Nice try 2K but not quite there.
Mafia II has some of the best story, storytelling and story pacing I've seen for a long time. The dialogue, character relationships and scope play out like a mobster movie. 2K has done a very good job there and it shows. I won't spoil it for you but it goes something along the lines of Vito Scaletta put in jail for robbing a julerry store and was given 2 options, serve in the military or rot in jail. You can guess what he chose and so he gets shot and returns home only to find that Joe is still doing his mafia thing and his family is somewhat is a disarray. The rest of the story depicts Vito's rise to power and the sacrifices he has to make to get there.
The resolution for Mafia II is set at 720. I have to tell you that I was very disappointed to learn this. For a 2010 game it should have been a fully blown 1080p much like all the new games that come out. Don't get me wrong the game still look good but it would have looked even better at a higher resolution. There were some spots where there were allot of pixalated textures which again it should not happen in a 2010 video game. The female NPCs were also a disappointment. There was no bounciness; no solid mapping and they share the same animations as a man.
The game also aims to be realistic with a few rules that could be broken if you choose to do so. For example the cops won't bother you if you run a red light, make U turns and so on. They will however get very angry if you ram their cars, hit and run and I've also experienced a glitch where I rear ended someone and was chased by the cops as if I just killed someone. The world also did not feel real to me. Sure it was well modeled but does it make sense? Does it give the illusion of a real working world? I see people walking around but why are they there. That is what its wrong with sandbox games these days. Developers spend so much time on the story, mechanics and so on but forget that the worlds they build must make sense. And you are going to argue that we do not have the technical knowhow to make this happen you are wrong. It's all in the algorithm. You place an NPC in a world, like Mafia II or even GTA, well you better make sure that the NPC has a function. A dinner own could have a house, and in that house he could do some house work and when it's all said and done he would do the same thing the next day. It's all about functions.
The combat in the game is great and unlike others out there that did not like it, I thought it was right on the mark. The controls felt great and easy. I love the vehicles and the driving in the game. There is nothing like driving around in a Walter Coupe with Christmas music and the news on the radio. Both day time and night time driving looks and feels great. I almost always drove the speed limit because there is no point in going fast. If you drive like a maniac then you will miss all the great architectures, pedestrians and the beauty that is Empire Bay.
A game mechanic that I found pointless is money. Sure you can buy suits, food from a dinner, gas for your cars and weapons but it's all pointless. First you don't need to fill up on gas. As a matter of fact I had no idea there was a gas gauge. I found out after I pulled into a gas station to see what would happen. All vehicles can go a very long distance before needing to be filled and when they do run out of gas, just steal another car and you are on your way. Food is another issue I would. Why buy food from a dinner when you could just go home and eat and drink there. And as for the clothing, seriously who would ware that. The only set of clothing I likes was the original clothing he wore from the start of the game.
The music for the game is great. That is one of the reasons I was interested in the game and what drew me to Mafia II. It is mixed with news from the war and some cool commercials in between of songs. My favourite are the Christmas songs. It sets such a good mood with the snow falling in the background. Very well done 2k. I read some reports that some of the music is not historically accurate but that did not bother me.
In conclusion Mafia II tried to be too many things but ended up doing only one thing well and that is the Story. I was excited when I bought the game from HMV and set aside an entire day to play through but ended up playing till Chapter 6 and then gave it up. Like other games I've reviewed it could have been better.