The Mafia has long been the target of much interest. Films, books and video games often attempt to capture the essence of this brutal and extremely romanticised organised crime syndicate. Each of us will have some idea as to what we imagine the Mafia to be like, our impressions drawn from the glamorised images we see through the media.
It’s been a long wait for the sequel to the award-winning game, Mafia. Mafia II doesn't muck about in this respect, coming in guns blazing to plug gap left by the original and to pander to most of the classic mob stereotypes we’ve come to expect on screens.
Your channel to those stereotypes is Vito Scaletta, a Sicilian who came to Empire Bay as a young boy with his parents when they were looking for a brighter future. Empire Bay itself is a loose allusion to New York. The game is spans nearly a decade, from 1943 through to 1951, and the setting undergoes sweeping change throughout, from a city depressed by the war to the booming ‘50s.
Vito begins a somewhat rags to riches to rags story in his somewhat unsteady rise through the ranks of the syndicate. An ex-soldier, he served in Sicily with the US Military to avoid a jail sentence for petty theft. In time, he aligns himself with Empire Bay’s ruling families, the lowly Clemente, the honourable if outdated Vinci and the powerful Falcone family.
Vito isn't alone in his desire to gain wealth and respect on the streets of Empire Bay, his childhood buddy Joe is similarly fighting to make a name for himself within the Mafia.
The characters are well realised, and fulfil most of the clichés you’ll be familiar with. From peddling cigarettes to running drugs, the characters tell a gripping epic. Vito himself is not one to make rash decisions, but has a strong bond with his own family, something that comes through prominently in the story. Joe, on the other hand, is rash and often lands the pair in trouble hot water with his schemes.
The game’s Dons, Capos and “made men” hang around in small Italian bistros and have made themselves very much at home in Empire Bay. What can get somewhat confusing is the connections between all the various characters, and as you play the string of Italian names begin to merge and you do find yourself scratching your head at times.
There’s a misconception about Mafia II that needs to be cleared up: It has not set out to be a sandbox game. In fact, the world of Empire Bay is more of a vessel for the story than entertainment in its own right. It’s also not excessively large, meaning you won't be endlessly travelling from one end to the other. Instead, the city serves purely as a period stage on which the story plays out over 15 chapters.
This Mafia II has done exceedingly well. Empire Bay bustles. American muscle cars float around, and the sweet sounds of the '40s and '50s blare from car radios and in the local diners. There is no doubt that the city plays a big part in making you feel part of a dramatic saga. The city alternates from winter to summer, also meaning big changes for the way cars handle – it’s a nice touch, adding further emphasis to the setting’s importance in the story.
It also means that Mafia II is a very linear experience, with the large majority of the game fulfilled simply following the story from beginning to end. The city doesn’t lend itself to pointless mayhem. Random acts lawbreaking are quickly punished by a seemingly inexhaustible local police force.
The city is littered with a number of scripted sequences which, when following the story make the city feel more alive, but outside of these they are nonexistent. That said, if you do want to hold up a shop and steal the cash register, you can, but cash becomes largely irrelevant as it serves little real purpose other than allowing you to customise vehicles and buy the odd bit of clothing.
That’s a particular disappointment as a full economy could have extended the amount of time players want to spend in the game. As it stands, it doesn't give the game an excessive lease of life beyond the 15 hours needed to complete the story. That means you'll be done with Mafia II for some time once you've finished your play through.
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