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| Mafia 2 (2K Games) |
Still being within the 'no mans land' of gaming where all the big titles are still lingering on the horizon, I by chance gave the Mafia 2 demo a go and wouldn't you know it, I was intrigued enough to buy it! And this is what I thought...
Story
Set from 1943 to 1951, A refugee by the name of Vito Scaletta immigrates from Sicily with his family to Empire Bay (the name is a reference to New York's state nickname "The Empire State" and San Francisco's "City by the Bay".) But life is not a luxery and to get by immagrants had to do what they could to survive for money. Even if that means embarking on a life of crime. Vito joins his close friend Joe Barbaro to rob a jewellery store. During the robbery they get caught and Vito is faced with either Prison or the Army. He enlists in the army and takes part in Operation Husky, the freeing of the Sicilian people in 1945 with the help of Don Calo, the resident Mafia boss. This is where you first take control of Vito. During the mission Vito gets injured and sent home to Empire Bay.
From here on Vito will come across many jobs and choices in this rags to riches story. I don't wanna spoil the whole thing. You'll just have to play it.
Design
Mafia 2 is a sand box action game. Similar to games like Grand Theft Auto and Saints Row. One of the first things I noticed was even the smallest detail was a great one. A lot of detail has gone into this game. The way snow settles on cars and when they move gradually blows away like a powder. When you brake to slow down the brakes squeak. People calling out trying to sell newspapers. Even the way a cat leaps onto a window ledge just seemed very realistically done.
Like GTA and Saints Row, the things you do in Mafia have consequences aka the Police. The original reasons for them coming after you remain the same such as crashing into them, running over pedestrians, shooting pedestrians and stealing cars. But in Mafia, 2K added some new rules that give it more realism such as speeding and even hitting other pedestrians' cars. But as with other games like Mafia the Police have to catch you in the act. And even when they do you have the choice to get away on foot or on wheels. But even when you outrun them (if you outrun them) you'll be 'Wanted' and by driving past Police in the same car or your same outfit you will spark another chase.
The cars in Mafia are obviously very retro. But don't let that put you off driving. They handle very well (I'd say better than the cars in GTA4) and you can customize them to go faster or look more stylish. This can be done in the various garages dotted around Empire Bay. In these garages you can change the colour, wheels, paint design and registration plates. You can also repair any damages to your car. Upon doing this you can lose your 'Wanted' status. But really all you have to do is change the registration plate if you're in a hurry or you're just low on cash. You can also upgrade the tuning of the car to Sport and Supercharged. If your car is already a fast one then once you supercharge it you can reach speeds of up tp 250mph. But even with a high speed car (that kills you on impact) the Police can still catch you by uping the wanted level from 1 star (for arresitng) to 3 stars (shoot to kill with pistols) to 4 stars (machine guns with your name on it). In which case your driving skills best be top notch as they are pretty good at aiming. Although if you have enough money, when arrested on a 1 star you can choose to bribe the officer and lose your 'Wanted' level.
Other design details include the weather. In the snow cars take a little longer to get going once you start them up. It's also very slippery and if you're not careful you will lose control of the vehicle. The sunshine is kinda the default setting where cars run fine and there aren't any big differences. It also consists of rain and like snow the roads are again slippery although the snow only appears at the beginning and the rain at the end.
Gameplay
Unlike the GTA series, Mafia 2 has a set storyline that is done in chapters. Every chapter has a set goal and target destination. Where as in say GTA you have different job oppertunities for different people scattered around the map and can be done in any order you wish. This isn't the case for Mafia 2. However if you buy the PS3 downloadable content 'The Betrayel of Jimmy' then it has the GTA and Saints Row job choice feature.
The missions consist of shooting, driving and even hand to hand combat. They're good fun to play and all together there's about 10 hours of gameplay with 2 hours worth of cut scenes. Which is not a lot of gameplay. I suggest going through on Hard mode for a more challenging experience. Even on Normal the missions can be a bit of a struggle. The use of taking cover and shooting round corners is a good touch. The use of hand to hand is rare and when up against 5 gangsters with Tommy Guns is pointless. But the control system for it is easy to get the hang of including counter attacks and brutal finishers after you've warn them down.
For a fairly large map there's not much to do in Empire Bay besides the story. You can rob stores and drive round looking at the scenery but there's really nothing else to do. There are several collectables scattered about including Wanted Posters (159 to be exact) and Playboy Magazines (50). Of course there is the classic thrill of taking on the Police and seeing how long you can survive. That and the length of the story are the two points of disappointment for me. With 15 Chapters at the most half hour long each, the Hard mode play through idea seems the best choice. I surprisingly like the idea of the car having fuel and when nearing empty having to stop and refill. Although there have been confirmation of DLC such as Jimmy's Vendetta (and hopefully more in the future), it's not yet available so I have no comment on it.
Presentation
Graphically Mafia 2 is top notch. Cars look authentic and when you have an impact into another or lampost the car's damage looks different to other games. The bonnet crumples and the paint chips away. The cut scenes are entertaining with a lot of comedy and X rated language and the voice actors play their parts very well. Realistic sound effects like the sound of cars smashing into things sounds different from other games. The metal sounds heavier like the older cars and stealing them gives you two options. 1. Smash the window. 2. Pick the lock. Although it seems at least 7 times out of 10 the Police conveniently show up out of nowhere. One thing that I personally loved about this game is the music. Starting the game in the 40's the songs are very much like the songs from 2K's other game franchise 'Bioshock'. But what impressed me a great deal was after a certain chapter, a certain amount of time passes and you hit the 50's featuring great hits such a Little Richard - Long Tall Sally and Let it Snow by Dean Martin was a great tune to hear in the snow (Although 'Let it Snow' is only heard in the 40's unfortunately). Being chased by the Police with Little Richard's 'Keep A Knockin' is a personal favourite of mine too.
By collecting Wanted Posters and Playboy magazines you unlock art work at the main menu. You can also replay chapters on the difficulty of your choice. But when finally finishing the game, free roaming is not available unfortunately. So if you wish to find these hidden collectables it's got to be done during a chapter before a big part of a mission starts.
Unfortunately Mafia 2 doesn't include a multiplayer mode. Some games need it and some don't. In my view games like Uncharted do not need multiplayer but with something like Mafia 2 it'd be a great feature to play with your mates online in a free roam mode taking on the law together.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed Mafia 2 and recommend it to anyone who liked Grand Theft Auto or other sand box games. I also feel that the next GTA has a lot of competition on their hands. This game has great potential to make my top 10 games of 2010 which I will upload January 1st. I give it 8.5/10.
