Mr Salieri sends his regards.

Mafia 2 in my opinion is the perfect sequel to the 1st game and comes out as a better game at the end of it. The story is somehow better, with two great likeable characters in Joe and Vito and a narrative that takes you on an emotional journey full of great missions and enjoyable characters.

When it comes to the setting in Mafia 2, as soon as you take the first car ride through Empire Bay you can see how perfect the devs have got that 1940s America vibe. The streets are busy, the shops and billboards all have that oldies aesthetic and the radio station plays some great 40s classics that really help drive that atmosphere home. Its also really nice to see that the environment changes depending what era you're in, as the game takes place in both the 40s and the 50s. The car models change, the music changes and so does the city around you. Little things like that really help immerse you.

So if the environment is perfect for the setting, what about the characters? Everybody you meet in this game is exactly what you'd expect an Italian-American mobster to be. As for the main character Vito Scaletta, wow what a character, and the same goes for his partner in crime Joe Barbaro who has some of the funniest one-liners in the game. 2K really hit the nail on the head with their character writing again.

The gameplay in Mafia 2 is such an improvement on the first (even compared to the remake), with shooting and driving feeling a lot more smoother and less frustrating to work your way around. There were also less times I found myself getting annoyed with a mission. In Mafia 1, there are quite a few missions that have you tearing your hair out but this one didn't really do that for me, with my time playing being a lot more enjoyable on this title. It's definitely still very simplistic and could maybe benefit from some more unique missions, but that's what you get with these sort of games

The story of this game is stellar. The best in the Mafia series and I hope if there is a 4th game, that they take a lot of inspiration from this one. There are a lot more unforgettable moments in this game that had me laughing, crying or just happy as hell. As mentioned earlier, Joe and Vito really make this narrative shine, bringing the magic to those scenes while you're playing.

Something I would like to point out though, is that if you are going to play this game, I would suggest going for the classic edition. Unfortunately this port has a lot of audio and visual glitches that happen throughout the game. The devs haven't fixed them since the Mafia bundle dropped so I doubt they are going to do anything anytime soon

Bugs aside though, I really did love this game and would highly recommend checking it out. It's just a shame everything goes downhill from this title

The first game to kickstart Telltale’s return to the gaming industry and to be honest, it’s a pretty weak one.

Let me start this review by saying I haven’t watched the show so I was going into this game as a newbie experiencing a brand new environment. Did this game intrigue me into the world and it’s story? Kinda. The premise of the story is okay and there are some interesting plot points and tense moments that get you to want to continue playing, but if you compare these moments to previous games in Telltales library, they’re not on the same calibre. It was more of just a ‘oh I guess I’ll find out what happens then’ instead of ‘I can’t wait to find out what happens next’ kind of thing. This isn’t good for a Telltale game when the whole fate of it rest on it’s ability to tell a good story. Another thing it lacks in its story in my opinion compared to the other games is in it’s final episode in particular. When you look at The Walking Dead’s final episode, having to rescue Clementine from her kidnapper, you notice it’s at an anxiety filled and gripping stage. But when it came to The Expanse, I didn’t feel in danger at any bit. I didn’t care what happened to the characters because the character building was nowhere near. The final showdown was flat as well, with the ‘villain’ kinda just popping in at the end and then dying super quick with very little build up. Overall an okay story on its own, but poor compared to previous Telltale titles.

The characters in this game are a mixed bag. Didn’t really get to experience much with some due to my choices in the game but for the ones I did interact with, there are only some that I found myself wanting to learn more about. The main character is fascinating enough to make you want to play as her but I don’t think she’s going to be memorable, not like Lee and Bigby. Everyone was just good enough to pass for a story, but I don’t know, maybe I was expecting more from a company that have delivered me some of my favourite characters in gaming.

Technically this game actually seems to lose a lot of things that were in previous Telltale games. The biggest of these is the stripping of the dialogue changes, we have now been reduced to only 2 options of dialogue instead of 4. This is a really poor design choice as it damages the games replayability with less unique dialogue. I replay Telltale to experience all those small dialogue changes and to have that taken away really puts me off going back to the game. Combat has also been watered down, now being more similar to older Telltale games which is also disappointing. Batman The Telltale Series had such a good combat system, really making the player more involved with the scene so I really can’t understand why they didn’t stick with this design. The level design too is different, with it leaning more to exploration and scavenging rather than an interactive story with bits of exploration dotted in it. This leads to some really long stretched out segments that kinda have you praying for a new cutscene as you slug through it.

While I have seemed harsh in my evaluation of the game so far, I didn’t hate it. It got me to play to the end and I was interested in what was happening to a certain degree. I was actually disappointed by its length, wanting it to be longer. 5 hours is very short for a Telltale game.

But Telltale are back, and while I think this game is far from their normal work, it is good to have them back. Hopefully they can build on this and get back to the heights they were once known for

Another stereotypical run-and-gun military story about a hero saving the day is what I expected going into this, but that is far from what you get from this game. Instead, you are dealt with an emotionally gripping story that shows you the true horror of war, a realistic adaption that doesn't shy away from being dark.

The narrative of the game is beautifully written and the twist at the end of the game is unexpected and really opens the player's eyes up. I won't spoil what it is, but when it hits, it hits hard. It is honestly in my opinion one of the best I have ever experienced. It left a lasting impression on me long after, and if a game does that, best believe I am holding it in high regard.

So why isn't the game a 10/10? Well purely because of the gameplay. It's very mediocre and there is nothing special about it. But that's not the selling point of this game, the outstanding story is. If you want a game to make you think, then play this underrated masterpiece immediately.