Mafia II Collector's Edition reviews

Despite featuring a beautiful reproduction of a fictionalised post-war New York, Mafia 2 is not an open world game in the mould of GTA4. It has a story to tell, and it does its best to make sure that the player experiences it. The main character is Vito Scaletta, a young Sicilian immigrant who returns to Empire Bay (New York) after serving in Europe, and turns to crime with his best friend, Joe Barbaro. The scene in which Vito returns home is one of the most atmospheric in the game, with Vito trudging through the snowbound streets and triggering half a dozen little vignettes, all to the tune of ‘Let It Snow’. Unfortunately after a strong start, the story fizzles about halfway through as though the developers were in a rush to finish. Vito becomes a cipher whose only articulated goal is the acquisition of things (since there are a couple of easy means of earning money in the game, it's not much of a motivation, especially as there is so little to buy).

The actual gameplay is reasonably good, with the missions mostly being varied and interesting (although there are a couple of stinkers late in the game). The main problem is that there isn't enough actual content. You could probably complete the game in a couple of sittings if you don't become distracted by roaming around the city. And you probably won't, as the game actively resists the player's attempts to deviate from the rails, the better to disguise the fact that there's not that much to do in the beautifully realised Empire Bay.

One thing that struck me as odd, given the game's much publicised inclusion of Playboy pinups and 50s cheesecake, is how asexual Vito himself is. He looks visibly uncomfortable in the handful of interactions that he has with female characters that he isn't related to, the scene in the cathouse being the most obvious. As a PC user, I also have to complain about the save system or lack thereof. The game allows you to reload from your last save or the beginning of chapter, so if you want to replay a particular mission you're out of luck.

Mafia 2 has a lot of potential in the freshness of its setting, and the amount of effort that has been put into accurately reproducing it. Clothing, cars, music, even the way the prison is segregated. Unfortunately it does very little with that potential and really needed either a great story or great gameplay to carry the game. Sadly neither was up to the task.

Wait until it's on special, unless there some free DLC is released that significantly increases the amount of content. 5.5 out of 10

Mafia II is a really great game great graphics one of the best games I have played but the only thing bad about this game is the storyline is kind of short finished it in half a day. Only if they add more chapters it be a really great game that can even compare with grand thief auto because the ending of the story is kind on lame would be good if they added more acts.
But overall it's any 1 who have played grand thief auto should really check this game out XD

Graphics are some of the best, played it with no hitches on my computer
Controls feel little stiff when controlling Vito and the cars, but they don't affect the game play to much
Soundtrack..i love it, all the classic music from each era has been placed in the game adds to atmosphere when driving around empire city which you do alot
Story is top notch, loved it from beginning to end!!!

Definitely recommend this game for anyone that enjoys shooters and likes a story line that isn't just there to be there, while a little short I finished it in ~10hrs I enjoyed every bit of it which in my view is good since leaves u with more positive impression than having a game drag out to long just for more game time

Pros: Capturing story line that makes you want to play forever, great gameplay and wonderful graphics.

Cons: Free roaming not as interactive as I would have hoped. Game ends too soon.

This game is just awsome I cant belive the price I got it for. Good work mighty ape your my no1 choice for buying games

Great game
But story bit short

THIS GAME WAS EPIC!
i love this game and was defiantly worth what i payed for it. its a game sort of like gta and the graphics are superb. i really like the idea of the game being set back in time with the old fashion cars which really made this game a new gaming experience. 100% recommend this game

Mafia II, by 2k games. It's a good title! With good graphics and a great story line it makes it very enjoyable! The lack of multiplayer is slightly disappointing, because multiplayer could have been a great feature for the game and may have even pushed it up to 5 out of 5.
But for these reasons,
I've decided to rate the game, a 4 out of 5
(Only just not a 3)

One of the best action adventure games out there, and definitely the best Mafia themed game available. It has a great storyline, fantastic graphics and acting, and some of the best game play I have ever seen!

Real fun to play, great story line, weapons are not limited to one per type like other games I have played overall great game to own especially with the achievements as well.

Playing the first Mafia was excellent and Mafia 2 does a really good job but feels abit empty.The story line is good,sound of weapons excellent and the voice acting is superb.I found the cars abit hard to drive and the game abit short especially when you felt like it could go on for a little bit more because when you are playing it, its good and you get into it.The music from the era is very good,the city looks great and how the years change,weather patterns.There are alot of cut scenes which I dont have a problem with at all.The first Mafia which is one of the best games.The second one is good but feels like that it doesn't grip you in such a way that you talk about is alot.I think trying to make it more cinematic story wise its where it falls short.Worth a play for sure.

If you liked Mafia then you'll love Mafia II! In short – sweet graphics, amazing atmosphere, great production values, and the collectors edition is well worth the extra cash for the additional material. A++++

First time playing Mafia II (never played One), its not my type of game, driving slowly around the town, do some seriously stupid jobs, for like two, some times three digit amount of money. Only reason I bought this cos it is cheap. But yeah… not my type of game

Good game but too short Mafia one is still better.

There are some positives to this game, and if you have read any review for it, they mention it, so lets get down to the real stuff, the bad stuff.

The game has a poor story. No really, its your standard “crime doesn't pay” affair with “twists and turns” you can see coming a mile away if you have seen any Mafia film. The characters are 2d and hardly likable or relatable in any way.

The voice over is good, but so is all voice over in games these days, however the dialogue is all just your stereotypical Mafia affair with some mispronounced Italian words mixed in to make it seem “classy”. The cut scenes are decently directed, and well animated.

On cut scenes, the game plays like this: cut scence, getting out of bed, cut scence, picking clothes, driving, cut scence, picking someone up/dropping them off, cut scences shoot out/whatever your “mission” is, cut scence, drive home, walk to bed, press button to go to bed, cut scence.

This game is just a poorly told movie. What little game there is, is constantly interrupted by pretentious story cut scenes.

Not only that, if you want to not do story missions, you have to buy DLC.

Mafia 1, was brilliant, this is far from it. Buy it when its cheaper, a lot cheaper. And when all the DLC is out.