It’s there to immerse, not entertain, and it’s honestly even more of a breath of fresh air now than it was 10 years ago.
#Mafia 2 definitive edition vs original free
You’ll almost always have free reign to explore the city, sure, but there’s very rarely any reason to. One of the most notable things about Mafia II’s Empire Bay is that it doesn’t follow the traditional open world ethos of littering the environment with distractions and extraneous gameplay outside of the critical path. Still, it’s all in service of a narrative that’s arguably more engaging than the gameplay and the world is rich enough that it never feels overly game-y anyway. The 10-12 hour story takes players on a mostly linear path through missions that tend to follow the same ‘go here, engage in some stop-n-pop shooting, dodge the cops and go home’ template, which wasn’t exactly revolutionary in 2010 and is even less so now. A disclaimer that pops up before starting the game reminds players that this is the exact same game released in 2010, occasionally culturally-insensitive warts and all, but as a whole it holds up surprisingly well.įor the most part, Mafia II is a fairly stock-standard cover-based shooter with the occasional car chase and some light stealth for good measure. The whole thing is pure gangster fiction in the vein of Goodfellas and Once Upon A Time In America and really nails the feeling of those classics without ever coming off as derivative. Centred around main playable character and war veteran, Vito Scaletta, along with his old friend and Italian mob initiate, Joe Barbaro, the game’s narrative takes place in fictional Empire Bay and spans a timeline from the 1940s to 50s. If you’ve never played Mafia II before, don’t be put off by the number in the title – this is a self-contained story with only the most minute connection to the first game.
![mafia 2 definitive edition vs original mafia 2 definitive edition vs original](https://gamerbraves.sgp1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/2020/05/mf23.jpg)
It was with great excitement then, that I was able to spend the last week tearing up the mean streets of Empire Bay at 40mph in Mafia II: Definitive Edition.
![mafia 2 definitive edition vs original mafia 2 definitive edition vs original](https://www.gamereactor.eu/media/27/mafia2_3162703b.jpg)
The Mafia games have always had a good following, even if they never set the world on fire, and Mafia II in particular has always been one of the most memorable action games of the previous generation in my eyes. In a surprise (but not surprising) move, 2K Games is throwing a fedora in the ring and resurrecting a franchise that I’ve always enjoyed but never expected to get the remaster treatment. As we inch closer and closer to the end of a console generation, more than ever publishers are churning out ports, remasters and remakes of classic and memorable games of the past.