Born the son of a poor immigrant, Vito is a beaten down Italian American who is trying to secure his piece of the American Dream. Looking to escape the life of poverty that consumed his childhood, Vito is soon swayed by the lure of power and wealth that a life of Organized Crime can bring. A petty criminal his whole life, Vito, along with his childhood friend, Joe, will descend into the world of Organized Crime. Together, they will work to prove themselves to the Mob as they try to make their names on the streets of a cold and unforgiving city. Mafia 2 immerses you in the mob underworld of a fictitious late 1940's / early 1950's scenario. The game engages you in a cinematic Hollywood movie experience in a living, breathing city, fusing high-octane gunplay with white knuckle driving and an engaging narrative. The Collector's Edition features a collectible SteelBook Casing, access to the in-game downloadable Made Man Pack, an artbook, the Mafia II Orchestral Soundtrack and a map of Empire Bay. Collector's Edition - Collectible SteelBook Casing - Brushed metallic SteelBook hard case with debossed logo containing two pieces of art featuring Vito and Joe, the stars of Mafia II. Made Man Pack - Free access to in-game downloadable pack that lets you get behind the wheel of two different luxury automobiles modeled after cars from the period. In addition, Vito will look the part with two new made man suits, including a vintage tux. Hardcover Art Book - Get to know the families of Empire Bay with a 100-page photo album-style art book that takes fans through the artistic design process of the game. Mafia II Orchestral Soundtrack - Immerse yourself in Empire Bay's symphonic masterpiece with the Mafia II score recorded by the Prague FILMHarmonic Orchestra on CD.
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For example you start out during WWII in Italy helping the rebels. This is completely unexpected and is a nice touch to delivering the background of Vito. Another bit I can not explain (due to huge spoilers), but let’s say you do some gross tasks and some hand to hand combat in a place you don’t want to ever end up. You will actually go 3-4 chapters with no shooting at all, and this makes you savor the shooting bits because they get thrown in a lot in the last few chapters.
The shooting has tight cover mechanics and the 50’s era weapons pack a punch and really feel powerful. Knowing a guy out with a shotgun or even popping a guy in the head with a .44 Magnum and it just feels right. I never experienced issues during firefights with controls, and this is great so the shooting part is pretty much perfect.
Of course, you have a huge open world, but I guess the biggest flaw to the game is that it’s only used as a “portal” to mission objectives. You don’t go around and get missions from people a la Grand Theft Auto, but maybe this is a good thing and keeps you sticking with the story. Each chapter has you waking up in your apartment and you have to complete missions as told, and they are varied and never get old. Driving around town feels right and the cars handle really well. There’s a large variety of them and driving down the road listening to 50’s era tunes just feel so authentic. If you aren’t careful and follow the speed limit (there’s a speed limiter button) cops will try to pull you over. If you’re wanted you to have to either change your plates or your clothes.
You can pull into body shops and change the color of your car, repair them, change rims, tune them up, and store them in your garage or just go sell them at the junkyard. You can buy threads, guns, food and it really feels authentic and doesn’t pull too far away from the main game. One thing that you can collect will completely surprise people are Playboy centerfolds. Yes, fully nude centerfolds, and while finding them may be a pain since they are well hidden, but it’s well worth it. These are 50’s Playboys and they are interesting finds, and you can also collect artwork, and read about cars in the Carcyclopedia.
The game looks really good with well-animated characters, excellent lighting, highly detailed textures, but up close some of the characters look a little lacking in the texture quality department. The game sounds great too, and it’s just all the little details that make the game that much more authentic for its time setting. People arguing in the streets, cops pulling other people over, it’s just really great to see all this detail. However, the 2K Czech could do a lot more with Mafia III, and I’d like to see side missions, a bigger world, and more little extras.
Overall Mafia II is an excellent game with wonderful characters that you truly care about, the voice acting is top notch and everything just feels almost perfect. The game needs more extras and a little something to stray away from the main game, but what’s here works and is solid with excellent shooting mechanics, driving mechanics, controls, and just enough content to keep you going. There isn’t really any incentive to play through this again at all unless you really need those Playboy centerfolds.
Collector’s Edition: If you want to shell out the extra $20 you get a nice poster of ads in the game, the soundtrack, a steel case, the Made Man DLC pack, and a color art book. Is it worth $20? Probably not for most, but hardcore collectors will like this a lot. Most people should just pass, but what is provided is worth it.