Mafia II
| Mafia II | |||
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| Studio |
 2K Czech
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| Publisher |
 2K Games
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| Erstveröffent- lichung |
 August 24, 2010 August 26, 2010 August 27, 2010  |
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| platform | Windows , PlayStation 3 , PlayStation 4 , Xbox 360 , Xbox One , Onlive , Mac OS X | ||
| Game engine | illusion | ||
| genre | Action | ||
| Subject | mafia | ||
| system advantages preconditions |
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| Age rating |
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| information | According to 2K, the game was released uncut in Germany and has no youth rating. | ||
Mafia II (or Mafia 2 ) is a video game and the sequel to Mafia . Compared to its predecessor, it contains a new graphics engine , new characters and a new time span. The game was released on August 27, 2010 for Windows and the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles . The Director's Cut for macOS was released by Feral Interactive on December 1, 2011. Daniel Vávra, who was already responsible for the plot in the previous game, could again be won over for the script. On May 19, 2020, Mafia II: Definitive Edition was released as a remastered version of the game for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One .
Trailer and screenshots
Ten days after the official announcement, the publisher 2K Games released the first trailer of the game on the official Mafia II website . The 1:36 minute video gives first impressions of the game environment and the new characters. In addition to this, pictures and wallpapers were also published, which offer further impressions. A new trailer aired in the US on December 15, 2008 as part of the 2008 Spike Video Game Awards . IGN released an exclusive E3 trailer on May 28, 2009. The video shows the mission The Buzzsaw .
Game information
action
The plot of the second part does not tie in with that of the predecessor . So Mafia II is actually not a direct sequel to Mafia, but there is an overlap, as Vito and his best friend Joe, Thomas Angelo, have to eliminate the protagonist from Mafia .
The game, set in the 1940s and 1950s, begins shortly before the end of the Second World War in the fictional city of Empire Bay in the USA. The young Vito joins the US Army in order not to have to go to prison after a jewel heist. During a mission in Sicily, he gets to do with the Cosa Nostra , the Sicilian mafia, for the first time : the local mafia boss gets the fascists to surrender to the Americans. When he gets home leave due to an injury, his old friend Joe, who maintains contacts with the underworld, helps him to be released from his service in the US Army. Vito learns that his dead father left behind heavy debts. To protect his sister from loan sharks, he and Joe start doing small jobs to get money.
The two get into the Clemente mafia family and are drawn into the dispute with the Vinci and Falcone families. Vito sells stolen tokens to several petrol stations. After a betrayal, Vito was sent to prison for this, where he met Leone Galante, who was able to get him out after a shorter time and introduced him to the Falcon family. Vito and Joe work their way up there until they are accepted into the family as full members. Vito's new good life ends abruptly when a member of an Irish gang sets his house on fire for killing their boss, Brian O'Neil, in prison.
Without money or an apartment, Vito and Joe decide to earn money on their own together with their friend Henry Tomasino. They borrow a large sum of money from Bruno Levine, with which they buy drugs from the Chinese triads in order to sell them on. However, Henry is killed by members of the Triads. During their vengeance, Vito and Joe find out that Henry allegedly worked as an undercover agent for the FBI. A war of the triads against the mafia begins and the authorities intervene. To save himself, Vito makes a deal with Leone Galante and a leader of the Triads to kill the mafia boss Falcone, who is staying with Joe in an observatory . Falcone asks Joe to kill Vito. However, he values the friendship more highly and supports Vito with his assignment. After the tough fight, both are happy to have settled the situation. Joe and Vito are asked to get into two different vehicles in front of the observatory by Leo Galante's men. The game ends with the car making a turn with Joe while the car with Vito and Leo continues straight ahead. Joe is supposed to be killed. Leo points out to Vito that Joe was not part of the deal.
Characters
The protagonist of the game is the former soldier Vittorio Scaletta, known as Vito, who went to World War II to avoid jail time after a failed jewelry robbery. He works with Joe Barbaro and Henry Tomasino for the Mafia boss Falcone, who owns a bistro on the East Side. Together with Eddie, Vito and Joe go out to do jobs for the family. One of Vito's first clients is the mechanic Mike "Mikey" Brusky, who hires him as a car thief.
Features
Vito has money in the game with which he can buy new clothes or weapons, fill up the vehicle or go out to eat. The rumor that you have to eat to survive has been denied - nor are there any gyms in Empire Bay. Food only serves to restore lost life energy. To get money, the player can rob shops, scrap cars at Mike Brusky or sell rare cars at the port. However, none of these actions are necessary for actual progress in the game.
city
Mafia II takes place in the fictional metropolis Empire Bay. Similar to Lost Heaven from the previous game, the main features of American cities serve as a template, the city is smaller than in the previous game. The DeLucas restaurant is in an eastern quarter. An elevated railway line can be seen in the trailer. The textures of the urban environment have been improved compared to Lost Heaven. In addition to DeLuca's restaurant, the trailer also features a warehouse and a building with an Asian-style interior. A screenshot shows port facilities with a larger cargo ship in the background.
Three different families rule the underworld of Empire Bay: the Clemente, the Vinci and the Falcone.
The city consists of 19 boroughs: Sand Island, Hunters Point, Greenfield, Kingston, Dipton, Riverside, Highbrooke, Hillwood, Uptown, Little Italy, Westside, Eastside, Chinatown, Midtown, Southport, Port, Oyster Bay, South Millville, North Millville . The size of the city covers approx. 20 km².
vehicles
The vehicles available are original models that can be driven through the streets of Empire Bay under the fictional brand names already known from Mafia (such as Lassiter for Cadillac or Smith for Ford , which was Bolt in the predecessor). The almost 50 different cars get dirty over time and can be washed. They also need to be refueled regularly to prevent the vehicle from coming to a standstill. There is also a realistic damage model with dents, scratches and splintered windows and different colored models. If the petrol tank is hit, a car may explode. Number plates, color and tires can be changed on the vehicles. In addition, vehicles can also be tuned up to three levels and thus become faster. The stealing of cars is also solved differently than was the case in the first game (a mini-game in which you have to put pens in the correct position in the lock). For this, the player can access all cars right from the start. In addition to cars and trucks, buses are also on the road in the city. Defective cars that are no longer roadworthy can be patched up on the bonnet of the respective character (Vito, Joe or Jimmy). There is also a train in the city, but the player cannot use it.
weapons
A multitude of weapons can already be seen on the first screenshots of the game as well as in the various trailers. Here is a list of known weapons: Colt M1911 , S&W Model 19, Mauser C96 , Thompson 1928 , Thompson M1A1 , Beretta Model 38A , M1 Garand , Karabiner 98k , Remington 870 Field Gun , MG 42 , MP 40 , M3 Grease Gun , and hand grenades Molotov cocktail .
Reviews
Mafia II received consistently good ratings in the area of 85% from the trade press, but according to critics it does not achieve the quality of Grand Theft Auto IV . GameStar awarded 85% and describes the title as a "gangster epic with a great story". PC Games , GamePro and the website 4Players also gave 85%. Computer Bild Spiele rated Mafia II as good (1.80). In the reviews, Mafia II was praised for its graphics, missions, music, story, and atmosphere. The checkpoints, which are often too far apart, and the AI in need of improvement, were negative. GamePro complained that the open game world was not used. Additionally, the scene in which Henry Tomasino is murdered by the Triads has been criticized as inappropriate and disturbing for some players.
German synchronization
Already in the first part the German synchronization contributed a lot to the atmosphere of the game. So was z. B. the character Paulie, based on the actor Joe Pesci ( Good Fellas - Three Decades in the Mafia ), is spoken by Pesci's German voice Mogens von Gadow .
In the published German trailers for Mafia II, Thomas Danneberg (speaking, among others, John Travolta , Arnold Schwarzenegger ) as Mafia boss DeLuca, David Nathan ( Johnny Depp , Christian Bale ) as Henry and Tobias Meister ( Brad Pitt , Sean Penn ) as Joe Listen.
The finished dubbed version of the game was not recorded in Berlin like the trailer, but at Coda Entertainment GmbH & Co. KG in Munich. Kai Taschner , who was also responsible for the dialogue book, was the dubbing director .
Other roles include Sonja Reichelt , Manfred Erdmann , Marieke Oeffinger , Tobias Lelle , Gerhard Acktun , Thomas Rau , Stefan Günther , Andreas Neumann , Ilona Grandke , Beate Pfeiffer and Matthias Klie .
Soundtrack
Mafia II contains a soundtrack that is recorded by the Prague FILMharmonie. There are also three different radio stations (Empire Central Radio, Empire Classic Radio and Delta Radio) which with over 100 songs from the 40s and 50s can not only be heard in the vehicle, but also find their way to different locations. In addition to Doris Day and Bing Crosby, songs by Dean Martin and Louis Prima are also included.
Additional content
There is a range of additional content for the main game, referred to as DLC on Steam . The Vegas Pack, Renegade Pack, War Hero Pack and Greaser Pack are available for PC, PS3 and Xbox. In Germany they were initially issued exclusively to pre-orderers from certain retail chains and were only offered for purchase on Steam from September 28, 2010. They add an extra car or two to the game and an extra style or two of clothing for the main character. The Made Man Pack is also this size, is available for the same platforms, and is only sold with the Collector's Edition of the game. The download packages Jimmy's Vendetta and Betrayal of Jimmy, however, add a new character and new missions to the game. The expansion Joe's Adventures was released on November 23, 2010 for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. You complete new missions from the point of view of Vito's friend Joe Barbaro while Vito is in prison. In total, there are three additional story packs and four so-called style packs. In March 2011 a Directors Cut version of Mafia II was released for PC, PS3 (Platinum series) and Xbox , which in addition to the main game also contains all previously available downloadable content (DLC).
Multiplayer modification
On June 12, 2012, the beta version of a modification that adds a multiplayer mode to the game was announced.
demo
On August 10, 2010, a demo was released that includes the mission "The Buzzsaw" in a slightly different form and offers ten minutes of free play time in a western part of Empire Bay. The demo can be downloaded for PC via Steam . Owners of a PlayStation 3 can download the demo from the PlayStation Store, although the demo version is not available in the German PlayStation Store due to the USK 18 classification. Xbox 360 owners can download the demo from the XBox Live Marketplace if they are Gold Members.
Trivia
Mafia II plays the murder of the protagonist from the epilogue of the first part, Thomas 'Tommy' Angelo. This is shot by Joe Barbaro, who is accompanied by Vito Scaletta.
The supporting character Pepe, introduced during Vito Scaletta's stay in prison, has a strong resemblance to the character of the same name from Mafia I. He is introduced in the mission "Bon Appetit" as a successful cook and personal friend of Don Salieri. However, it cannot be this Pepe because he is killed in the further course of the mission. The similarity of the two characters is also supported by the fact that Leo Galante asks Pepe in a cutscene to taste a self-cooked dish.
During Vito Scaletta's stay in prison, one can observe a prison inmate who is modeled on the Lord of the Rings character Gollum . This is in the prison yard when Vito is supposed to locate Leo Galante. Like Gollum, the inmate crouches alone on the floor with his arms bent and speaks in the same way as the HDR character.
Wanted notices are scattered on the walls of houses all over the city. The criminal photos depicted on it are from the Mafia II development team.
Another collector's item is Playboy magazines . However, this is a historical inaccuracy, as the first Playboy magazine appeared in 1953, i.e. after the time when Mafia 2 was set. The women depicted are Playmates who appeared in Playboy in the 1950s and 1960s.
In some dialogues, which are led by pedestrians among others, reference is made several times to Lost Heaven, the venue of the predecessor. Two passers-by of Italian origin wonder why the police in Lost Heaven were so brutal and why this is no longer the case in Empire Bay.
In Mafia II there are a number of references to films and historical events. For example, there are several parallels with Marlon Brando and some of his films. The harbor scenes are strongly influenced by the plot in the film Die Faust im Nacken , in which Brando plays a young boxer who is initially in the favor of the brutal union bosses of the dock workers and then turns against them. In addition, the main character Vito bears the facial features of Brando and got the first name of Brando's role in The Godfather . In the trailer for the game, he even wears the lumberjack jacket that Brando wears on his neck in Die Faust and in the game itself various bikers wear the famous outfit that Brando wears in Der Wilde . As in the first part of the Mafia , there are also many allusions to films such as Good Fellas - Three Decades in the Mafia , Casino and The Godfather . In the "Highbrock" district, there is even a house that looks exactly like the mansion from the series and films for The Addams Family .
The voice of Leo Galante was spoken by Norbert Gastell , who is known among other things as the voice of Homer Simpson.
The fictional car model Shubert 38 is very similar to the car model Shubert Six Extra found in Mafia I.
successor
On July 28, 2015, Mafia III was officially announced. 2K Games is again acting as the publisher for this game, but the closure of 2K Czech has been announced in the meantime , so Hangar 13 is now taking over development. A first presentation took place at Gamescom on August 5, 2015. Mafia III was released on October 7, 2016.
swell
- ↑ Mafia II probably 2009
- ↑ 2K Games announced the release in early 2010 via Twitter
- ↑ Test: Mafia II Directors Cut for Mac OS X | Mac Life . In: Mac Life . March 16, 2012 ( maclife.de [accessed November 8, 2018]).
- ↑ Information about Mafia II from Take 2 Interactive ( memento of the original from December 9, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Mafia 2: Definitive Edition: Remaster with technical improvements released for PC, PS4 and Xbox One. Retrieved May 19, 2020 .
- ↑ News report at Mafiaii.net ( memento of the original from December 6, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ News report at Mafiaii.net
- ^ Mafia II - Story ( Memento from November 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Mafia II - Story
- ↑ Character information about Eddie at Mafiaii.net
- ↑ Character info from Mike Bruski
- ↑ Details at Tiscali Games
- ↑ German-language summary of some details at 4players.de
- ↑ Comment on the food and gym, news item at Mafiaii.net
- ↑ Mafia 2: World Map and Achievements ( Memento of the original from October 24, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Overview of the features in Mafia 2
- ↑ Listing and analysis of vehicles from screenshots at Mafiaii.net
- ↑ Details on Mafia from PlayStation: The Official Magazine in summary form
- ↑ Weapons overview at Mafiaii.net
- ↑ Weapons overview at imfdb.org
- ↑ Gangster epic with a great story.
- ↑ Mafia 2: Test of the PC version - In stores today - Great staged, but not outstanding
- ↑ Test: Mafia II (Action)
- ↑ Test for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3
- ↑ Mafia 2 (Playstation 3)
- ↑ List of all songs in Mafia II
- ↑ Overview of the contents of all DLCs at mafiaii.net
- ↑ Release date of Joe's Adventure (DLC)
- ↑ Directors Cut: Release and price known MafiaII.net
- ↑ Original thread from the multiplayer mod developers .
- ^ Mafia 2 Easteregg - Back then in Lost Heaven
- ↑ Mafia 3 - Officially announced, presentation on Gamescom
- ↑ Mafia 3 - Release date and details on the Season Pass, update on the price
