Mafia II

 PlayStation 3
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 464 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 333 out of 464
  2. Mixed: 93 out of 464
  3. Negative: 38 out of 464
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  1. Captiosus
    Aug 26, 2010
    7
    I'm 8 hours in and I think a 7 overall score is right on the mark.

    It's a really fun game, but it's terribly linear and has, so far, provided several instances of very boring moments. Graphically, it feels dated on both console versions. To see if there was any validity in the "looks better on 360" comments, I opted to play the demo through Xbox Live but I didn't really see much of a    I'm 8 hours in and I think a 7 overall score is right on the mark.

    It's a really fun game, but it's terribly linear and has, so far, provided several instances of very boring moments. Graphically, it feels dated on both console versions. To see if there was any validity in the "looks better on 360" comments, I opted to play the demo through Xbox Live but I didn't really see much of a difference; The game is just graphically bland on both consoles.

    The story, so far, has been solid, as has the character development and immersion factor, but some of the voice acting has just been terrible. The car physics are as horrible as they are in GTA4 and make doing drive-by related functions an absolute pain. The pseudo-open world is a real let down, especially after games like Red Dead Redemption which prove open world games can be done very well, allowing freedom, exploration, side-quest character building along side a solid story arc.

    All in all, this game is a solid rental, but I don't see the value in purchasing it. The only reason to go back and play it again, really, is to find any of the Playboy centerfolds and pinup art you may have missed the first time.    … Expand
  2. masteratt
    Sep 2, 2010
    7
    If you are looking for a story driven game (story is good but not super amazing), that is strictly mission based (missions are mostly good), then this game is for you. It is nothing more, nothing less.
  3. Weilard
    Oct 1, 2013
    7
    Mafia II for me in few cases unrealized potential. In comparison with a first part of game your feelings of immersion start working on full power after second half of game. Real empathy for game characters born after long time of play. And in my opinion this is a main mistake of developers. In first part of game this fears, pain and hate begin to torture you from the first seconds ofMafia II for me in few cases unrealized potential. In comparison with a first part of game your feelings of immersion start working on full power after second half of game. Real empathy for game characters born after long time of play. And in my opinion this is a main mistake of developers. In first part of game this fears, pain and hate begin to torture you from the first seconds of play. Here you long deed post-quests and don't feel your hero.
    Second dissapointments large world. Understand me right large world is a great place, but only if you can do something in this world. World of Mafia II too empty. Many streets, houses, and locations just waiting for filling by life. But this isn't happen. Too large world and too small count of interesting quests. You understand this when you get come to crazy weapon trader or for master of lockpicking. You can see incredible detalization of world and locations, think that behind all of this stand the huge world... and you are wrong.

    But in any case, this is a very catchy and charming game. Retro-style, incredible cars, old city, full of emotions. Colorite people, gangsters and pieces of old music. Game fully impregnated by atmosphere of gangsters movies. I sure you are remember this game for the fast, hard and bloody firefights, chases and romantic feelings of old wild times. Maybe after you understand that you want feel more than you have. Explore game world more than you explore. Maybe then you understand what I mean.

    Good and strong game. Mandatory to purchase and play.    … Expand
  4. MAINEiac4434
    Aug 24, 2010
    5
    This game is terrible. The graphics suck, the cars suck, and the 'open world' is just a huge tease. It's a short game that you should rent, but not spend 60 dollars for. The cutscenes are pretty good, but the people in the cutscenes look like corpses.
  5. Sayrthara
    Sep 7, 2010
    6
    This game was huge disappointment mostly because of lack of the open world environment, side missions and characters, completely linear story. Often the game doesn't allow you to perform random activities - simply blocking friendly fire or scripting way to much.

    Graphics on PS3 could be good only if the game released 2 years ago, all the cars, special effects look very bad. Clearly the    This game was huge disappointment mostly because of lack of the open world environment, side missions and characters, completely linear story. Often the game doesn't allow you to perform random activities - simply blocking friendly fire or scripting way to much.

    Graphics on PS3 could be good only if the game released 2 years ago, all the cars, special effects look very bad. Clearly the strategy for the game is to monetize audience through PDLC packs, rather than having a complete experience come with a boxed purchase.    … Expand
  6. iSniper
    Sep 22, 2010
    6
    The game was fun for the most part. Let me just get that off my chest. But it had some key issues that really through the thought of doing anything more then renting it. The first, and main, issue was the fact that this game was more of a driver than a shooter. The trailers and demos all set it out to be a run of the mill cover shooter, but in a setting that i was ready to fall in loveThe game was fun for the most part. Let me just get that off my chest. But it had some key issues that really through the thought of doing anything more then renting it. The first, and main, issue was the fact that this game was more of a driver than a shooter. The trailers and demos all set it out to be a run of the mill cover shooter, but in a setting that i was ready to fall in love with. But during the full game i was lied too. I died more often in car crashes then i did by bullets. That just pissed me off more and more, compared to if i died in action kept me thinking that i get to try this awesome shootout again. Another thing about this game that through me off was its misuse of its features, mainly the money system. You start of with a little money, and you are told that you are able to get more later by doing some of the mini jobs like selling cars. But all the money you need is given to you through the missions. Not to mention the things that you could by with it were pretty useless. And to top it all off, you kept losing everything every couple chapters. Finally, the length. POOR. Great story, but not long enough.… Expand
  7. Kalasas
    Nov 17, 2010
    7
    I would recommend this game to those people who enjoyed mafia I, and enjoy watching mafia movies. If that is you, buy it, if not- just rent it. This game is rather short so unless you are a big fan of mafia games, this will collect dust once you beat it. The graphics are good, the storyline is absolutely excellent and the cut scenes look like movies. This game delivers on being a greatI would recommend this game to those people who enjoyed mafia I, and enjoy watching mafia movies. If that is you, buy it, if not- just rent it. This game is rather short so unless you are a big fan of mafia games, this will collect dust once you beat it. The graphics are good, the storyline is absolutely excellent and the cut scenes look like movies. This game delivers on being a great predecessor to mafia I. However, i must complain about the linear storyline, scripted events, and dull moments in the game. The fact that you lose everything half way through sucks as well. I hate working my ass off only to see it all for null. Good game though.… Expand
  8. huevosbenedicto
    Feb 21, 2011
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm a big fan of what Mafia 2 does. I really am. The game provides an excellent story with solid graphics and gameplay, but it doesn't provide a bang for your buck at all, in fact it feels unfinished, and for this I wouldn't recommend a full purchase. Let's start with the good points, of which there are many of. The main draw of the game is the plot, which, while being the standard 8-10 hours, is one of the better of 2010. You play as Vito Scaletta, who came to America with his family when he was a child, and soon fell into small time crime with school buddy Joe. Until, that is, when Mafia 2 takes an unexpected twist, before you've performed any actual gameplay. They show you being arrested and, as the year was 1943, put into the army, to fight with the army in Italy. It's here where you have the tutorial level, in what's a surreal experience, a third-person World War 2 level. After you finish, Vito explains that he got shot a couple of years later, and comes home to Empire Bay for a month's leave, where he meets with Joe and his mother and sister. Joe throws you a solid and orders a forged doctor's note explaining you can't fight anymore, through his connections with the mafia. It's here you begin doing a few errands for the family he's with. After a few levels doing this, Mafia 2 throws unexpected twist number two: you get thrown in the big house. A federal big house, to that. And you actually play some of this time, to which I laughed and made a joke about a mission involving you trying to not drop the soap, something which almost came terrifyingly true. Anyway, you get out 6 years later, meet up with Joe again, and work from there, not giving anything away. Safe to say, the ride you do take is a great one. As mentioned in the intro, both gameplay and graphics are stellar. The shooting controls are mainly Grand Theft Auto style, except with no auto aim, which isn't all too bad. However, sprinting is performed by L1/LT, which has no stamina limit. For actions such as opening a door or jacking a car, there are two options; a quiet option where you either open or pick the lock (a cool new feature) and don't gain attention easily, or a fast, loud option, where you smash everything, which will gain attention. Driving is also GTA-esque, with heavy mid-century cars handling pretty well (and reach impressive 125 mph+ speeds) , although there is no option to perform a drive-by, which is sorely missed. The graphics are very good, with faces looking realistic, but there isn't much chance to appreciate it in the open world. There is, however, one draw back, which drags it down severely: the lack of extra things to do and re- playability. The game is a linear game, i.e. not open world like GTA, which isn't bad by any means, but limits your wondering around. Also, there isn't a "free-roam" option at the end of the game. This makes it quite hard to gauge when to do things in Empire Bay. There are 2 collectibles during the game; wanted posters, which you don't know when to go finding, and there is no incentive to do so. There also isn't a gameplay incentive to collect the Playboy magazines, but you will. You can also buy various clothes, which add to the feel of the game, and some of the suits are pretty sweet. To gain money to do this you can crush or sell cars, apart from completing missions. And that's about it. No multiplayer, which is fine, in fact I prefer single player-orientated games. But there aren't any side missions either, which isn't fine. Why? Because this is an unfinished game. Two contacts appear early in the game; Mike and Derek, and they appear in Level 2. After this, their icons appear on the map, and you can go talk to them, to which they say something on the lines of "Sorry kid, there's nothing for you today." There never is. Ever. Why would they put this in if there aren't any? Because they planned on having some, but then took them out, probably because they ran out of time, for a game they spent a long time working on. And on the internet, I've watched an entire, working level, which didn't appear in the game. Why? Because of creative purposes, I hear you say Take 2? Of course not, because you ran out of time to integrate it , or you couldn't be bothered. And that's what's annoying. Overall, rating wise:
    Gameplay: 8.5
    Graphics: 8.5
    Story: 9
    Lasting Appeal: 5    … Expand
  9. JessMan247
    Aug 12, 2011
    6
    This game was just ok for me. Actually a pretty difficutly game. Some of the missions were pretty tough, you usually have to kill like 60 guys a mission. Graphics are solid and i love the weapon use, i feel like i was actually just shredding down my enemies with my tommy gun. Is very short, beat it in about a day. Mafia 1 was a way better story. But Mafia 2 wasnt terrible. just rent it andThis game was just ok for me. Actually a pretty difficutly game. Some of the missions were pretty tough, you usually have to kill like 60 guys a mission. Graphics are solid and i love the weapon use, i feel like i was actually just shredding down my enemies with my tommy gun. Is very short, beat it in about a day. Mafia 1 was a way better story. But Mafia 2 wasnt terrible. just rent it and play it. You can fix up cars, dress yourself like a real mafia member. Story is ok, just an ok game overall.… Expand
  10. aidanonline
    Sep 8, 2010
    7
    Mafia II was worth the purchase, however I have to confess I was a little disappointed with it overall. It seemed to me that 2K looked at the original (which was brilliant) and were content with the success of that release that they would stick to a pretty similar formula for the sequel. The graphics are beautiful and it was super-satisfying to pop a guy in the head with the Colt and seeMafia II was worth the purchase, however I have to confess I was a little disappointed with it overall. It seemed to me that 2K looked at the original (which was brilliant) and were content with the success of that release that they would stick to a pretty similar formula for the sequel. The graphics are beautiful and it was super-satisfying to pop a guy in the head with the Colt and see him roll down a flight of stairs and land at your feet. Could have been a bit better, but as I said still definitely worth a purchase for fans of TPS and the original Mafia.… Expand
  11. JordyAtkins
    Sep 23, 2010
    7
    What I was expecting from Mafia 2 was a game set in the 1950's exactly like the GTA series, with a massive free roam area and side missions to get money etc. So I was a little disheartened towards my purchase when i realised that the story is set in chapters, which just play through chronologically, sometimes only vaguely leading on to the next one. The graphics are good, however theyWhat I was expecting from Mafia 2 was a game set in the 1950's exactly like the GTA series, with a massive free roam area and side missions to get money etc. So I was a little disheartened towards my purchase when i realised that the story is set in chapters, which just play through chronologically, sometimes only vaguely leading on to the next one. The graphics are good, however they don't seem to make up for the general shortness of the game-play (First run through in a pretty laid back fashion with allot of exploring took me only about 9 hours). Overall its worth the purchase if you like mobster games and movie's, because you can go back to chapters, and replay your favourite parts as many times as you like, good game, just too short… Expand
  12. AlienSpaceBats
    Dec 24, 2012
    7
    Yes, it's very linear, but the story is good enough that the player is able to sit back and let the narrative do its work, definitely worth getting if you enjoyed the Godfather movies; Goodfellas, etc. Those expecting a GTA clone might want to look elsewhere.
  13. Dezuuu
    Apr 9, 2012
    7
    The great story will keep you hooked, but once you finished the game, the empty world and mediocre gameplay probably won't want you to play through it again. It has a good setting and some great music too.
  14. Eddard
    Nov 28, 2012
    7
    Not the perfect Game, but it bad. The non-Open-World is nice desigend, but the Missions are too easy on hardest difficulty. I liked to play it and its much better than GTA IV.
  15. ChairandAudio
    Aug 19, 2013
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Mafia II manages to engross the player in it's well crafted story with interesting characters and surprising plot twists. Without going into too much depth you play as Vito Scaletta, an American immigrant sent to fight in the war after being arrested for steeling. When you return you take on your daily missions that help you to establish a name for yourself and being to gain trust within the 'Families' of Empire Bay.

    Similar to the style of GTA you can free roam the streets or go straight to your next objective, however unlike GTA I can't recall ever having two main story objectives at once, which works well to give more of a deeper plot driven story since you have a clear path to take at all times.
    However, this work also to somewhat hindrance the games, as there is never really much things to do outside of the main story since there are no side missions.
    This makes me wonder if they originally intended to go a different rout other than the open world sand boxed style game, deviating from the predecessor.

    I did encounter a number of bugs the worst of which was that my PS3 froze on several occasions, once during a loading screen (luckily my file had saved and was not set back). This becomes a frustrating very quickly.

    Overall Mafia II manages to deliver a great package to gamers with an imersive story, but lacks in anything to do once it is over. The game will keep you entertained for a while but can be completed rather quickly, making it something worth picking up at a discounted price rather than full retail. It is a great weekend experience, if you have a free one.    … Expand
  16. Fedelca
    Sep 28, 2013
    7
    Si bien "Mafia II" no es "Grand Theft Auto" igualmente se hace respetar por su extensa campaña single player. Si bien los gráficos no son muy buenos y, a veces el realismo del juego nos molesta no solo a mí sino a muchos (que te persiga la policía por exceso de velocidad; que mueras cuando chocas a alta velocidad) pero lo compensa gravemente con diversión a más tener en un mapa bastanteSi bien "Mafia II" no es "Grand Theft Auto" igualmente se hace respetar por su extensa campaña single player. Si bien los gráficos no son muy buenos y, a veces el realismo del juego nos molesta no solo a mí sino a muchos (que te persiga la policía por exceso de velocidad; que mueras cuando chocas a alta velocidad) pero lo compensa gravemente con diversión a más tener en un mapa bastante interesante con muchas cosas que explorar.… Expand
  17. gdiego135
    Oct 16, 2016
    7
    ever since I was in elementary I would hear about Mafia 2, and now I finally played it and at first the gameplay felt terrible then i started to like it and towards the end it just got boring, it's not really anything new, from the driving to shooting and running around nothing is new to me, though I have to say the music in this game is perfect for the setting they have so many greatever since I was in elementary I would hear about Mafia 2, and now I finally played it and at first the gameplay felt terrible then i started to like it and towards the end it just got boring, it's not really anything new, from the driving to shooting and running around nothing is new to me, though I have to say the music in this game is perfect for the setting they have so many great oldies songs I'll just stop and listen to some Richie Valens for a while, the story is kind of meh, it's just okay the voice acting as well, what also sucks is it's set up like an open world but you can't do **** it's empty, all you can do is buy clohtes, gas, car upgrades, weapons and yeah that's it there's no side missions or anything besides collecting playboys and wanted posters, also what pissed me off was if cops or someone is chasing you in a car there is no way to protect yourself so if your car ain't fast you just got to get lucky. Then the last mission had me aggravated im expected to kill like 300 guys just me one guy no help are you kidding me? I almost raged but I didn't and then the game just ended abruptly.
    But I did enjoy it enough to want to play the 3rd one so that's that.    … Expand
  18. chrisdan23
    Jun 9, 2022
    7
    Bei Mafia II handelt es sich um ein Open World Action Spiel, dass sich ganz klar und ohne Scheu bei Rockstars GTA Reihe bedient. Doch es macht dies gar nicht schlecht! So sind vor allem Storytelling und Charakterdesign im Mafia Drama von 2K Games äußert authentisch inszeniert. Auch die Dialoge sind hervorragend geschrieben - und das gilt nicht nur für die tatsächlichen Quests. Immer wiederBei Mafia II handelt es sich um ein Open World Action Spiel, dass sich ganz klar und ohne Scheu bei Rockstars GTA Reihe bedient. Doch es macht dies gar nicht schlecht! So sind vor allem Storytelling und Charakterdesign im Mafia Drama von 2K Games äußert authentisch inszeniert. Auch die Dialoge sind hervorragend geschrieben - und das gilt nicht nur für die tatsächlichen Quests. Immer wieder stolpert man in der Open World des Spiels auch über kleine alltägliche, teils sehr lustige Episoden der NPCs, die ganz beiläufig am Rande des Geschehens passieren. Dass viele NPCs dabei auch auf euch als Spieler reagieren und teils gar versuchen in ihre kleine Eskapaden mit hineinzuziehen, lässt die Open World des Spiels, die in den späten 40er Jahren angesiedelt ist, sehr lebendig und echt wirken.

    Auch wenn viele Texturen relativ matschig wirken, und dem Titel generell ein etwas höherer Detailgrad sicherlich gut gestanden hätte - dank toller Lichteffekten, Tag/Nacht Zyklus und effektvollen Wetterwechseln kommt in Mafia II richtig Atmosphäre auf. Auch die Autos der 40er Jahre steuern sich sehr authentisch. Deutliche Schwächen zeigt das Spiel aber leider in seiner Deckungsshooter-Mechanik. Diese spielt sich nämlich eher hakelig. Hier und da stimmt auch das Pacing nicht. So kommt es gelegentlich zu Missionen, die unfair wirken und nur schwer zu knacken sind. Da kann man schon auch einmal gefrustet das Pad in die Ecke feuern und keinen Bock mehr haben. Im Schnitt ist Mafia II aber ein tolles Spiel geworden, das vor allem mit seiner eigenständigen Erzählung und dem tollen Setting in der Nachkriegszeit eigene Akzente setzen kann und sich so vor einem GTA nicht verstecken braucht.    … Expand
  19. HuevoAlce
    Jun 27, 2022
    7
    Mafia II comes with a great cast of characters and story. While the gameplay is a bit mundane and the open world is empty, the story and characters are exceptional.
  20. TheTactician
    Aug 26, 2023
    6
    Good game,butt too many bad and boring quests.The story is not good eather.

Awards & Rankings

91
#91 Best PS3 Game of 2010
16
#16 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2010
23
#23 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2010

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 61 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 40 out of 61
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 61
  3. Negative: 2 out of 61
  1. GameSpot
    85
    Mafia II's exciting action and uncompromising mob story make for an impressive and violent adventure.
    Read full review
  2. PlayStation Universe
    85
    Mafia II is an epic adventure with a story that rivals some of the best mobster movies. Players are brought in to Vito Scaletta's rise in the family ranks through an engaging narrative, intense action sequences, and a well-crafted vintage city setting.
    Read full review
  3. Giant Bomb
    60
    I'm a sucker for a good mob story, but Mafia II's is merely decent.
    Read full review
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