Fri, Aug 20, 2010 | 20:31 BST
Game Informer’s Mafia II review is good
A Mafia II review from Game Informer has hit.
Game Informer gave the 2K Czech title a lovely 9/10.
While the review admits Mafia II suffers from “minor annoyances” like relying “heavily on cutscenes, and sometimes doesn’t know when to draw the line between interacting with the world and triggering a cutscene”.
The reviewer, Matt Bertz, also found issues sometimes with NPC intelligence during missions, stating at times it could be a bit “troublesome”.
“In one mission I had to tail a car to find out where it was headed, but the driver got into an accident and the mission failed,” he said.
However, the rest of the review was rather glowing, stating the “impressive” attention to detail was “most noticeable in the expertly crafted building interiors, which look like destructible sets pulled straight out of Mad Men”, and said the game’s world of Empire Bay was “a much more focused experience” than GTA’s Liberty City, and those who cannot finish lengthy games like Red Dead Redemption would “appreciate Mafia II’s direct storytelling”.
Sounds great to us. Read the full thing for yourself through the link up top.
If you are not insulted by Italian stereotypes, and are interested in a soundtrack full of swingers who had ties to the mob back in the day, check out the full list of songs in the game over on BigDownload.
Mafia II is out August 24 and the demo is still available on PS3 and Xbox 360.
40 comments
#1
kkzooi123
20/08/10, 8:10 pm
Bad port, not gonna buy it.
#2
DJ Deathstar
20/08/10, 8:19 pm
The OXM UK review came out a couple of weeks back, got a 7/10
#3
ExclusivesMostly
20/08/10, 8:20 pm
Yeah don’t support laziness.
#4
Stephany Nunneley
20/08/10, 8:21 pm
@2 All well, I didn’t see that one. Hence the addition of “we think” added in there.
I added it to the first line now as well. I am gonna have to start subscribing to everything under the sun, apparently.
#5
metamorphic
20/08/10, 8:21 pm
Uh, not true. OXM, OPM, GM and other magazines have already reviewed the game. A minor amount of research would have led to: http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=77255
#6
Gekidami
20/08/10, 8:22 pm
7 from Official Playstation mag UK, 8 from PC Zone UK.
#7
Stephany Nunneley
20/08/10, 8:22 pm
@5 Well my “minor” amount of research didn’t go to the forums either.
#8
Erthazus
20/08/10, 8:23 pm
I think you should buy it no matter what port it is.
I remember my stupid and awful Rage about port over Red Dead Redemption. That was a mistake. Even if it was worse than the Xbox 360 version i still enjoyed game a lot and finished it.
Yeah, Mafia II port uses one Core of the processor and it lacks of some pieces from the graphics, but everything else is the same. But to be fair Xbox 360 and Ps3 version looks bad compared to the PC version.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzkIhgp27r8 here you go, a good example.
#9
kkzooi123
20/08/10, 8:24 pm
A 7 is very bad for such a hyped game
#10
Stephany Nunneley
20/08/10, 8:25 pm
Alright it’s changed. Stop yelling at me. We’ll do a round up next week.
#11
metamorphic
20/08/10, 8:28 pm
@7, 10
Oh well, the game has still been a major disappointment; its reviews haven’t even come close to the great, overwhelming acclaim the original Mafia received. Talk has been rampant on their forums as well of how this has been such a bad effort and how lacking it’s been, compared to the original. Game Informer has always been very generous in their reviews, so I never take them seriously anyway.
#12
onlineatron
20/08/10, 8:29 pm
@10
WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO US, YOU’RE KILLING US ALL BY KINDA, MAYBE, BEING WRONG ABOUT ONE TINY THING!!!
SHAME ON YOU!!!
#13
Gekidami
20/08/10, 8:31 pm
Overwhelming acclaim the original Mafia received? The first one has a metacritic score of 88 on PC and 65 on PS2. 88 isnt bad but overwhelming citical acclaim? Hardly…
#14
Erthazus
20/08/10, 8:34 pm
@13 At that time 88 was like in our days 98.
Mafia 1 was a masterpiece. PS2 was a very bad port that missed a lot of functions from the PC game.
#15
metamorphic
20/08/10, 8:36 pm
@Gekidami
The Metacritic “score” only lists 27 reviews, so I don’t take that as gospel, no. If you talk about actual, reliable publications, Gamestop rated it as 9.3 and amongst the biggest games of that year. The original just felt and seemed authentic; the sequel just feels pale and lame in comparison.
#16
Stephany Nunneley
20/08/10, 8:42 pm
@12 I know! How dare I!
#17
SunKing
20/08/10, 8:42 pm
Seen the scores on the forum; I’m now convinced.
Buying on the PC, obviously. It’s still dead, right? Just checking.
#18
metamorphic
20/08/10, 8:45 pm
@16
BTW, where is the Agent writeup (“Agent’s story will be ‘very fresh for gamers’, says Take-Two”) that’s seemingly listed on the RSS but nowhere to be found on the main site? This might be the freshest news we’ve heard of Agent in the past few months, so it’s imperative we know. :3
#19
Maxey
20/08/10, 8:45 pm
The PC is getting the best version of a game, for a change.
Feel the pain, consoles.
Disclaimer: I have a PS3 and enjoy playing on it but I’m primarily a PC gamer.
#20
Gekidami
20/08/10, 8:46 pm
@15
You wont take 27 reviews (which include Gamespots) as “bible” but you’ll take one single one as the ultimate authority on the games quality? Come on now, thats just cherry picking.
@18
It turned out to be old news.
#21
metamorphic
20/08/10, 8:50 pm
@Gekidami
Who’s talking about only taking their review; the vast majority of published reviews at the time (which were quite a bit more than 27) glowingly praised the game in overwhelming terms, yes. Just because you don’t see them on Metacritic (funny how some people seem to think this site is sacred, when it’s not even the main aggregator for movies or other media) doesn’t mean they aren’t there– you’d either have to do research, or would need to use a time machine.
#22
Joe Anderson
20/08/10, 9:14 pm
Leave Steph alone or you will have me to deal with.
#23
threadzilla
20/08/10, 9:20 pm
@ 19 I’m primarily a ps3 gamer but also have a pc to game with. Its the best of both worlds. Although I have to admit after getting my pc my ps3 gaming has declined.
#24
Joe Anderson
20/08/10, 9:23 pm
I cancelled my copy on PS3, too many good games coming out so I can spend my cash elsewhere. September is packed with quality titles.
#25
Lord Gremlin
20/08/10, 9:26 pm
I prefer PS3 and feel deeply insulted by the fact they’re trying to sell me this shit they call “PS3 version”.
I have a gaming PC, but since I refuse to support those who refuse to support PS3 I’ll pirate the game and hope that the development team won’t make any money and will be fired.
That said, I’ve bought Bioshock for both PC and PS3. But it was done well on both, with full content, effects etc.
#26
Stephany Nunneley
20/08/10, 9:27 pm
I want the game, but I am saving money. So, I will have to wait. Games or beach. It’s a hard choice, but I choose the beach.
Still… my birthday is next month…. (wink wink nudge nudge say no more)
#27
Gekidami
20/08/10, 9:29 pm
I’ll wait till i see it cheap, second hand.
#28
AHA-Lambda
20/08/10, 9:32 pm
I’ll maybe rent it
#29
JimFear666
20/08/10, 10:27 pm
its not a port… they did a version for each console.
they did not port the game to any console… at least that what the social manager said on the 2k forum.
#30
The Hindle
20/08/10, 10:56 pm
Mr Anderson has spoken now, leave Steph alone or he will do to you what he did to Agent Smith.
#31
Stephany Nunneley
20/08/10, 11:03 pm
@30 LOL! As you as you said Mr. Anderson, that popped in my head before I read the rest of your post
The Matrix ruined the Anderson last name for everyone who carries it.
#32
Callum
20/08/10, 11:12 pm
Are you kidding? I would fucking love to be called Mr Anderson!
#33
Callum
20/08/10, 11:13 pm
My bank account statements would be SOO epic!
#34
AHA-Lambda
20/08/10, 11:25 pm
i think it would be awesome aswell but then again my name aint anderson
i’m sure even now 11 years later people all over the world still get called mr anderson all the time lol
#35
Happy Hardon Harry
21/08/10, 12:02 am
Lord Gremlin said:
August 20, 2010 at 9:26 pm
I have a gaming PC, but since I refuse to support those who refuse to support PS3 I’ll pirate the game and hope that the development team won’t make any money and will be fired.
Sigh..you’re a prick! It’s people like you, who pirate games, that’ll drive this industry into the ground. And when there is no games to play because assholes like you ruined it for the rest of us, you’ll then realise you shouldn’t have copied such game/games.
#36
AHA-Lambda
21/08/10, 12:09 am
“I have a gaming PC, but since I refuse to support those who refuse to support PS3 I’ll pirate the game and hope that the development team won’t make any money and will be fired.”
how does that make any sense? If you dont want to support the devs because of their ps3 version either:
dont buy it period or just buy another version! i agree with 35 people like you are just scum.
btw nice touch wishing people to get fired and all that wtf are you 12 or something? ass
#37
LOLshock94
21/08/10, 12:19 am
the demo was very shit
#38
albo88
21/08/10, 2:16 am
mafia 2 is looking just the same old mafia i loved long time age so who dont like it can go back to hes also called next gen graphic little kids need to get some masturbation b4 talking shit
#39
lucascane
21/08/10, 5:55 am
I played PC Demo version. It’s so much fun.
#40
NightCrawler1970
21/08/10, 5:05 pm
@39, 7 fricken minutes demo, YOU CALL THAT FUN???
First of all, it give me a shit-race, if a game dev, comes with a “TIMED” demo.
i wait when it’s cheaper, 2K wouldn’t see my full price, if 2K wanna be cheap, so can i.
Cant believe it took 8 years to build that game.
GTA 5 will be done next year.