Mafia II

You know what was the most accurate aspect HBO's award-winning TV series The Sopranos' depiction of Mafia life? Not the whacking, not the idea of honor, but instead Tony Soprano's determined, yet aimless driving around town that embodies the mafia boss's struggle against his societal cage. 2K Games' Mafia II, available on OnLive's gaming service, similarly touches on Mafia themes--the importance of family, honor, revenge--but also gives the player the unusual experience of driving around a town for hours with nothing to do but ponder the weight of their actions. While an action-game at heart, the slow burn of the narrative and long-winded pacing makes Mafia II less a thrill ride than a creaky drive around town.

To put it another way: While many action games are Red Bull-infused, machine gun-toting nutjobs with attention spans as short as their hair, Mafia II is the relaxed, serious man in the corner. He's well dressed, a little bit boring, but tells a good yarn between long drags on his cigarette.

In Mafia II, you play as Vito Scaletta. Your family immigrated to Empire Bay (a fictionalized NYC) from Sicily, and you and your best friend Joe Barbaro get involved in a life of crime. In the game's all-too brief opening mission, you serve in the American army during the Italian campaign. It's a remarkably clever way to introduce the player to the game's third-person shooter combat system and also introduces the player to the power of the mafia--even during war. After being sent home due to an injury sustained while fighting the Nazis, Joe and Vito rise through the ranks of the local mafia. They steal, they rough up greasers, they kill people.

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You know what was the most accurate aspect HBO's award-winning TV series The Sopranos' depiction of Mafia life? Not the whacking, not the idea of honor, but instead Tony Soprano's determined, yet aimless driving around town that embodies the mafia boss's struggle against his societal cage. 2K Games' Mafia II, available on OnLive's gaming service, similarly touches on Mafia themes--the importance of family, honor, revenge--but also gives the player the unusual experience of driving around a town for hours with nothing to do but ponder the weight of their actions. While an action-game at heart, the slow burn of the narrative and long-winded pacing makes Mafia II less a thrill ride than a creaky drive around town.

To put it another way: While many action games are Red Bull-infused, machine gun-toting nutjobs with attention spans as short as their hair, Mafia II is the relaxed, serious man in the corner. He's well dressed, a little bit boring, but tells a good yarn between long drags on his cigarette.

In Mafia II, you play as Vito Scaletta. Your family immigrated to Empire Bay (a fictionalized NYC) from Sicily, and you and your best friend Joe Barbaro get involved in a life of crime. In the game's all-too brief opening mission, you serve in the American army during the Italian campaign. It's a remarkably clever way to introduce the player to the game's third-person shooter combat system and also introduces the player to the power of the mafia--even during war. After being sent home due to an injury sustained while fighting the Nazis, Joe and Vito rise through the ranks of the local mafia. They steal, they rough up greasers, they kill people.

The missions vary from linear slugfests in buildings to epic car chases across town. Your enjoyment of these missions will depend largely on whether Vito is driving, shooting, or brawling. The cars, in a touch of unwanted realism, all handle like oil tankers. You drive to and from virtually every mission and some missions require you to drive as the focus of the mission, making these by far the least enjoyable. Brawling, meanwhile, is a simple light/heavy punch, dodge, and counter system. It's serviceable, but it's by no means impressive and the propensity for the developers to throw in segments where fisticuffs are required makes its tediousness more apparent. Finally, the shooting/cover system is smooth, easy to pick up, and fun. The developers seem more at home in these segments too, giving you slaughterhouses, warehouses, oil refineries, office buildings, and other iconic Mafia-esque locales to shoot up. As proven by the brief wartime prologue, Mafia II's combat system could be equally at home in a wartime shooter. In fact, it's superior to many.

Mafia II's story is an amalgam of the gangster films Goodfellas, Once Upon a Time in America, and The Godfather series. Spoilers ahead: While well-worn tropes like whacking guys and disposing of their bodies are present, there are some clever twists here as well. While many games have you avoid jail time or see no consequences for your actions, Vito takes the fall for an earlier job in the game and ends up in jail. While in jail, the tone of the game shifts to something much darker and the narrative really hits its stride. After getting released, the player will notice some major changes to the city; everything from the music to the cars to the neighborhoods all reflect a shift from a WWII-era depression to the boom of the 1950s. The plot and its characters get more depth though no moral choices or side quests are offered. Mafia II has one story to tell, and you've already heard it.

While Mafia II features a beautifully detailed, expansive city to explore, it is not a sandbox game. Between missions, you can buy clothing, paint your car, get gas, buy guns, and eat around town. But that's it. Unlike famed sandbox games like Grand Theft Auto III, there aren't any side missions to undertake nor is there much to do to keep you distracted from the main plot. There is one story arc, one plotline, and each chapter effectively ends when the mission is completed and you go to sleep each night.

It's a striking design choice that you'll either appreciate or hate. 2K Games has built you a wonderful world to explore but has given you almost nothing to do. On the flip side, there are few games out there that are as immersive as much as Mafia II. Licensed era music plays in the background, there are many restaurants and bars (some with nods to various noir iconery like The Maltese Falcon), and there dozens of authentic cars to drive.

But there isn't much depth here. It seems unfair to compare Mafia II to Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption, and yet all story-driven games must now look to that standard. In addition to offering impressive visuals and a wealth of things to do, Red Dead Redemption had one of the best stories (and endings) in gaming history. Mafia II has a familiar story, but the campaign is short and there isn't a fraction of the content here to keep you coming back for more.

What's frustrating is that as tight and as impressive as Mafia II's immersive world is, there are some weird distractions that break you out of the world. The city is a fictional cross between several East Coast cities, but the world bulletins all refer to real WWII events. The game makes reference to fictional characters and sports teams but also real people like President Franklin D. Roosevelt. There's also a strange "collect the Playboy magazines" side game, virtually the only optional quest in the game, that lets you find vintage pinups. So first, no, this game is not for your teenager. Secondly, the mixing of fictional and real names and places can be awkward at times. And finally, 2K Games spent money to get the licensing for vintage Playboys but the company couldn't spend more money on better secondary dialogue, a better driving system, or heck, more content? Just seems like a weird marketing ploy that doesn't add anything.

The allied artificial intelligence (AI), especially your friend Joe, is one of the bright spots of the game. While the secondary dialogue is forgettable (Joe has about six canned reactions to any combat situation), he takes cover with you, lays down covering fire, shoots well, and is generally useful in a fight. The AI in the rest of the world is also universally smart and realistic. Everyone around you obeys red lights, goes the speed limit, and traffic flows smoothly around town. The police in Mafia II are also vigilant: You'll be ticketed for speeding, arrested for hit and runs, and shot at for anything more violent. Losing them is easy on foot (just break their line of sight, essentially) but nearly impossible in a car (due again to the cars handling like drunken yaks).

Through OnLive's service, Mafia II looked absolutely gorgeous. Even with the notch-down resolution, this is a beautiful, beautiful game. While there are moments when the characters perform stiffly or the dialogue doesn't sync, on the whole the voice acting and realism are up there with the industry's best.

Macworld's buying advice

Mafia II's developers have a very narrow path to walk. The game has a strong shooting combat system, but these segments are too infrequent for the game to be purely classified as a "third-person shooter." The expansive city that requires a great deal of driving would suggest a "sandbox game" but there is too little to do and a linear path and plot to the game. The genre chimera that is Mafia II is best appreciated by those who are looking for an immersive mafia experience with a compelling, if clichéd, story. There are better combat and sandbox games out there, but few that treat the mafia life as seriously or with such reverence. Mafia II doesn't do anything new for Mafia games, but sometimes a well-worn shoe fits best. Capiche?

Chris Holt is a Macworld associate editor.