Developer : 2K Games
Release date : August 27, 2010
Synopsis :
Mafia II is a 2010 action-adventure game developed by 2K Czech and published by 2K Games. It was released in August for PlayStation 3, Windows, and Xbox 360. The game is a standalone sequel to 2002’s Mafia, and the second installment in the Mafia series. Set within the fictional city of Empire Bay from 1945 to 1951, the story follows Vito Scaletta, a young Sicillian-American mobster and war veteran, who becomes caught in a power struggle among the city’s Mafia crime families while attempting to pay back his father’s debts and secure a better lifestyle alongside his best friend.
The game is played from a third-person perspective and its world is navigated on-foot or by vehicle. The player character’s criminal activities may incite a response from law enforcement agencies, measured by a “wanted” system that governs the aggression of their response. Development began in 2003, soon after the release of the first Mafia game. At release, Mafia II received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise particularly directed at its story, characters, and gameplay; however, the restrictive world design and lack of certain features present in other sandbox games was criticized.
A version of the game including all previously released downloadable content, entitled Mafia II: Director’s Cut, was released by Feral Interactive in December 2011. A sequel, Mafia III, developed by Hangar 13, was released in October 2016. To coincide with the remake of the first game of the series, Mafia II: Definitive Edition, a remastered version of the game developed by D3T, was released by 2K Games on 19 May 2020. It received mixed reviews, particularly for its bugs and glitches, most of which were not present in the original version of Mafia II. This Definitive Edition was later bundled in the Mafia: Trilogy pack, released on 25 September 2020.
In 1943, Sicilian immigrant Vito Scaletta is arrested during a robbery and opts to join the United States Army to avoid prison time, being enlisted in the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment as a jeep driver. Vito first experiences the power of the Mafia when an operation in Sicily goes awry, and Don Calò arrives, ordering the Italian soldiers to stand down.
In February 1945, Vito returns home on leave to Empire Bay and reunites with his childhood friend and partner Joe Barbaro, who has joined the Clemente crime family in his absence. Joe supplies Vito with counterfeit discharge papers and introduces him to some of his contacts for work. Learning that his late father left the family in debt to a loan shark, Vito seeks work with his father’s former employer, Derek Pappalardo, who has ties with the Mafia. Later, he carries out several jobs alongside Joe and Henry Tomasino, a Clemente made man, securing enough money to pay off his father’s debt. However, Vito is arrested again, this time for the theft and sale of ration stamps, and sentenced to ten years in prison. While serving the time, Vito befriends Leo Galante, the consigliere of Don Frank Vinci, but learns from his sister Francesca that their mother died and all the money Vito had obtained was spent on her funeral.
In April 1951, Vito is released early due to his connections to Leo. Reuniting with Joe, the pair work their way up the ranks of the Falcone family, led by Don Carlo Falcone and his underboss Eddie Scarpa. After several jobs, Vito and Joe become made men within Falcone’s organization, allowing them to secure a better lifestyle. Learning that the Clementes are conducting drug operations against the traditions of the Commission, Carlo orders the pair to assassinate Don Alberto Clemente. Following the hit, Henry approaches Eddie through Vito in search of new employment and is ordered to kill Leo to prove himself. Although Vito manages to warn Leo in time and help him leave the city, the Falcones nonetheless welcome Henry into the family.
Vito quickly finds his life falling into turmoil after Francesca distances herself from him because of his mobster lifestyle, and his house is destroyed in a firebombing by the Irish Mob. To rebuild his fortunes, Vito joins Joe and Henry to profit from the sale of heroin bought from the city’s Triads. However, Carlo, who is also conducting drug operations behind the Commission’s back, learns about this and demands a cut of their profits. When Vito and Joe go to meet with Henry to discuss the matter, they witness the Triads publicly executing him and escaping with their money. The pair pursue them, killing a high-ranking Triad lieutenant in the process, but fail to retrieve the money. Indebted to loan shark Bruno Levine, whose money they borrowed for the heroin deal, Vito and Joe take on various jobs to raise money, including the assassination of retired mobster Tommy Angelo. When Vito visits Derek in search of work, he discovers that the latter ordered his father’s death, and kills him in revenge. Meanwhile, the Vinci family kidnaps and tortures Joe. Vito manages to save him, but the pair learn that their actions have sparked a war between the Mafia and the Triads.
After paying off the debt to Bruno, revealed to be the same loan shark his father was indebted to, Vito is called by Carlo to the planetarium for a meeting. On the way there, Leo picks him up and chastises him for the problems he caused, before confirming that Henry was a federal informant and that Carlo wants to kill Vito for vouching for him. However, grateful to Vito for previously saving his life, Leo has arranged for him to be spared by both the Commission and the Triads as long as he kills their common enemy: Carlo. At the planetarium, Vito discovers that Carlo offered to make Joe a caporegime if he killed him. However, Joe refuses and helps Vito kill Carlo. Outside, the pair are greeted by Leo, who takes Vito with him to celebrate, while Joe is driven off in a separate car. When Vito asks where Joe is being taken, Leo reveals that he was not part of their deal, leaving Vito to watch helplessly as his friend is taken away to whatever fate awaits him.
Source : Wikipedia
