Mafia 2

[Siji]

Disclaimer - I never played the first Mafia game on PC or XBOX/PS2 so I have no reference to that.

Now that I'm done with this game I have to say this was much better than I expected it to be. The demo was ok but it didn't get into the story enough to show what makes this game really good for me. For me playing games is like an interactive movie. I like a good story I can interact with and enjoy taking part in. I'm not a 100% achievement player. My life doesn't allow such time and I'm fortunate if I can even finish a game.

With that in mind Mafia 2 fits right in with my play style and preferences. It's got a good story, the graphics are good, controls are good and the game play is enjoyable. It's not too short and not too long; I finished in 13.5 hrs but didn't really do too much outside of the story line - and I think I missed a couple possible side quests. If you have no interest in Godfather or Goodfellas type stories, then this is definitely not the game for you. If you do enjoy that sort of story I believe you'd like this game. The dialog between characters is often funny and stories told throughout the game are believable. The melee fighting is well done and gun fights are well balanced. The surrounding world is believable and well designed to put you into the time frame where the story takes place. You can't help but laugh at many of the comments made on the radio by the DJs about things that are 'modern' and new for the 40's.

I guess you could compare it to GTA games in a way in that you can go where you want but missions aren't scattered about to take part in. For the most part you start your day with a phone call or visit that begins the day's events. Once those events are over you're free to go roam around entertaining yourself or head back to your bed to sleep thus ending that day. There are 15 chapters total in the game and none of them made me feel like I was waiting around for it to be over or I was doing some mundane crap like visiting 50 spots to pick some random thing up.

If I had to complain about anything it would be the lack of game saves. Granted the autosaves aren't spread so far that you want to scream if you die or have to quit, but with as often as I get interrupted with kids I still like being able to save wherever I want.

If you like story driven games and enjoy mobster topics I highly recommend this game as a rental. If it comes down to $40 or less I would even recommend it as a buy if you don't have any of the other big games on your radar. Since there's no multiplayer and there aren't a bunch of side missions to do or different characters you can play through the game as, the replay potential is completely based on how much you enjoy the story. At the least this is a decent game to get you to the next 'big' release. It's not and doesn't try to be more than it is. It's a fun medium length story driven game. Nothing more, nothing less. Yoos got a problem wit dat?

3.5 out of 5

[miir]

I'm only about halfway through, I'm enjoying it lot.
I like the characters, I like the story.


I agree with you 100%.

Everything just works like it should... the driving, the melee fights, gunfights, character interaction.
No struggling with controls or camera... no frustration.
Like you, my only complaint is that you cant save 'anywhere'.

[Siji]

I really liked how nothing was far fetched. Everything that happened seemed realistic and plausible. I was a horrible driver so cars didn't last me that long, which was somewhat disappointing.. It kind of defeated the purpose of collecting the nice cars and tuning them up at the garages. I was just going to destroy the thing anyway.. That and I just really sucked at identifying one model from another.

[Fairweather Pure]

This has gotten some pretty good hype behind it. I admit that I'm curious, so I can easily wait for a sale on this one.

Nice mini review!