To avid fans of the sandbox-style gameplay of titles like "Grand Theft Auto IV," playing "Mafia II" is like biting into a seemingly delicious slice of cheesecake only to discover it was made using a low-fat recipe.
At first, 2K Games' mob shooter has all the necessary bullet points to deliver gameplay variety and compelling freedom on par with a Rockstar epic.
As a playground, it offers up the massive sweep of Empire Bay, which combines elements of Chicago and New York, for an urban environment both familiar and with its own distinct personality.
Players control Vito Scaletta, the son of an Italian immigrant dockworker, as he navigates the twisted, bloody road from unknown mob lackey to made man. A 15-chaper, 12-hour story opens with Vito fighting fascists in Italy during World War II. After being wounded, he's shipped home on temporary leave that is soon made permanent by his childhood buddy, Joe Barbaro, who has graduated from neighborhood bully to an enforcer for one of Empire Bay's three crime families.
From there, the story arc echoes the twists and turns of classic flicks such as "The Godfather" and "Goodfellas." That's by no means a bad thing, however, thanks to a well-cast crew of voice actors headed by Rick Pasqualone (Vito) and Robert Costanzo (Joe). Daniel Vávra reprises his writing role with a well-paced script that manages to come off as a well-hewn mobster homage, rather than a ham-fisted knockoff.
Eventually, a midgame plot twist advances time to the early 1950s, with all the accompanying cultural upgrades, like greasers, rockabilly music, pastel everything and cars with wing fins and beefier engines that far outperform the 1940s clunkers you're stuck with early on.
My only issue with the plot is that the ending is entirely too predictable and understated to live up to the tense buildup of the preceding chapters.
Based on these comments, it may sound like "Mafia II" is a nearly unqualified success, and it is ... but as a story-driven third-person shooter, not a free-roaming sandbox game.
The plot is incredibly engrossing, but despite the lush visuals and well-crafted cityscape, there's almost no reason to explore it outside the confines of the main campaign.
GAME REVIEW'Mafia II'* Systems: PC/PS3/Xbox 360.* Graphics: A-* Sound: B* Gameplay: B+* Replay value: C+* Final grade: B
Sure, you can upgrade your cars, but money is usually in such plentiful supply, and the amount of items to buy so limited, that you'll quickly max out everything in your garage.
You can engage in some low-level nefariousness by robbing cash registers, delivering cars to chop shops and stealing clothes. But that's hardly worth the immediate, dogged pursuit by Empire Bay's police force, who will take you down in short order, thanks to an unforgiving health system in which a reload screen is just a few bullets away.
Petty crime is all well and good, but where are the shakedowns, turf wars and other mobster activities as seen in "GTA" or "Godfather II"? The omission of these side activities smacks of a rushed development and a missed opportunity.
Driving, the original's Achilles heel, has been drastically improved but still is far from perfect. Cars no longer feel like wallowing land boats, and cops aren't the red-light Nazis they used to be, but you can still be pulled over for driving too fast. By 1950s standards, that means anything over 40 mph, which is especially frustrating when you're trying to get somewhere since there are no cabs to ferry you to a mission start point. Being forced to drive at a snail's pace or risk attracting too much attention may be more realistic, but it's not fun.
Fortunately, if you put on your blinders and stick entirely to the campaign, you'll come out the other end well satisfied. Were it not for the sandbox trappings, you'd never know the game wasn't designed to be played that way to begin with. It's just a shame this cake didn't have a little more filling.