Much ado about nothing.
Graphics: 10 (beautifully crafted with a tiny bit of clipping issues)
Sounds: 9
Value: 6 (too expensive for what it does however I got the limited edition so the score increases by one)
Tilt: 6 (Empire Bay really feels like a living / breathing city and that's about it)
I guess once in a while we all have a dream of getting rich quickly. The main protagonist Vito Scaletta is certainly one of them. Interested in the three 'Bs' of being booze, broads and brawl he joined the 'mafia family' after a stint in the army via his long time friend Joe Barbaro. Also Vito didn't want to follow in his father's footsteps working his nails off for pittance (and you actually get to play this out too), the story of Mafia II or better still, the highlights of Vito Scaletta spans throughout the 40s and 50s in the city for which his family immigrated to, that is Empire Bay.
Mafia II can be regarded as a sandbox game. As Vito explores the city, the entire metropolis is open for your disposal as there are very limited areas that Vito cannot explore. This is certainly one of the game's strongest points as the developers 2K Czech has done a marvellous job of making a virtual city come to life. You'll see for example people going about like minding their own business, window shopping sitting on park benches admiring the city views or making phone calls in one of the many telephone booths. Accompanied by the three very distinctive radio stations (with commentary like 'using a mobile phone'), drivers obeying traffic laws (with beeping horns galore) and many more, the city is very much alive and immersive. Also when Vito leaves the dreaded 40s accompanied by the coldest winter on record to enter the rebellious yet lively 50s you can really feel the change in the air.
Like a two edged sword, there's nothing much to do once going beyond your required task. I guess you can rob a store or two or run over people to cause a little havoc however there's no much adventuring going on beyond your task. For those achievement lovers you can collect 'wanted' posters as they are 'hidden' throughout the city, drive as many different vehicles you can, speed to 125mph and so forth, these actions have absolutely no effect on the main story. As a little bonus the developers could of added hunting down these 'wanted' criminals however (and certainly my personal favourite) collecting all 50 playboy magazines is a great 'side mission'. And I tell you some are quite hard to find.
Considering the game was released for the PC, PS3 and Xbox simultaneously normally the controls for the PC version are nothing more than a complete mess. Yet in this game the controls for firing, driving etc are actually good. Too good as a matter of fact as you really cannot die, miss, oversteer or anything else. This is certainly the downside of this game as playing an immortal character is not my idea of a challenge. Vito has no problems locating cover even if he's in the middle of a park or heals himself at an astounding rate just by standing (or behind cover). And if you decided to brawl, just hit the space bar to block until an opening then left or right click to hit.
Yet the game tries to break things up like getting chased by cops however there's no real need (except for one mission) to outrun them as considering your magnificent healing abilities and your immortal friend Joe (for which he literally cannot die) you can just gunned them down. Additionally there are times where stealth is required however again you can go gun-ho if you wish. Seriously it's that simple it hurts. So simple I need to crank the difficulty to the hardest level with simulation mode for driving. Only then I regarded this as easy/medium.
Luckily the game is not all brawns as there are times where you are required to drive from one location to the next or even control your character to pick up cigarettes from a carton. However this is where the game confuses itself as there are times instead of picking up a phone to answer, a cut scene will do this for you. Or you control your character to walk into the bar and other times a cut scene will present it. It's a shame the entire action / cut scene interplays with each other causing confusion. Improvements like dictating your conversations with selected sets of responses will be a much preferred option or simply play out the scene altogether (like Half Life for example). Again like a two edged sword, the cut scenes are nothing short of bloody marvellous; cinema-like quality actually.
Hitting the right musical scores will certainly add immersion to any game as if the scores done correctly it can easily set the intended mood. Thankfully composers Matus Siroky and Adam Kuruc are both supreme pianist players; both playing at an early age and add the Prague FILMharmonic Orchestra to this equation you'll get high-quality music. So good you can listen to it as a standalone product (if you are into classical music). The voice acting also is quite good however a little too stereotypical for my liking. Vito sounds a little too weak in some points (like the good guy trying to be bad), his sidekick Joe sounds a little comical (but thankfully not overdone) and the mafia bosses, especially the head of the family is a derivative from the movie The Godfather. There's nothing wrong with that however I was hoping just a little more creatively but nevertheless the voice acting is well done overall.
The missions are linear yet fits well considering the world is a sandbox. It actually makes sense in one way as the world doesn't have to change because you are there. Yet on the other hand we are, after all playing a game therefore wandering off the 'main path' looking for a bit of action sadly produces little effect. That said once completed the game there is no real reason for you to replay it again. This is a sorry state of affairs as Empire Bay is a wonderful creation with every little bit detailed to represent a real city. Heck even the billboards are flawlessly accurate for the 40s and 50s and even after the game made me interested reading more about this period. Sadly though there's no much to do after the game ends. Yet 2K Games could release some kind of 'mini adventures' that surely will make people come back for more mayhem otherwise Empire Bay will become a forgotten city. But that involves forking out more money.
So there you have it. Vito having a knack for locating cover no matter where he is with an uncanny ability to self heal; his side kick Joe with immortal abilities meaning he cannot die, no matter how much bullet wounds he received; cut scenes that dictate the main course of action; a city that's immune to your havoc which means there is only just one thing left for you to do as a player…much ado about nothing. And that's a bad thing if left in isolation.