you're a fan of GTA.
+Very good story
+Dialogue
+Characters
-Shooting
-A few bugs
