The mood is dark and gloomy, with snow piling up on cars and sidewalks, people slipping on icy pavements, and a palpable chill in the air. The first chunk of the game takes place in the 1940s. Mafia 2 is also a rare example of an open-world game where we see two versions of the same city. It's a wonderful piece of scene-setting-something this game is obscenely good at all the way through. We see couples arguing, kids throwing snowballs, and a guy getting a haircut in a warmly-lit barbershop. An inspired use of licensed music.Ī fleet of B-17 bombers roar overhead, reminding us that the war is far from over. Dean Martin's Christmas classic Let It Snow plays as he walks the streets, still in his uniform, suitcase in hand. Our anti-hero returns from World War II on a cold winter's evening in 1945, and finds himself back in the Italian neighbourhood where he grew up. It didn't take me long to fall in love with Mafia 2. But it's still a joy to wander and explore its streets-for what it is, and how it feels, rather than what it has to offer you between missions. You never get to drive a tank or use a jetpack. There are newspaper boys, smoking chimneys, and a thousand other tiny incidental details, which combine into a wonderful whole.Įmpire Bay is not littered with side missions, arbitrary collectibles, or crazy vehicles to steal. Cherry blossom trees sway in the wind in Chinatown. Workers mill around the docks, unloading cargo from ships. And the level of fine detail is remarkable throughout. But the artists at 2K Czech did a stellar job of making it feel like a real place. It's fictional, based loosely on New York City and Chicago. Empire Bay is not as dense or intricate as the likes of Grand Theft Auto V's Los Santos or, more recently, Watch Dogs 2's San Francisco-but it's still one of the best virtual cities on PC. A lovingly crafted film set designed to give the story a rich sense of place.
The city is there, but it's just a backdrop.
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