Mafia 2 Review

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With Mafia 2, developer 2K Czech has created a game with the atmosphere of Goodfellas and characters that are fun to spend time with, but somewhere in development the studio forgot that gamers generally want to do things they can't do in real life. For a lot of game's 10-12 hours lead character Vito does, for want of a better term, odd-jobs - and not the kind that require guns. He acts as a taxi driver, a warehouse worker, a sales assistant, a money collector and more, but in a game about the mafia, most of us want to be doing the exciting stuff. The rise of Vito is handled well in terms of believability, but as a game Mafia 2 lacks spark.

Vito starts his epic story fighting in WWII before returning home to his mother and sister in Empire Bay - a fictional city based on both New York and San Francisco. Before being packed off as a solder, Vito got into trouble with his good buddy Joe, and the pair hook up on his return. Joe gives Vito a place to stay and a way to make a living without working a 9-5 job. It's not a regular office role and it's not legal, but Vito wants to make something of himself to help out his struggling family, hard up after the death of his father.

After falling in with the wrong crowd, Vito is given a string of quite menial jobs, initially for small cash but slowly for more sizable wads. You'll be told to steal cars, sell ration stamps, beat people up and generally drive around… a lot. While you probably expect a game set in a large city to feature driving, in Mafia 2 it feels like you do it all the time. That wouldn't be a bad thing if the missions you drove to were always thrilling, but actual gunplay is disappointingly rare. On top of that, the cops in Empire Bay are a little too good at spotting driving offences, so you'll spend much of your time on the road having to evade pursuing cop cars.

As slow and tedious as the early part of the game is, there's no denying 2K Czech has created a superb-looking title. The city has been expertly designed, packed full with detail, while the characters are all of a good enough quality to convey emotion through actions as well as words. The virtual performances aren't quite up to par with Rockstar's recent efforts, but the cast of criminals do an admirable job - even if they might play up to the stereotypes of mafia life a little too much. Prepare yourself for strong language too, as these guys don't mince their words.

When you do get to play with guns the action is solid, but not exactly up there with the best third-person shooters. Aiming doesn't feel as smooth as it could do and the snap-to-cover system feels a tad basic - there's no vaulting over cover objects, for example. It's also a shame that the AI of your enemies is rather all over the place. At times they'll take part in fire-fights, taking cover when necessary, while at other points you'll see them dash into each other and generally run around like headless chickens.