Mafia 2 Review

Bought the game last night and Finished it today.

Rating:
Story: 4/10
-The story is no where near as good as Mafia 1's, and even at the very beginning of the game it feels as tho you are being rushed through it, with key elements being left out. There is hardy any time to get to know the characters well other than the ones you do jobs consistently for. To sum it up, the story is just you playing around as a want-to-be / low life thug who finds out the odds and ends of the Mafia business. There is no real major story to it.

Action: 8.5/10
-The game play is fairly good with only a few minor flaws that may frustrate the player. Everything from Fist to Fist, to Gun to Gun battling is very well portrayed, however there are a few parts in the game which are extremely B.S. towards the player if playing on the highest difficulty. I like this, but at the same time you may find yourself re-starting the level a few times before lady luck is back on your side.

Game Quality: 10/10
-The quality of the game seems like it was the center of attention in development. There are almost no bugs or glitches which are highly visible, and only a few very minor things that can go wrong. Overall the entire package is wonderful, with great effects and detail all around the city, and variations of all of them for Day, Evening, Night, Rain, and even Snow.

Driving: 6.5/10
-I found myself not minding the driving, but it is indeed very arcade. Even if your going 100mph and immediately turn 90 degrees sideways, you will find yourself barely sliding at all, and if you apply the brakes at..100mph, you will stop with the force of a train colliding into you. Winter driving seemed to be hardly any different from regular driving, even tho the roads are iced as hell and you see people slipping and falling down everywhere on the sidewalks.

Features: 6.5/10
-I really liked the shops, restaurants, combat moves, ability to rob shops, change your license plates and all the other shit that goes along with that, but there were still many main features that were disappointingly left out: Taxi Rides, Bus Rides, The metro and the train were all left out as means of transportation. The biggest, and major disappointment for me was that they completely left out any form of non-campaign Free-ride mode as they had done in Mafia 1. After you finish the story, you are left with nothing else to do, and not even the ability to roam the city. The city itself is only about the size of Algonquin + Bohan from GTA IV, and they completely left out the countryside from the game, or other area's that could have been used. There is evidence on your map that they may have planned to use these grey area's on the outskirts, but never got around to it.