The world of Mafia II is one of incredible detail, and attention to detail. The city of Empire Bay that plays host to your anti-social adventures is crammed with fine touches, like smoke billowing out of street vents and eye-catching lighting and colour, as well as overarching and complicated designs, like winding suburban paths, sprawling city streets, and filthy scrapyards.

Empire Bay is an enormous place, bustling with activity. The rush of 1940’s style cars over the roads and the movement of inhabitants across pavements combined with a cacophony of city sounds makes for a real ‘living, breathing’ city. If you want to get away from the hustle, take a trip into the greenery of the hills at night and spy vast vistas below you, with a constellation of towering skyscrapers and simple homes spilling into the starlit sky above.

Arriving back into Empire Bay at dawn via one of the immense, yawning bridges changes the complexion of the city again as the sun creeps over the brick and concrete of the world, stretching rays of light over the landscape ahead to transform buildings into intimidating silhouettes that sit imposingly in front of you, all set against an inviting pale orange sky – quite a contrast!

With all of the razzle-dazzle detail, visual excess and expansive scenery, however, Mafia II simply doesn’t deliver a game equal to its presentation, and instead contents itself with stringing players along on a linear story-based crime caper that, although delivered extremely well, requires far too much unnecessary and stringent work on the part of the player to fully enjoy.

Continue reading El33tonline’s review of Mafia II.