Mafia II

 Xbox 360
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 751 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 550 out of 751
  2. Mixed: 145 out of 751
  3. Negative: 56 out of 751
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  1. ZazaTR
    Mar 30, 2012
    3
    Short, unimaginative gangster story. This covers the plot part. Bugs, severe gameplay restrictions, awkward controls, almost non-existent cover system and lack of proper sandbox mode plaque this game.
    The only good things are realistic graphics, and probably soundtrack. In every other aspect however, Mafia 2 falls short of its predecessor, as well as of The Saboteur which is set roughly    Short, unimaginative gangster story. This covers the plot part. Bugs, severe gameplay restrictions, awkward controls, almost non-existent cover system and lack of proper sandbox mode plaque this game.
    The only good things are realistic graphics, and probably soundtrack. In every other aspect however, Mafia 2 falls short of its predecessor, as well as of The Saboteur which is set roughly in the same time frame and released 8 months prior to Mafia 2    … Expand
  2. chooselyfe
    Feb 8, 2012
    2
    Screen tearing on the xbox 360 is absolutely horrible, it ruined the whole game. Stopped after 30mins and got rid of it. The developers should take the time to at least make sure the game runs fine before releasing this junk.
  3. skalragg
    Mar 14, 2013
    3
    How people managed to give this a high score is a mystery to me, The game is extremely short, easy and linear. It lacks any depth in comparison to GTA and as a sandbox envirnoment is also quite poor in terms of quality and quantity. 'The story line is fine, but they could have done a lot more with the game. There is no value to be had for a game costing 50e
  4. goshnya
    Aug 30, 2010
    3
    This is quite possibly one of the games with the least amount of gameplay coming out in recent years. The bulk of the game consists of you driving from point A to point B (with cars which handle like bricks), and then watching a cutscene at the end. Oh, there are some missions in there too, in the form of wait-in-cover-until-enemies-get-out-of-cover. Rinse and repeat. The game lasts aroundThis is quite possibly one of the games with the least amount of gameplay coming out in recent years. The bulk of the game consists of you driving from point A to point B (with cars which handle like bricks), and then watching a cutscene at the end. Oh, there are some missions in there too, in the form of wait-in-cover-until-enemies-get-out-of-cover. Rinse and repeat. The game lasts around 7 hours but the bulk of that encompasses you driving, and watching cutscenes. 2K Czech was so intent on "delivering a good story", in their own words, which they forgot to include a GAME in there.There's this beautifully rendered city with great graphics -- but there are no side missions and no freeroam. Actually, there are side missions -- they can be found in the game files. Wait for the NEW! EXCITING! DLC to come at a friendly price of $15 !!! What a deal, you pay $60 for the shell of the game, then $15 for the gameplay proper after it comes out! What's not to like?

    Oh, there's plenty not to like, for example the save system. Or should I say, lack of save, since you can't save your game. So, for example, if you got some weapons and a car, the game does not allow you to save that until you finish a mission. If you die before that, tough luck. Do it all again. And speaking of dying, the shootouts can be a tad random. Random as in, the enemy can get a headshot on you killing you instantly. Not to worry, the awesome save system will get you right back waaaaay at the beginning of the mission! So you can do it all again, hoping you won't get random headshots this time!

    When playing this game one has the impression the developers were new to the whole making games thing. Not 2K, but the development studio, 2K Czech. All the bad points I mentioned above (and the ones I didn't) should have been picked up and fixed if not at the design stage, at least at the testing stage. So the mind boggles as to why they released the game in this state.

    One thing's is for sure, though: this game is not worth its current retail price. If you really want it, rent it. Alternatively, if all you want to do is watch a mafia-themed movie, there are plenty you can get your hands on that are cheaper than $60. Buyer beware!    … Expand
  5. ryanlivesinnz
    Aug 29, 2010
    0
    Bad game and bad ali and way too short you are beter getting red dead........................................................................................................................................................................................................nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnBad game and bad ali and way too short you are beter getting red dead........................................................................................................................................................................................................nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn nnnnnnnnnnnnnn n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n nn n nn nnn nnn n n… Expand
  6. VengeanceUK
    Sep 21, 2010
    4
    Highly anticipated, massively hyped game and turns out to be another flop.
    Where is multiplayer (a must for games like this nowardays). Poor physics and just comes across as a poor mans GTA with a mafia veneer over the top of it.
    Very disappointed
  7. MitchC9
    Oct 5, 2010
    2
    Mafia II is the gem that could have been but wasn't. The visuals are outstanding. The application of the Havok physics engine seemed like it was on the right track, but halted at some point and never completed. The storyline and environment quite clearly could have been very immersing. However this is all taken away by some very shotty gameplay mechanics, a lack of creativity in how theMafia II is the gem that could have been but wasn't. The visuals are outstanding. The application of the Havok physics engine seemed like it was on the right track, but halted at some point and never completed. The storyline and environment quite clearly could have been very immersing. However this is all taken away by some very shotty gameplay mechanics, a lack of creativity in how the game proceeds, and some very obvious features/missions missing only to be released as payable DLC. My biggest grip with Mafia II has to be the collision detection. It is the worst I've seen in any Xbox360 game I own. You can physically shoot through people without them even reacting to the sound of the gun let alone the bullet. This is most obvious when you initially shoot someone in the leg or stomach. The will stumble, you'll spray the hell out of them, only for them to pop up randomly and be perfectly shooting at your head. Now you might think the worst part about this is all those bullets that went THROUGH the AI. It's a bad part but not the worst. To me the worst part is that you can put a shotgun through someone's back, only for them to get up from the ground, aim at you, crouch, and start firing in a matter of 0.5 seconds. It just makes absolutely no sense, and forces you to hide behind objects all game even when you know you have your opponents lined up. GTA IV captured this much better. You could shoot someone twice in the leg and take your time lining them up for the head shot. Even in COD MW2 the AI is like this, and those are trained soldiers with a buttload of armour! I guess the saving grace for Mafia II's gameplay then would have to be the driving system. Heh. Reminds me of Crazy Taxi to be honest. Not to mention that you if you drive 1cm from a pole, your car will not only many times hit it magically, but also come to a complete stop. To conclude the application of the Havok physics engine is so poorly implemented that they game-play in all manners is broken and unplayable,and completely unenjoyable. Next we move on to the fighting system. This might be the biggest joke of the game. You press B or Y and do the same two moves, that's it. On occassion you get the chance to press BBB, then Y, which gives you 1 of 3 preset canned animations. That is it. Remember that Power Rangers game on Sega Saturn where all you had to do was press buttons that correspond to what is on screen? Yep, even that was more exciting than this fighting system, released a whole 15 year later. Now let's consider that some missions are 15 minutes of nothing but fighting, and you can see why this game is the laughing stock of the gaming world right now. Now don't be fooled to think by two buttons, I mean it's like GTA's fighting system. In GTA those 2 buttons give you 3 different moves each, you can kick with a 3rd button, you can attack people on the ground, and you can use an assortment of melee weapons. Not to mention all your attacks are based on the physics engine. None of this is present in Mafia II. Not even the physics engine. So while in GTA4 doing the same punch in two different locations will deem a seperate result, in Mafia II: you either punch and engage the canned animation, or miss the animation and punch through the opponent or through the air with nothing happening. It truly is pathetic . Lastly we move on to missing features. Remember how in GTA IV you could do side missions past the real missions? Like Stevie's car thefts, or the assassin missions? Well these are clearly all present in Mafia II... however sometime in the month leading to the game's release, 2K decided to take ALL (every one) of these side missions, order them in a manner that attempts to make sense but still does not, and call it it's own game as DLC. Truly the nail in the coffin for this awful experience. Overall Mafia II is without a doubt the biggest waste of money out there. I'm having more fun playing Home Alone 2 on SNES right now.… Expand
  8. howtodrownafish
    Oct 23, 2010
    4
    When i played mafia 2 i thought... What the hell is the G-physics doing here? The game made me feel like playing GTA4 more than ever, because it felt like a watered down version of it. I went and got GTA4 after this because this was simply not passable. The car driving, the voices while driving, and the movement all felt like copy and paste action from 2k from GTA4. This is GTA4 withoutWhen i played mafia 2 i thought... What the hell is the G-physics doing here? The game made me feel like playing GTA4 more than ever, because it felt like a watered down version of it. I went and got GTA4 after this because this was simply not passable. The car driving, the voices while driving, and the movement all felt like copy and paste action from 2k from GTA4. This is GTA4 without everything good such as the Euphoria engine or the open world. Yes, this is a mission based game, not open world... Definitely not worth even yellow rating.… Expand
  9. Brutal_rus
    Oct 23, 2010
    4
    Mafia2 is a great disaster for the all fans. Bad graphic, stupid main character, very short story. This is not what we are waiting for. Vito is the worst character ever. He is dum he is non profitable. He want only money, he doest **** girls, stupid and boring mafiosi. Remember first game. Tomy Angelo is alive, not this chipollino Vito, In this game only final is good, so if want cry playMafia2 is a great disaster for the all fans. Bad graphic, stupid main character, very short story. This is not what we are waiting for. Vito is the worst character ever. He is dum he is non profitable. He want only money, he doest **** girls, stupid and boring mafiosi. Remember first game. Tomy Angelo is alive, not this chipollino Vito, In this game only final is good, so if want cry play this game
    So 6.0 no more. Just gta clon    … Expand
  10. Moensgrl1
    May 29, 2015
    0
    First of all the amount of traffic is way over-done. I wish game creators would stop trying so hard to push realism because this game is a good example of what happens when game creators try to hard with realism. How am I suppose to keep my car on the road let alone stop my car at a red light when Its constantly snowing or raining. Another thing that made me sick with this game is the factFirst of all the amount of traffic is way over-done. I wish game creators would stop trying so hard to push realism because this game is a good example of what happens when game creators try to hard with realism. How am I suppose to keep my car on the road let alone stop my car at a red light when Its constantly snowing or raining. Another thing that made me sick with this game is the fact that I can even sneeze without the cops turning around and wanting to chase me down for it. Really guys! The game started out ok, but started loosing interest real fast. Problem is even when a game is **** if I start it I almost always have to finish it, But this one I Can't. So the only plus I can give to this game is the fact it has lifted my curse of having to finish games even if they are crap. To finish up my review I will say to the game creators there is a huge difference between fun and frustration. It's a game, it's a game, It's a freaking game. Knock off the horse **** realism and get back to pure fun gaming… Expand
  11. Babo2003
    Mar 11, 2022
    0
    Better than GTA for many reasons. When taxi crushes to your car, he got penalized for it. Can you imagine that in GTA?
  12. Bo33y
    Sep 3, 2015
    2
    This game had an entertaining story only.

    The game play is a massive let down, driving is often like manoeuvring a tank. There is little differences between each of the various cars they all look and handle like a shed on wheels, otherwise a box. Excluding one, or two of the sporty exceptions. Shooting the guns and it is case of duck and fire, the AI rarely flank, and no matter the    This game had an entertaining story only.

    The game play is a massive let down, driving is often like manoeuvring a tank. There is little differences between each of the various cars they all look and handle like a shed on wheels, otherwise a box. Excluding one, or two of the sporty exceptions. Shooting the guns and it is case of duck and fire, the AI rarely flank, and no matter the difficulty, dead is dead as fast, without using cover or stealth. The clothing is all the same I don't feel I customised my character at all. The same with tany cars, their colour schemes and handling is almost as awful. The streets are full of cars, no matter what the time of day is and moving into head on traffic lanes the AI pulls into the opposing lane instead of steering to avoid collision. Accommodation owned isn't customised. Money is mostly absolutely pointless. Guns shops who needs them? There is no customisation on the various weapons used. Weapons are found with the ammo in abundance on each chapter. Fighting stinks, the moves are so limited, a motion of were they dead yet, yawn..

    The save system is done through story progression. What? The Dev's had an entertaining collectible in the form of some real dated porn, containing yucky tan lines and quite ugly awful 50's chicks. Apart from the one or two exceptions. These are collected in the chapter missions, most are easy finds, adding something else to the game. Although what was the point in collecting them? It wasn't like I was able to meet them, or date them in game. Just some rather ugly photo's. However what the hell were they thinking, making those wanted posters? 159 stupid pointless **** posters that all look the same, found in the most obscure locations, adding hours on to this really short game. I reckon they literally made them up, by taking pictures of themself and photo shopping a beard or haircut on. I mean who f'ing thought that they would be a fun idea to add into this game? I don't give a **** about jimmy the fish some f'ing smoe, and any of the rest of them. There was absolutely no point in exploring half of the map except to collect any wanted crap, but why than why the f would you bother?

    The chapters themselves take all of about 10 hours of game time from start to finish. Okay I agree within a some what entertaining story. Although the accents used mostly sounded wrong, they didn't really sound like goodfellas or wise guys.. The DLC's got a bit funner having better idea's on how to play a game, but the gameplay was still that same design, and the DLC were just too damn late. Today the DLC's cannot even be acquired anymore, because this game hasn't renewed the licensing..

    If your gonna make a mafia game A**holes. Make the Russian mob, Cartels,. Yakuza, Triads or IRA. Make a story about horse racing, gambling, casinos, weapon trafficking, human trafficking, everything smuggled from ivory to whatever electronics, and drugs. Fighting championships, assassinations, rampages, vehicle racing, girls and strippers. Make it something 18, starting in the streets or a prison and working up to owning the city and whatever other islands. Don't make another god awful GTA 5 story about absolute stinking bull****, it had some better ideas but those characters really stunk apart from gangster Trev but he was insane.. I don't want any **** collectibles that don't provide any reason to collect them. I want customisation on everything fom clothes, tattoos, body, haircut, accommodations, weapons, vehicles and girlfriends.

    Go on now and make a proper game instead of selling another ripped off cloned generic bull****. I bet they literally took some sucking GTA variable, pixeling in all of the rest, this game really stinks.    … Expand
  13. Lizadavid127
    Feb 11, 2020
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Шановні дивелопери! Мене супершу дуже зацікавила ваша гра. Але коли коли я побачила краватку Генрі у мене стався розлад шлунку! Виправте будь ласка… Expand
  14. LyoneX
    Jan 6, 2021
    0
    First of all the amount of traffic is way over-done. I wish game creators would stop trying so hard to push realism because this game is a good example of what happens when game creators try to hard with realism. How am I suppose to keep my car on the road let alone stop my car at a red light when Its constantly snowing or raining. Another thing that made me sick with this game is the factFirst of all the amount of traffic is way over-done. I wish game creators would stop trying so hard to push realism because this game is a good example of what happens when game creators try to hard with realism. How am I suppose to keep my car on the road let alone stop my car at a red light when Its constantly snowing or raining. Another thing that made me sick with this game is the fact that I can even sneeze without the cops turning around and wanting to chase me down for it. Really guys! The game started out ok, but started loosing interest real fast. Problem is even when a game is **** if I start it I almost always have to finish it, But this one I Can't. So the only plus I can give to this game is the fact it has lifted my curse of having to finish games even if they are crap. To finish up my review I will say to the game creators there is a huge difference between fun and frustration. It's a game, it's a game, It's a freaking game. Knock off the horse **** realism and get back to pure fun gaming… Expand

Awards & Rankings

7
#7 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2010
11
#11 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2010

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 79 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 51 out of 79
  2. Mixed: 23 out of 79
  3. Negative: 5 out of 79
  1. Video Game Talk
    Jan 12, 2011
    60
    A great story that manages to make old ground seem fresh, coupled with out-of-this world sound design, is sadly attached to a middle-of-the-road, limited third-person gaming experience.
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  2. GameSpot
    85
    Mafia II's exciting action and uncompromising mob story make for an impressive and violent adventure.
    Read full review
  3. Giant Bomb
    60
    I'm a sucker for a good mob story, but Mafia II's is merely decent.
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