5/5 ★ – RawMetal's review of Mafia II.

System: PlayStation 3 Started: November 26, 2016 Ended: January 9, 2017 Flashback Review After I returned a borrowed copy of Doom (2016) to a friend, another friend of mine, who trusts me with borrowing games after that, encouraged me to play one of his games from his gaming shelf. This was a moment when a group of my friends was exchanging games, and I even let them borrow some of mine. The game my friend insisted on was Mafia II for the PlayStation 3, which is one of his favorites. Among the crime games I’ve seen that are popular, most revolve around Grand Theft Auto, but there are others that gamers rarely talk about: Scarface: The World is Yours and The Godfather video game. I faintly remember seeing Mafia on store shelves but ignoring it at the time. However, it’s now regarded as an underrated franchise in the crime game genre. I remember going to PAX 2010 and seeing the Mafia II booth, though I never stood in line to play it. Now after playing through it during the holidays, I regret not going to that booth at PAX and I can say that Mafia II is a great game, especially for its story, and I can understand why my friend loved it. I haven’t played the first game, but fans say that Mafia II improves on the gameplay and graphics of its time. The story in this game is probably my favorite crime story in a video game. Players follow Vito Scaletta and his criminal lifestyle after immigrating from Italy as a kid, now working with the Mafia. He and his friend Joe Barboro are the most interesting characters in the story, and I really like the setting of the game. Unlike Grand Theft Auto, which always takes place in the modern era or even in the 80s, 90s, and 60s, Mafia II is set in the late 1940s to early 1950s, with actual licensed music by Chuck Berry, The Drifters, and Nat King Cole. It’s also one of the best collectible games, allowing you to find Playboy magazines, wanted posters, and swanky cars. The story missions are intense, often ending in shootouts or car chases, and players are encouraged to keep the story going by completing these missions. Not only can you break into cars and shoot people with Tommy guns, but Mafia II also features other gameplay mechanics that are surprisingly well-designed. The driving mechanics are particularly detailed, with a speed limit system that, depending on the city, can trigger police chases if you go over it. You can even set your car to auto-drive so you won’t accidentally speed, which actually works—something I haven't seen in other games. The combat looks great with simple button controls, and you use this a lot during story sequences like prison fights and interrogations. Additionally, there is a stealth mechanic, allowing you to perform stealth takedowns and hide bodies when robbing a bank at night. My only criticism of this game is the lack of open-world gameplay. While there are activities such as robberies and odd jobs like taking cars to the junkyard for extra money, that’s about it. Compared to Rockstar’s open-world sandbox games like Grand Theft Auto IV and V or Red Dead Redemption II, where you can do almost anything outside of the story missions, Mafia II is primarily a story-driven experience. The developers focused on delivering a better cinematic story rather than an expansive open world. Mafia II is a great alternative for players interested in crime games after experiencing Grand Theft Auto, especially if you want to explore a historical period from the 1940s to 1950s. If you’re a fan of Italian crime movies like The Godfather and want a great story, Mafia II is your immediate go-to. There’s even a Definitive Edition, or you can play the remake, which features upgraded graphics. This is a perfect time to play it before Mafia: The Old Country is released.