Mafia II is a story-driven action/adventure title set in the New York City inspired "Empire Bay" during the 1940s and 50s. Story-driven is the key term here: while the game is set within a sandbox-esque open world, the story is absolutely central to the game. Don't look for extra side missions or optional fluff - there aren't any. If a historic, story-driven action game is your cup of tea, than Mafia II is sure to please. If you're looking for a new sandbox to play in however, look elsewhere.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, allow me to repeat: Mafia II is not an open world environment. Empire Bay is misleading in that it looks full and promising at first glance, however, it offers little to the adventure-hungry player. In fact, Empire Bay is rather empty once you get to know it. Sure, you can rob stores, sell stolen cars, visit auto body shops, clothing outlets, gun shops and more, but these are more details to enrich the game rather than full-on diversions. Money in Mafia II is useless anyway: outside of vanity items, there isn't much to spend it on. You can scavenger hunt for Playboy pinups and wanted posters in various levels, but that is the extent of the side content in the game.
Alright, so Mafia II is not a sandbox title that offers hours upon hours of in-game freedom. Got it? Good. Now on to the game proper.
The first thing you'll notice about the game is the fantastic attention to detail. The authentic-looking vehicles, the World War II-era propaganda, the period outfits, the licensed oldies music, all of it oozes attention to detail. Even the cinematic approach to cutscenes deserves mention: quite simply, this game looks great.
Most of the gameplay is very good, too. Gunfighting in particular looks good and feels satisfying. Mafia II doesn't try and re-invent the wheel: gunfights revolve around taking cover. In fact, taking cover is crucial, as your protagonist, Vito Scaletta, is as resilient as a kitten and can't take much in the way of gun-fire before kicking the bucket. You'll be taking cover most of the time, advancing through stages by popping out of cover to let off a few rounds and quickly taking cover again. Enemies react to bullet-wounds nicely, and the the fights themselves are thrilling, which results in some enjoyable mobster battles.
The fist-fighting in the game is also fun, if not a bit simplistic. You can use light and heavy swings to dish out damage, and can defend yourself by weaving under attacks. You don't really need to time your dodges, as holding the button down will auto-dodge out of attacks whenever an opponent swings. Weaving allows you to counter-punch, which delivers an over-powered blow that almost always catches enemies by surprise. The only real flaw to melee combat is that once you learn how to counter-punch, melee combat loses all of it's challenge.
Driving is a bit of a let-down, as the game pretty much demands that you drive within the speed limit and not get into any fender-benders - the cops are always around to witness this and put a stop to your joy-riding shenanigans. Sadly, you spend much of the game driving, which drags the fun-factor down a bit.
Finally, the story is great. Yes, the scenarios can be a bit embellished at times, but watching Vito and Joe as they delve into mob life is actually interesting. Some of the missions are a bit boring (yay for escort missions and fetch-quests), and traveling to and fro in between missions is unpleasantly dull, but all in all, the game presents an interesting scenario for players to dive into.
Mafia II is a game dripping with rich detail and fun gameplay, tied together with a great story. Not all of it is golden: melee combat is fun, but lacks polish, and driving is a chore, as are some of the missions. While I think the game should have been presented differently (not utilizing the sandbox format) the game has a good foundation and plenty of aesthetic polish. Mafia II worth looking into.
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