MAFIA II - A FLAWED YET ENJOYABLE RIDE
Now let me just preface this review by saying that I have never played the original Mafia or Mafia II, but have played the remake of the first Mafia game before playing this one.
And, in short, the remake of the first game is much much better in pretty much all areas. But that is not to say that this remaster (not remake) of the second game in the Mafia franchise does not have anything to offer.
I have to admit though that this game would be absolutely nothing without its story and wide host of memorable characters - both of which kept me engaged throughout and wanting to play until the end. Whilst the game's protagonist, Vito Scaletta, is a bit of a blank state, his rise through the ranks of the Empire Bay mob is a tale as old as time - one which has been told again and again in gangster movies throughout the decades.
And yes, the characters he interacts with are slightly archetypal in their presentation (your Joe Pesci-esque best friend Joe Barbaro who constantly gets you into trouble with his half-baked schemes and short temper, your mentor figure Leo Galante who introduces you into the inner circle of the mafia when you meet him in prison etc) I couldn't help but become interested in the stories that they helped to tell.
So the story is a big plus, as is the setting (if you're a massive fan of the period like me) but how is the gameplay seen as -you know - this is a game and not a movie?
Overall, a resounding meh. Gun-play is serviceable but not too engaging (only really had to focus once or twice during combat when hitting some absurd difficulty spikes towards the end of the campaign - and this was on the hardest difficulty), driving is again, just OK, and I still genuinely have no idea how the 'speeding system' works in this game. Sometimes I'd speed past a cop car and they'd follow me and try to arrest me but other times I'd drive past going even faster and they wouldn't bat an eye. Weird, and inconsistent.
I understand that the open world is not the selling point of this title, but I was confused that there seemed to be so many mechanics which were just never explained or were outright, or borderline, useless. Like, why would I need to ever stop at a gas station to fill up my car with some fuel? I also never visited the auto repair shops scattered across the map aside from when the game forced me to do so early on. Also, apparently robbing shops is a thing in this game. I wouldn't know because I never did it, and money is essentially useless in this game anyway.
There are also technical issues with absurd pop-in and some wonky animations during cut-scenes, but a lot of the time I found these more humorous than annoying. Whether you feel the same is a matter of preference.
So, after reading about how awful this remaster was supposed to be on sites such as Reddit, I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed Mafia II. Whilst I did go in with low expectations, I found an engaging story, characters and tolerable mechanics - and did have fun.
But ultimately the game is just that, average. Without the quality of story, writing and voice acting I'd even go so far as to say this game would be deemed bad.
I therefore can't, in good conscience, give this game any higher than a 3/5, even though it does have a great story to tell.
Now let me just preface this review by saying that I have never played the original Mafia or Mafia II, but have played the remake of the first Mafia game before playing this one.
And, in short, the remake of the first game is much much better in pretty much all areas. But that is not to say that this remaster (not remake) of the second game in the Mafia franchise does not have anything to offer.
I have to admit though that this game would be absolutely nothing without its story and wide host of memorable characters - both of which kept me engaged throughout and wanting to play until the end. Whilst the game's protagonist, Vito Scaletta, is a bit of a blank state, his rise through the ranks of the Empire Bay mob is a tale as old as time - one which has been told again and again in gangster movies throughout the decades.
And yes, the characters he interacts with are slightly archetypal in their presentation (your Joe Pesci-esque best friend Joe Barbaro who constantly gets you into trouble with his half-baked schemes and short temper, your mentor figure Leo Galante who introduces you into the inner circle of the mafia when you meet him in prison etc) I couldn't help but become interested in the stories that they helped to tell.
So the story is a big plus, as is the setting (if you're a massive fan of the period like me) but how is the gameplay seen as -you know - this is a game and not a movie?
Overall, a resounding meh. Gun-play is serviceable but not too engaging (only really had to focus once or twice during combat when hitting some absurd difficulty spikes towards the end of the campaign - and this was on the hardest difficulty), driving is again, just OK, and I still genuinely have no idea how the 'speeding system' works in this game. Sometimes I'd speed past a cop car and they'd follow me and try to arrest me but other times I'd drive past going even faster and they wouldn't bat an eye. Weird, and inconsistent.
I understand that the open world is not the selling point of this title, but I was confused that there seemed to be so many mechanics which were just never explained or were outright, or borderline, useless. Like, why would I need to ever stop at a gas station to fill up my car with some fuel? I also never visited the auto repair shops scattered across the map aside from when the game forced me to do so early on. Also, apparently robbing shops is a thing in this game. I wouldn't know because I never did it, and money is essentially useless in this game anyway.
There are also technical issues with absurd pop-in and some wonky animations during cut-scenes, but a lot of the time I found these more humorous than annoying. Whether you feel the same is a matter of preference.
So, after reading about how awful this remaster was supposed to be on sites such as Reddit, I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed Mafia II. Whilst I did go in with low expectations, I found an engaging story, characters and tolerable mechanics - and did have fun.
But ultimately the game is just that, average. Without the quality of story, writing and voice acting I'd even go so far as to say this game would be deemed bad.
I therefore can't, in good conscience, give this game any higher than a 3/5, even though it does have a great story to tell.