Review: Mafia II - Cleaning urinals gangsta style

Mike Bantick
Monday, 20 September 2010 11:31

Entertainment

If you like your sandbox games with a little bit more direction.  If you are drawn to a more historical approach to your gaming storytelling and are sick of driving supercars around suburban streets, then Mafia II could be your next game.  All the above and plenty of guns, broads, cussing and a smattering of tedium along the way.

Try as you might it is impossible not to compare Mafia II with Grand Theft Auto IV.  On paper the games are miles apart, but once you hit the streets, it is another story.  So, starting with the bottom line, the short-hand review is that if you liked the mechanics of GTA IV, you will be well on the way to liking Mafia II.

Mafia II
	Developer	2K Gamess
	Publisher	2K Games
	Rating	MA 15+
PC, PS3, Reviewed on Xbox 360

Mafia II on the surface has that GTA IV clone feel.  There are undeniably synergies with RockStar Game's opus; the crime based theme, the open urban (pseudo New York) sandbox style playfield and the heavy reliance on driving.

The long-hand version however, is that Mafia II differs in fundamental ways, enough to carve out its own place in history.

The Mafia II experience is a much more directed and led process.  Playing the part of the son of poor immigrants to the U.S, your role as the suave good-looking Vito Scaletti will grow as the game progresses.  The game begins as a WW II shooter, showing Vito, and the player, the ropes of in-game control.  There is plenty of gunplay to come, and understanding everything from weapon choice, to stealth kills and the well rounded cover system will be important.

After this brief intro-tutorial, the action turns to Empire City - basically a 1940's New York where Vito finds his welcoming family deep in debt to a local loan shark.  In order to pay-back the money owed he turns to Uncle Joe who is making sweet moohlah .  So starts your career in the Mafioso.

Warning to the culturally sensitive here, the Mafia II story digs up lots of racial (but quite probably accurate for the time) stereotypes and insensitivities over its course.  Plenty of Italian, Irish, Jewish, Negro and Asian racism rears its ugly head during the cut-scenes, all liberally sprinkled with profanity.

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