If you are a gamer that enjoys proper storytelling and great stories and character backgrounds and development, then this is the game for you. If you enjoy running over hookers and roaming around, you might not enjoy this as much. I first played the pirated version right when it came out, and it is the only game that I have ever played in one sitting, not leaving the computer until I saw the end credits. I also recommend playing the original before this one as you'll miss out on some things.

Story: 9.5/10 :: Visual design: 9/10 Gameplay: 8/10 :: Difficulty: 4/10 :: Recommandation: Buy

:: STORY ::
As a big Mafia franchise fan, I might be a bit biased. However, I find the stories of both first and second game to be compelling and maybe, just maybe, two of the best stories in gaming history. I will not bother to compare the stories in the two games. It's pointless to me, as I did not except a remake of the original, so the fact that the second game's story was different and even intertwining with the first game's story was more than enough.

Unlike the first game, the focus of the story is around only two characters Vito and Joe, and their quest to becoming financially successful by unlawful or questionable methods. The relationship and chemistry between the two characters is what matters, and the fact that, no matter what difficulties you may encounter along your paths, you two will have each other's backs.

The side characters are also interesting, and the one who I found most interesting was Henry, one of the made men who you end up working for and working with, who later turns out to be an informant for the FBI. This is one of the characters that deserved a DLC along Joe and I hope we'll be seeing him in future games.

I have seen and read many complaints regarding the ending. However, I do not feel the same way. The uncertainty of the ending seemed justified and much more bleak than the one in the first game, where it shows you how the events will turn out. Not only does it leave room for your imagination to kick in and choose your own ending, but it also leaves room for future installments to link to events that are still unclear. I am referring here, obviously, to the fact that, you do not know if Vito did something to save Joe or not.

The story can keep you playing just by itself, and without a doubt it will keep me coming back to replay the game, just like I did and still do so very often with the original.

:: VISUAL DESIGN ::
The location where the game takes place is visually impressive and diverse. It captures the feel of the era with great fidelity, and the grim, sad aspect of the city in full winter is a vivid representation of the World War II period in the states. Unlike the first game, the entire city is open for exploring since the first minute you gain control and a set of lockpicks.

The character designs are very well put together, with few exceptions. However, you can tell the difference between main or recurring characters and episodic ones. The recurring cast has much more effort put in detailing their appearance, expressions and eye movements.

Vehicle design is, just like in the first game, a strong point. It's not your regular open-world driving simulator. The cars have responsiveness according to the era and the state of the car, not to mention, just like the first game, progressing the story and in time gives you access to newer and better cars, with a wide variety to choose from.

:: GAMEPLAY ::
I would like to praise this game in terms of gameplay, however there are aspects of it that clearly bugged the hell out of me.

Car NPCs are one big steaming pile of ♥♥♥♥. I have no idea where they learned how to drive. Their collision detection is way off. If you steer to avoid them, they will just steer towards you. If they notice you in the way, they accelerate. If they come in an intersection, without traffic lights, they won't give right of way. If you stop to avoid them and they stop as well (usually in corners), they'll start driving right away. If they change lanes, they won't check if somebody is coming on the other lane, they'll just change it right in you.

Police NPCs are again a big issue. Cars bumping into me, I get fined. Police cars bumping into me. I get fined. Level 4 police chase? Easy as pie to escape.

The pros of the gameplay are the variety of activities you can do in game to get immersed in the universe. Buy clothes (tho' very limited options), get drinks, get food, go to car shops, gun shops, get gas for your car (if you'll go for achievements, you'll need it), upgrade your rides. For a 6 year old game, these are very good features. I hope that fore the future we'll get more of these "little" aspects.

Also, for the future, I'd like to see more immersion in the city itself. Like more starter missions (to not be confused with side missions, I don't want Mafia to become GTA), where you have to walk or use public transportation (taxis, buses, trams, trains), and not just jump straight to a car. Also, progressing in a game through different area missions (low-end missions in bad neighbourhoods, medium-level missions in downtown or residential areas, top level missions to send you to the luxury areas), gradually, giving you a chance to truly learn the streets and the areas, territories and landmarks. As a game that focuses a lot on the driving, I kinda felt annoyed that I constantly needed to use and pay attention to the radar to see where I was going, and not enough attention to the visually impressive environment.

:: DIFFICULTY ::
When it comes to difficulty, I couldn't call this game difficult. Even on the "hard" difficulty setting, the game is more than accessible. As there are 2 achievements that get unlocked by finishing the game in the hard difficulty, I recommend you go straight to that. This is not a difficult game to play and finish.

:: ACHIEVEMENTS ::
Most of the game's achievements (excluding DLC) are story related. You can get them in one go if you pay attention. Then agains, there's the pain in the ass achievement which requires collecting the 159 wanted posters around the city. The top side is, you get to actually explore the city. The downside? 159 posters and a few hours of gameplay just to get one achievement. Splitting this in 4-5 different achievements would've made this achievement much more... digestable. All the other 48 achievements (excluding DLC) are easy to get even in Hard difficulty.

:: CONCLUSION ::
If you decide to skip on this franchise, you're missing out. This isn't a Godfather replica, although it does have easter eggs and influences from the genre. That said, this isn't necessarily a game for mobster enthusiasts. This isn't a GTA replica. I dislike seeing people complaining about the lack of "open-ness" in this open-world game. You have plenty of opportunities to free roam. It's just not in the style of GTA. This game's focus is more on the story than on the open-world. That being said, I strongly recommend buying this game if you enjoy good story-telling and movie-like presentation with plenty of cutscenes and plenty of gameplay and also replayability value. Worth the full price, but it's a rather old game so you should get it on sale or discount.