Mafia 2

By Jay Williams

The latest in the award-winning series, Mafia II is set in the '40s and '50s. The suits! The cars! The music! The city! All these things come together perfectly, setting the scene for some Hollywood-styled action.

The story follows a young poor immigrant Vito, who is caught up in a life of crime and poverty.

After being caught for some wrong doings Vito is drafted into the army where he struggles to come to grips with his army life, until he is shot and sent home back to America where he bumps into his old childhood friend Joe who makes him an offer he can't refuse so he doesn't have to go back to the army.

So it isn't long until you give up the 9-5 job in favor of the usual mob jobs, robbery, running packages and stealing cars until you climb the ladder and start getting into more risky business such as drugs and murder.

But the life of a wise guy isn't quite as glamorous as it seems.

The game is set in an open world, but it's a linear story - there's no side missions as such, you just follow the main plot, this is ok for the most part because the story is so engrossing.

But, I feel that the open city is underutilized, the developers have done a wonderful job in bring detail and life to the city, but they don't give you a reason to explore it.

However, the twisting narrative will most certainly draw you in, and superb dialogue spoken by a talented group of voice actors bring the characters they portray to life.

The majority of in game missions take the form of shoot-outs, where you (Vito) and often Joe or other mob guys move from cover to cover while you pick off other angry wise guys.

Overall the mechanics work rather well, with a solid cover system that enables players to easily do things like move around corners while remaining in cover, as well as allowing enemies to die believable deaths.

But, then again, so do you - get too close to a wise guy and you'll probably cop a headshot... and thats never fun.

This does affect the way you play missions.

The game has an auto lock-on system so that when you pop up from cover Vito will automatically target the closest enemy, but, you have to be really accurate with your stick movements.

Once you get use to the system you'll be popping headshots like there's no tomorrow.

Game play feels very polished and solid, but it's not exactly ground breaking, luckily the story is good.

As you'd expect from any good Mafia drama there are also a few vehicle-based missions, such as racing against the clock to sell gasoline stamps to as many petrol stations as possible before they expire. But, be warned, there are cops crawling around everywhere - hit a pedestrian or go over the speed limit and you're sure to have the fuzz all over your tail.

This is where garages come into play, you can change the colour of your ride, switch the plates and make other modifications. There are other ways of losing the heat, one way that is fairly easy is by simply changing your clothes.

In-game currency isn't really an issue because there isn't much to spend it on, plus the main story strips you of your cash - so stealing cars and taking them to be compacted for cash is really just a waste of time.

Visually, Empire City is believable and the change from the '40s to the early '50s is immediately noticeable, from fashion to cars and music, the whole experience was nicely done.

The in-game cutscenes are beautifully crafted and well polished in terms of presentation - but, most importantly, they are a joy to watch.

Overall, 2K Czech have done a great job with the presentation and ability to tell a story, but they could have made better use of it's open world platform and pushed the limits in terms of game-play.

Instead gamers are offered a familiar third person shooter that plays well, but doesn't really push any limits.

All in all, Mafia II is a valid attempt and well worth a look for anyone seeking an authentic-feeling mob drama.

Game: Mafia 2
System: Xbox 360
Developer: 2K Czech
Publisher: 2Kgames

Rating: 85%

(Ratings Key/Explanation)