Mafia 2 Review

I saw jacksons Mafia 2 comments thread but my comments kinda turned into a full review so here it is

I completed the first mafia game and loved the experience so I didn't hesitate buying the sequel,I even broke my own rules of reading 2-3 review before a purchase but reading reviews wouldn't have precluded my purchase as most reviewers have rated it highly.

Right then Mafia 2 Review,I'll quickly run through the hardware and graphics then get to the game.


My specs

Nvidia GTX 480 core clocked to 800 and mem clocked to 2000
Intel I7230 2.8 clocked to 3.8
6G triple channel DDR 3 1600 clocked to 1700


Will you be able to play this game at all?

Depends,it requires some pretty hefty hardware and if you can play it you won't be able to turn on most of the goodies without unacceptable slowdowns,I was looking forward to seeing the new Nvidia physx engine in action but it seems running at 16X10 with physx on medium or high causes unacceptable slowdowns and I have the most powerful single core video card ever made:-D so I had to play with it turned completely off so ATI users ain't missing anything on this one

I ended up with everything else turned up max,16AF,8AA, with these setting the game fly's along on my system rarely dropping below 60FPS,it averages 75FPS in the benchmark demo,saying this there were still times when the the frame rate dropped well below acceptable levels but surprisingly there didn't seem to be much happening on screen,the hard drive wasn't loading it felt simply like bad coding.

The graphics are really good though,the city is rich with colour and period accurate although it does suffer from some quite annoying pop up and there isn't a view distance setting,other than that the graphics were really impressive.



The game

Well WHAT GAME? :-D There is very little game to play you spend most of your time just watching cut scenes you then get into a car and drive to the next cutscene,imagine watching a movie then having to play a short mini driving game to watch the next scene,the cutscene's are good IMO though much better than average but they aren't that good! After a very short time I was sick of them I just wanted to play the freakin game but I decided against skipping cutscene's because I came to realise this is what the game will mostly be and I will have completely wasted my £35 if I didn't watch them all.

It really is a case of gameplay giving you a break from the cut scene's and not vice versa which is terrible, its not a movie its a game it costs 3 times as much as a movie

Other than the very first chapter the first 4-5 chapters your just beat one guy up ONE GUY! And you only have two different punches left or right click and a useless special combo if you randomly just click both of them together and that's chapter done! After about the eighth chapter my hopes of some fun gameplay had totally dwindled as I'd only shot a gun about twice and was already halfway through the game.As the chapters progress you have to kill more and more guys from a couple to about 20 or so in one go until the last levels where it may be 25-30,exactly as you do in all third person shooting games you hide behind a box or wall corner and wait for the bad guy to pop up then shoot him,move forward to a box,hide,wait for the next bad guy to pop up,shoot him ad infinitum or till the next cut scene:-D

The cars a rendered incredibly well and look really cool and they handle pretty good but unfortunately you have no where to go! This isn't an open ended game like GTA so don't be fooled its incredibly linear you only have to drive down the road to the next mission,there aren't different missions or cool things do do between story missions as in GTA the only thing you can do is either sell cars at the scrap heap or rob the shop tills which are both ridiculously easy so basically you just drive for about 50 seconds to the next cutscene but and here's the biggest let down from the game there's nothing to spend your money on! Or any need to spend any money at all,you can tune your car for handling and power but there's no point as in the whole game there's only 2-3 missions where you need to drive well or are on the clock.Your always given plenty of fire power at the beginning of each mission which you don't need as every level can be completed with only a semi auto pistol as head shots at range are quite easy or you have plenty left over from the last as each gun you pick up instantly maxes your ammo for that gun,I played the game on hard and found it very easy, I just messed around without trying and walked the game.I actually liked dying during missions as it didn't happen that often and it meant it would be a little longer until the next 20 minute cut scene and started making up my own challenges to make it more fun and harder like only going for headshots


Right then I'll finish up...


The bad

This game isn't good. It can't really be called a game it's basically a movie with short game sequences to break it up,the cut sequences are too long,the story is cliche and pedictable,the money system is pointless,the combat system is below simple,the array if weapons aren't needed,its incredibly linear none of your actions change the story,the missions are short and basic and lack any creativity or imagination,driving around is pointless,the vehicles are slow and clumsy compared to modern cars,its far too easy,you need a hefty system to play it.


The good

The cut sequences do have really good production value with great voice actors and can be enjoyable at times,some of the phrases and comments can be quite funny,the vehicles and city replicate the look and feel of the period,the music is awesome and radio is full of classic hits from the period,the shooting can be fun at times but that's mainly due to your being glad your not watching a cut scene,really impressive graphics.

Unfortunately I cannot recommend you buy this game unless your seriously obsessed with period gangster movies,I was quite let down after playing the first instalment.

5/10
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Nice review Rikky, agree with you on many points, I did enjoy it but not as a game "OMG I just HAVE to keep playing" , actually I have yet to finish it because I thought it got a little boring, it is a laugh and has some fun parts but as you said, it does feel like a lot of watching and mini games. It almost feels like an open world game but the massive limitations on what you can do outside of mission time is very bland, basically fix up your car and health before next mission. It almost felt like a con in that respect.
IMO, worth buying if you can find it cheap, not worth full price.

 

I'd love to sell my copy but due to the Steam DRM the buyer wouldn't be able to play it without logging into my steam account.

Its rare I buy a game and feel ripped off,hence the review.

EDIT I did enjoy actually I guess it was good watching the story unfold and the few missions however short were fun, I enjoy eating biscuits but not if I've paid a for a meal.