Many fans of the first Mafia were anticipating its sequel with a genuine excitement until it finally released in 2010. However, an extra year of development would have benefited it for sure and thanks to that, it might have surpassed the first entry. Because of the rows in the studio with the publishers, who wanted to release the game ASAP, a lot of content like side missions, some locations, melee weapons and other details got cut.

Nevertheless, let’s not whine about the past that cannot be changed and instead, let’s talk about what the game actually turned out to be. Although I find the first Mafia to be the best entry in the series, its sequel doesn’t lack too far behind.

What it is about

First and foremost, I think the story of this game is truly Oscar-worthy. This time, it’s told on a much more personal level and I actually like the characters better. Taking place in the 40’s and early 50’s, it’s about a young man called Vito Scalleta from Sicily who as a child emigrated with his parents and older sister Francesca in order to seek a better life in the land of opportunity (meaning the USA). More precisely in the city of Empire Bay, a faithful representation of a 40’s megapolis like New York. After his family arrived, Vito’s dad found a hard job where he didn’t earn much and the little he earned, he usually used to spend on booze.

Vito found himself a new best friend, Joe Barbaro, who he starts to rob stores and commit other small crimes with to get some extra money. Joe is easily my favorite character in the entire series. He cracks a funny joke every so often (for example when he tells Vito about some witty pick-up lines he can use on girls, which establishes him nicely), he can be kind of a douchebag sometimes but there is no doubt he has a big heart. He simply excels at bringing some humor to the dark and cruel world of Mafia. One evening, their robbery of a jewelry store went wrong and Vito was captured by police. He’s given a choice to go and fight in Italy because it was the war and the US needed soldiers who can speak Italian to send them there, and he took it.

As it is the case with many soldiers fighting in the war, Vito was wounded and sent back to Empire Bay to his mother and sister for a couple of weeks. He also rejoins with his old pal Joe who ensures, thanks to his connections, that he won’t have to go back to war anymore. He also gets introduced to some of the connections and does a couple of risky jobs for them in exchange for fast and big cash, despite his mother wanting him to find an honest job, one of them being Henry Thomasino, a young mafia member working for a family lead by Clemente who are rivaling against Vinci and Falcone. This dangerous lifestyle enables Vito to become rich easily and pay off his father’s debts, but it also gets him into a lot of trouble, even in jail. You will witness both his happiest and grimmest moments.

I won’t spoil anything else from this highly intriguing story than is necessary, but nevertheless, I must address one thing concerning the narrative. Although it is highly enjoyable to follow Vito’s most important moments of his exciting life, the ending may leave you feeling empty as it seems like the game cuts off halfway through and rolls the credits despite being fairly long.

How the damn game actually plays

At its core, the gameplay remained the same as its predecessor with a couple of tweaks, improvement but also removing some features. Among the things that stayed the same is that most of the time game revolves around driving around the town or shooting bad guys. These mechanics have been significantly improved. Driving feels much more realistic and you are now able to customize and tune your vehicle to a pretty much high extent. The combat has been tweaked by adding the cover system, which contributes to the shootouts being much more enjoyable, and there are better fistfights that are not just about mashing one button anymore.

The story missions are again very varied and some of them even give you more options to accomplish them (by using stealth instead of going guns-blazing, for example). Empire Bay, the city where the majority of the game takes place, has two looks: the first is covered in snow and the other at the end of summer, both of which have their charm. This time, there are numerous shops where you can buy clothes, guns, ammo, something to drink or eat, pimp your ride or get your shoes cleaned. But other than that, there isn’t much to do. This especially stands out in the 3 DLC add-ons where you are given the option to go around the city freely after finishing them.

The DLC add-ons include Joe’s Adventures, focusing on Joe during the time Vito was at the wrong side of the bars, Jimmy’s Betrayal and Jimmy’s Vendetta (these two are about some bald guy). In the DLC, you mostly complete side quests GTA-style with an occasional break in form of a story mission with cut scenes. Anyway, as long as you have the objectives, the atmosphere does a really good job at sucking you in and you’ll feel like a time-travelling tourist in the era when our grandparents grew up. Simply put, the city’s function isn’t for the players to mess around in, it is just the game’s means to tell the story.

Also, this review couldn’t go without mentioning Mafia 2’s unique collectibles. There are the wanted posters of its developers scattered around the city, but the most interesting ones for most of you are probably the Playboy magazines you can find lying around the missions. It’s a real shame there are just pictures of girls that often don’t even have clothes on them because the articles are the real reason why people buy those, aren’t they? #nosarcasm

The artsy stuff

The icing on the cake are again the impressive production values. I was absolutely blown away by the visuals as a twelve-year-old kid because those were the best-looking graphics I’d seen up until that point and they still don’t look half bad today accompanied by high-quality sound effects.

The performances of the in-game characters are spot on, dialogues are written brilliantly, always ensuring the right amount and balance of seriousness and comic relief.

One thing I must point out as a Czech citizen is the inclusion of Czech voice acting, which is not usual for games that are not aimed for kids. The characters are once again voiced by one of the top actors available. (And the English dubbing isn’t all that bad either.)

A real treat for all you music fetishist is the perfectly suiting original score and the nostalgia-evoking licensed soundtrack full of timeless classics from the period on three radio stations that make driving around a delight.

Should you play it? (I think you already know the answer)

At the end of the day, Mafia 2 is a title that is an essential for every fan of Mafia and gamers who like single player games with amazing narrative and production values. For others, it’s highly recommended.