Vito Scarletta and his best friend Joe are out to make a name for themselves in 1940’s Empire City. Both grew up poor, witnessing the destitution of the Great Depression and the riches of the made men in there midsts. After Vito returns from WW2, he finds himself getting involved with a local mob head only to be sent to prison. After a shortened sentence him and Joe are back at with a new family, new opportunities and a bright future. But at what cost?
I have a weird relationship with this series that I mostly love. 2 is actually the final game of the trilogy I played, the 3rd and least loved game being my first foray into the series, then the 1st, and now 2, which many have told me is the series’s peak. In many ways, I can see why.
The game, like the other two, is great at making you feel like you’re in the time period from the clothes, to the cars, to the guns. I will warn you, there are some raunchy scenes and a fair bit of racism involved, understandable given the time period. I loved Vito’s story and I was invested in the other characters. The driving feels solid and I do appreciate being able to tune up and customize your cars as well as save them in your garages. The gunplay is solid and challenging at points, sometimes too challenging. Sometimes I’ve died out of nowhere and the checkpoints can be unmerciful as the later, more intense missions come out. The fighting damn right annoyed the hell out of me and I tried avoiding it whenever possible. The police can be a major pain in the ass, either forgetting you exist instantly or clinging to you like herpes over the dumbest crap- I had to outrun them once for 15 minutes straight just because I checked my guns on the sidewalk. In the end, Mafia 2 is a damn good game despite some annoyances and some harmless bugs but well worth checking out. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Savior Gaming 