Mafia II
Review
Keep your friends close... but your enemies closer
by William Thompson
reviewed on PC
“First you get the money. Then you get the power. Then you get the women.”
Visually, Mafia II is quite accomplished. The main protagonist, Vito is superbly detailed and the artists have definitely put a great effort into making him look like the stereotypical handsome leading man. He has a somewhat boy-next-door exterior that goes well with the semi-innocent tones of his character. The other major characters too, are fairly detailed although not to the Vito standard. Each does have their own particular styling and are easily distinguishable from each other. The same cannot be said for much of the extras used in the game. At times, it was especially evident in one scene in the Empire Bay prison; many of the supporting cast look very similar, if not identical. The character movements seemed a little stiff too, and I’m not just talking about the dead guy in the trunk of the car.
The locations are varied and do a great job of setting the 1940’s and 50’s scenarios. One thing you will notice is that the city of Empire Bay changes during the course of the game. During the first part of the game whilst World War II is still taking place, the city looks rather dull and dreary. But upon Vito’s return to civilian life (after being sent to prison) in the early 1950’s, the city seems brighter and a more pleasant place to live.
“Leave the gun. Take the cannoli."
The same goes for the music and radio announcing. The 1940’s radio is basically a lot of news about the war and songs from the war era. But the 1950’s bring with it a sense of joy with more upbeat tunes and radio announcers. One particular detail that I enjoyed was the news items that related to something you had done in the game. A massacre in the park would be reported soon after. The music as a whole does a superb job of setting the tone of the game with songs picked from each of the two periods of the game. Many of the tunes are well known, even by someone who has not grown up in those eras. The voice acting is great too, even if the language used by many of the characters is littered with profanities. The other sound effects are very good too, especially when driving. After taking a couple of hits, the engine noticeably runs less smoothly. Not only that, but the different vehicles have different horns and indeed have different engine revs.
A couple of graphics glitches whereby people were walking into objects and almost doing the Moonwalk as their feet were moving but they weren’t heading anywhere. At one stage late in the game Vito and Joe were in a gunfight with dozens of men. Unfortunately, Joe got stuck behind an object (he for some reason, wouldn’t jump up to a ledge) and wasn’t able to help out with the major part of the battle and I was forced to complete the mission on my lonesome. Not game breaking – but highly annoying. Another issue I had is that although the main story is quite intriguing, there is a distinct lack of openness about the game. Sure you can basically do whatever you want in Empire Bay, but there is no real need to head off the linear path.
“I coulda been a contender.”
Having said that though, the main Mafia II story will take 10-12 hours to play and will take you on quite a ride. The visuals are great, the audio is superb, and there is enough variation in the missions to keep the game interesting for the whole time. I personally felt that the family storyline (with his mother and sister Francesca) could have been more involved, and Vito should have made a few more individual choices (instead of constantly following the lead of Joe), but the story plays out real enough. I also enjoyed the homage to one of my favorite movies, The Shawshank Redemption. The entry of the bus into the prison with inmates cheering, the line up once inside, the less than savory warden and guards and of course, the attempt at ‘man-love’. Get the game just for that.
8.2
fun score
Pros
Audio really sets the 1940’s and 1950’s scenes beautifully. Interesting main story and cut-scenes.
Cons
Not much need to divert from the main story path. Occasional graphical glitches.
