Review: Mafia II

The tale is told through the eyes of Vito, who is poor and living in the big city and looking for a way out.

His chance comes in the person of mobsters looking for muscle in Mafia II.

The third-person shooter centers around Vito’s rise through the ranks of the family, first by committing small-time crimes – to prove his worth – followed by bigger and bloodier missions.

The game deviates a bit from games of this type by offering a couple of chapters that detour from the main story, Early on, Vito is sentenced to enlistment in the Army and is sent to Italy to fight Mussolini’s troops during World War II.

Later in the game, he finds himself imprisoned and forced to brawl with other inmates, offering a chance to hone his fighting skills and network with other criminals.

Nevertheless, the overall storyline stays true to the genre, with Vito dealing in drugs and killing foes. Double crosses and personal vendettas also play prominently in the course of the action.

The principal gameplay involves gunplay, fisticuffs and driving.

Shootouts occur frequently, as Vito and his pal Joe team up to take out rivals and complete missions.

Brawling mechanics are fairly basic, with one button for jabs, another for haymakers and another for a defensive stance. Vito also can counterpunch. Fighting is simplistic and doesn’t really get much use.

Driving is a significant part of Mafia II – maybe a little too significant. It seemed that every new assignment required a long drive across the city.

Along the way, Vito could stop at bars and cafes to eat or gun shops to load up on firepower. He could also choose to commit petty crimes to garner cash.

These crimes would alert the police, who were not generally a challenge. They were usually easy to outrun. Once identified, the police would keep an eye out for you, but a quick stop at a men’s shop and a change of clothes would sufficiently conceal you identity.

Likewise, stealing a car would alert the police, but a quick pit stop at a garage and a new license plate would return his anonymity.

So there was a lot of driving, but one thing the driving does do is drive home the point that the city of Empire Bay, an obvious ode to New York City, is massive and well rendered. The people, the traffic and the environmental variables breathe life into the metropolis.

It’s just too bad there wasn’t more to interact with within the city.

Action takes place between the years 1943 and 1951. While mostly accurate to the times, there are some historical quirks in the game.

For instance, a side activity in Mafia II is the gathering of copies of Playboy Magazine, with the centerfolds saved for later viewing. You can do that as early as 1945 in the game, unfortunately, Playboy didn’t start publication until the mid-1950s.

Also, the musical selections on the radio offer a few that are out of place, like Buddy Holly. Holly didn’t form his band and become famous until later in the 1950s.

Despite these anachronisms, the game does do a good job of visually replicating the middle part of the last century.

Besides the side missions collecting Playboy Magazines, the player can also gather wanted posters and pinups.

There has been criticism of the portrayal of Italians as mobsters in Mafia II but, to be fair, no ethnic group comes off particularly well in the game, as criminals are represented by blacks, Irish and Puerto Ricans as well. Nobody, except maybe Vito’s sister and mother, are without sin.

Even some of the songs, accurate for the time period, these days would be seen as, at minimum, inappropriate.

Mafia II is solid, presenting a compelling storyline and memorable characters. It is a quality video game.

Platform: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 Rating: Mature Manufacturer: 2K Games Score: 8 badabing chilies