Mafia II: Definitive Edition

Mafia II: A Cinematic Masterpiece in the World of Crime Mafia II takes you on an unforgettable journey into the world of organized crime in the mid-20th century. A powerful story, distinctive characters, and stunning atmosphere make for a unique experience.

The game shines in its cinematic narrative, especially the relationship between Vito and Joe. The dialogue and voice acting enhance the realism of the characters. The city design, clothing, and cars accurately reflect the era.

The gameplay combines shooting and classic car driving. The diverse missions and wonderful soundtrack enhance your immersion in the game world.

Despite some flaws in the open world design, Mafia II remains an excellent experience for fans of crime games.

If you're looking for a powerful story and unforgettable characters, don't miss this game. (8.8/10)

Oh, I was excited getting into it, driving to my first location and taking in the ambience. I liked the cars and the general atmosphere, and I thought I'd like the game as well or more than Mafia I. But then... Several chapters in and I'm realizing, it's nothing but DRIVING. And at very slow speeds (unless you want to get pinched by the cops.) Drive home, sleep, get up, drive to Joe's, talk, drive to the bar, get a mission, drive to the mission, have a little gunplay and cutscenes, drive back to the bar and have a drink, drive Joe home, drive yourself home, go to bed for the next chapter.

It might not be so bad if there were some side missions along the way, but each trip is practically always on the other side of the map and there's no Fast Travel. There are lots of shops along the way but there is no reason to ever visit them unless it's part of the very linear story.

The checkpoints are also too few and far between. You can get through killing the hundred guys and several rooms to get to your goal, then the guy behind the last door whacks you, and you have to restart that section from the beginning.

The glitches are abominable. You can be driving along and suddenly fall through the street and be flying in the air underneath the city. The only option is to restart (and replay that mission up until then, and hope it doesn't happen again). I had one entire conversation where the guy's Fedora hat brim was around his neck. I don't think it was supposed to be a metaphor for "talking through one's hat".

The facial animations and voice acting are pretty good. But the story is inconclusive, at best.

Actually you don't do that - though you do get to sleep but only to move the story forward. So no pun intended. And here begins the ... well you have to cut this quite some slack for it to work. So there are a lot of things that do work - and I was thinking about how to navigate (no pun intended) ... how to balance and how to rate and weigh the positive with the negative stuff.

I'll list a few things and you'll be the judge. The game (which I replayed now in this version and I reckon they tweaked it a bit - especially graphic wise). Let's start with some of the more negative stuff - even with updated graphics ... this feels quite dated. And it has nothing to do with the time(line) it plays. The controls of your character? Quite jerky and not in a good sense. Aiming and driving? Some people may have and take issue with that too.

It's not that it is super bad - it just can be better. Now you always have to take into account from when the game is. I can not compare it to similar Rockstar Games (as in GTA and all that) - I don't remember when they came out and how they used the data they were able to use (if you never experienced it: games were put on discs - limited space/data drive).

The radar is helpful, the statistic help (especially if you are after trophies and/or achievements) ... but both have their shortcomings too. You can't see enemies on the radar - except "final" bosses/targets. You are also unable to see the exact collectibles you have gotten. For that you have to leave the game and go into the menu. First world problems but still unnecessary to a degree.

Enough for now with the negative ... why would I give it a 9 anyway - yes I rate nicely (wasn't sure if 8 or 9 but here we go) ... but the game has a rock solid story. Based on real events and people (characters) ... at least one you may remember from Goodfellas ... and if you don't remember him .... you'll be reminded at some point about him.

The dialog is great and while there is not much to do other than the missions (no playing dart, golf or whatever), that should be enough to keep you going and interested. Not to mention the almost 200 wanted poster - over 30 more than the original game had ... good luck finding all of them. Playboy Magazines can be found too - discretion advised ... there is nudity on some of them (animated). That may bother or excite you - up to you.

You have quite a lot of weapons to choose from (Mafia 3 seems to only have two main weapons - but I only just started that, more on that when I am through with it), the driving can be tedious but also a lot of fun. The script for the game is more than tight and really cool. If you are ok with violence of course being displayed. Not for the sensitive ones - but with a title like this ... I mean you didn't expect flowers and rainbows and all that? I hope you didn't.

The stories are different from each other - and while you seem to lose a lot of things (money being amongst them - so doesn't make much sense hoarding it), you will be able to gain a lot too.

And now lastly .. the soundtrack! I mean it is amazing to say the least ... many classics of the time period ... That's amore to name just one - everyone or most will know this for sure. One song I didn't know or had heard before I played the game (the first time over a decade ago) really left an impression on and for me! It's called Book of love by the Monotones! If you have not heard it yet ... well check it out. I can't promise you will like it - I mean love it as much as I do ... one of the reasons maybe I went for the higher rating(?) ... enjoy this while I am getting on with the "sequel" (apparently not just in name, but more when I am through with it)

"Mafia II" is a story driven narrative and third person shooter about Vito Scaletta (Rick Pasqualone), a man that desires money, women and the good life.

Willing to be part of the Mafia in Empire Bay, he will go to the ends of the earth in order to achieve his goals, wishes and protect the people that he loves. Along with his best buddy, Joe Barbaro (Robert Costanzo), they'll face hurdles but will also laugh, drink booze and of course, kill people that stand in their way.

A perfect and truly enjoyable game that never gets old no matter how many times one has already played it, "Mafia II" deserves to be enjoyed by every gamer who is willing to invest in a game that is 100% worth it.

The game, now after 14 whole years after its release, doesn't disappoint in the slightest. Packed with lovely graphics, a very enjoyable and thrilling story that has it's ups and lows for its characters, that sees them depend and fight for one another.

The protagonist's voice actor's voices and performances have been cemented in almost every player's head. The voice actor for Joe is essentially an iconic character that has won the hearts of the Mafia player base. Both characters have made Pop Culture icon status and with good reason. They're interesting, hilariously funny and with good heart characters that care for each other.

The simple but elegant graphics and the beautifully depicted as well as designed Empire Bay, make the viewer feel like they could be inside it as well. The tangible Empire bay is full of secrets, interesting landmarks and filled with an open world ready to be explored and dissected.

The definitive edition is just a slight improvement, mostly on the game's crashing issues, which are essentially gone. There are some graphical improvements but the definitive and classic version are essentially the same.

The story ends with a cliffhanger that is taken straight to Mafia III, the sequel to Mafia II (in an albeit small part of it). The ending is still talked about among the fanbase, that still causes intrigue, mystery and big questions.

A perfect game that should be the blueprint of future games, "Mafia II" is a game for the ages. As time moves on, so will the game be eternally considered the best Mafia game in the Mafia franchise and be forever more cherished by the current and future generations to come.

Mafia II has one of my favourite stories out there I'll be honest some may find it boring but enough of that the story is a check for the game but the graphics are severely underwhelming compared to the Definitive Edition of the original Mafia also lags for no reason at times when performing in game tasks that are barely graphic intensive another thing about bugs is at the start of one of the missions where you meet in Lincoln Park if Vito is wearing a Suit with a fedora like I was it glitches into his face I don't know if this is just a problem with ps4 and it's better on other platforms but yeah it's good but I'm disappointed in the actual improvement of the graphics.