Organized crime is often romanticized just like pirates and cowboys. Not only does Mafia work make for compelling gameplay moments in video game, but the stories that are woven with honor among thieves, sense of family belonging, a chance at a glitzy life and the looming shadow of brutality make for compelling narratives. This is most likely the same essence 2K Czech was trying to capture with the release of Mafia II. Most of the emphasis in Mafia II is placed on the story and setting, to the detriment of the overall gameplay.
Mafia II puts players in the role of Vito Scaletta. Born in Italy, brought to America, he always had a knack for running into trouble. He was picked up by the police after a smash and grab went wrong and enlisted into World War II. After returning from war after getting shot, he falls into the criminal underworld as a means of paying off his family debt. Over the course of ten years of Vito’s life, players assume control of him as he gets deeper into the seedy underbelly of organized crime and makes a name for himself. However, instead of loving his new life of crime, Vito is more introspective and will have the player agonizing over some of his poor choices.
The only other game to nail a setting like Mafia II is Red Dead Redemption. The city of Empire Bay (obviously a homage to New York City) embodies the home front war efforts of America during WWII. The winter time frame also helps sell the feeling that America is locked in a bitter battle that is on the cusp of being won, like the change from a harsh winter to the restorative spring. Radio commercials will do their best to guilt non-soldiers to cut back on their consumption of precious resources like metals, food and gasoline. The transition between neighborhoods shows the sharp racial divide of the time period with Italians, African Americans, Irish and other groups being unofficially segregated in their own tenement blocks. The types of cars, brands, clothes, weapons and store fronts all bring a player back into a serious, yet simpler, time in American history. It feels as if each item or object in the game was taken through serious consideration to see if it would fit with delicate setting of the 1940s and 1950s.
What 2K Czech understands perfectly is that the mood of the story is aided by two often invisible factors that make a huge difference, setting and sound. Apart from the meticulously detailed city of Empire Bay, the developers play around with weather to convey emotion. After the war is over and the 1950s come roaring in with a renewed hope for the world, the game is set in a sunny atmosphere with candy apple red cars fitted with enormous fins as taillights speeding to their next destination. When Vito starts to take missions, nighttime will fall or clouds will grey out the sky as a way to attempt to blanket the blood about to be spilled for a somber tone to the jobs.
The sounds of Empire City are just as important as the setting. In fact, if it weren’t for the music and voice work, there wouldn’t be a discussion about how believable the world is in Mafia II. There are only three stations to select, but they tell the tale of America in a great period of transition. During the war years, Bing Crosby will croon over the airwaves with his songs to lift the spirits of a nation at war during Christmas time. Once the war ends, the old standards start to give way to the rebellious sounds of Buddy Holly. The voice talent does an amazing job of using the right type of phrases and words to keep up the appearance this story happened sixty years ago. They made the script come alive with proper inflections and pulled from a range of emotion while keeping a tough-guy demeanor.
Mafia II begins to fall apart when the going gets tough and the lead starts dropping. The open world that is a fascinating backdrop to a time period that is hard to nail down is limited by the developers’ own mission design. There is often only one correct answer on how to properly complete an assignment and the instructions can be frustratingly vague. It gives the illusion Mafia II is a “sandbox†style game, when it really is a wonderfully detailed third-person shooter. The gunplay is pretty average with obligatory cover mechanics and a selection of weapons that would make Rambo blush. Missions begin to bleed together with similar goals as the story continues to dominate the overall experience.
If this review seems to focus more on the setting and believable experience at a unique time in American history, that is because that is where the developers choose to spend their time as well. The gameplay moments in Mafia II are forgettable with action that has been seen and done hundreds of times over. What will stick with gamers after the credits role is that Mafia II was an intricately detailed world where the story took top priority and the gameplay was fed leftover cold steak.
