Games based around the infamous mobsters of the 1940s are few and far between, in fact there’s really only one or two I can think of, the first being the original game in the Mafia series by 2K. After almost eight years, 2K is finally releasing a sequel to the well received original which easily captures the essence of the eras it weaves through. Mafia II follows the story of Vito Scaletta and his rise through the ranks of the various mob families of Metropolis over almost a decade. The first mission follows Vito as he serves time for the military in Sicily during World War II, for reasons I won’t spoil, Vito ends up back home in Metropolis and begins his hunt for work before his next tour of duty. What follows is a slow downward spiral as Vito goes deeper into the mafia’s business of drugs, women and dealing death. The story is really the main attraction of the game and thus shouldn’t be spoiled. What you need to know is that the game has plenty of cinematics along with missions that contain great set pieces. Expect the unexpected is really the name of the game in regards to events that revolve around Vito’s rise. The build of suspense over the course of the game is slow, but you can see it coming from a mile away that Vito is getting himself in deep. Since the structure of the game revolves around the plot, this isn’t your standard sandbox game. There is a sense of urgency in completing the story missions and there are no side missions to speak of aside from robbing stores and stealing cars for cash.
You’ve got the whole of Metropolis to explore, but aside from collectibles, it’s all about Vito journey. With that being said, Vito is a great lead character for the game. He has an innocent glow about him during the course of the game, which slowly crumbles away as he has to do more and more in the name of money and so-called honor. 2K did a great job in creating a lead that does what he feels he has to in order to take care of those he loves. I was compelled to root for Vito even though he succumbed to lower and lower deeds over the course of the game because his original intentions were of good nature. It’s truly heartbreaking. Not unlike the first game, Mafia II revolves around a fairly simple mission structure that typically involves Vito taking a long drive out to the objective, completing the requirements then heading home before the next mission. There is the occasional road block or police chase, but the cops are unfortunately not the smartest beings in the game, seemingly dumber than the mobsters that you tango with at various points in the game so escape is typically an easy affair. Once you arrive at your objective, you’ll have to shoot or in some cases fight your way through a consistently evolving environment to move Vito one step deeper, typically involving shoot-outs in semi-destructible environments. As I stated previously, the environment of each mission can change via scripted explosions or other events that make for some high-octane gameplay at about the halfway point.
There is definitely a slow build on not only the plot, so missions become more and more intense over the course of the game. Towards the beginning, some only involve selling stolen goods while others have Vito sneaking into a building to steal said goods. These evolve into riskier missions that often go wrong and end in an intense firefights. The enemy A.I. can be a little slow in their thought process, popping in and out of the same piece of cover for a bit, while others may try and flank you in a fairly quick manner. The variety of weapons is somewhat lacking, mainly split into four categories: pistols, machine guns, shotguns, and held/thrown weapons. There is also the occasional mounted weapon but those are few and far between. While the guns don’t vary, the combat and targeting works fairly well with a targeting system that has a slight auto-targeting when you click the Left Trigger. The gunplay can sometimes go to hell with the troublesome cover system that requires a button press to attach/detach from said cover. This breaks up the fast paced gameplay and can be easily forgotten in the heat of the moment. While the gunplay is nothing you haven’t experienced before, 2K Czech managed to make it enjoyable nonetheless. The plot would be nothing without the outstanding environments, characters, music and voice acting that propel everything in the game.
Metropolis’ structures and contents will sit well with anyone who has enjoyed Mad Men in the slightest. The characters especially the Lead Vito and Joe look like two Italian gangsters and they have the voice actors to back it. On top of all this, the soundtrack has the happy-go-lucky tunes of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Doris Day and many other prominent singers and bands of the ‘40s and ‘50s. The music really tops it all of especially in high-speed chases or during wild shoot-outs. 2K Czech really pulled out the stops with the world that lives throughout the game. It is easily the best representation of those eras I’ve seen in video game form, even more so than Bioshock. Mafia II is the definitive game revolving around La Cosa Nostra and quite possibly revolving around that time period. Vito’s plight of looking for success in all the wrong places helps you sympathize with his very human character. The gunplay is strong for what it is, even if the A.I. can be a mixed bag, especially the dim-witted cops that can be lost with a simple turn. The world has been captured pulling much of the essence of the ‘40s out of history books and firmly spread throughout the entire experience. Even if you don’t become fully immersed in the gunplay, you’ll easily be pulled into the suspenseful build of Vito’s entry into the mafia. Storytelling is king here and Vito’s entry into the mob families is more than compelling enough to warrant a trip to Metropolis.
