izigame.me

I have had Mafia II: Definitive Edition since it's launch. I owned Mafia and Mafia II (classic) already but I did not play them. I have played them before on Xbox. I am more than positive that I got the Definitive Edition free as I owned mafia already, but I am unsure of that.
I can remember playing Mafia when I was young, heck, I can remember playing Mafia II when I was younger. I finally got to this on my backlog of games! I was really excited to play one of my favourite "mafia" games of all time! Then realisation hit me, I played the Definitive Edition on launch and quit it...? Why? I could not remember, and then I started to play it. Oh boy, this is very hard for me to do and the things I am about to mention breaks my heart. Below I will state why but first a quick disclaimer!

I will also include 2 micro-reviews about the DLC below

This review is MY opinion, MY own personal experience and MY thoughts. I am brutally honest when it comes to reviewing games. If you do not like my opinion, my time or respect my personal experience, please move on.

Cons/Issues

⚫During Chapter 3 when you are tasked with delivering the stamps you can sell all 6 before the time runs out for an achievement. Due to a bug with the "STOP-WATCH", I had to replay this part of the game about 9 times. The stopwatch did not "count down" at all for me. The extra dial was missing. Below I will provide a screenshot and you will see the missing "clock hand": https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3309284059
⚫ During Chapter 4 I got stuck on the roof after the failed burglary attempt. No cops came to the roof which forced me to restart over and over again. Turns out they just stood at the top of the stairway staring at a wall. Below I will provide a screenshot: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3309284365
⚫Sometimes the AUDIO completely bugged out. It'll randomly be really, really quiet and then all of a sudden stupidly loud.
⚫Dialogue would repeat itself to. Throughout several chapters you get you objective shown on screen and your character says something when it happens, I encountered an issue where he would speak the same lines over and over again, back-to-back,
⚫I've lagged, stuttered and froze when driving fast, turning corners and running on foot. This was consistent from start to end of game. I decided to run a benchmark test. below I will provide a screenshot: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3309749828
⚫When you run you get this HORRIBLE camera bounce that you cannot disable (if you can, I missed how to do it).
⚫I can swear that my "Cut-scenes" skip themselves. I was watching all of them but sometimes It did not make sense then I found out that occasionally my cut-scenes skipped automatically.
⚫On almost every single chapter I encountered an issue or bug
⚫I got stuck in my bed several times when the next chapter starts. I will provide a screenshot of how I get stuck below: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3309284860
⚫I experienced several clipping issues and clothing items getting stuck inside characters during cutscenes. Below I will provide a screenshot: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3309284700

Pros

⚫The "realism" aspect in this game is something you do not see in many video-games. For example - If you hit a car the police will chase you for "HIT AND RUN". Another example - you need to change clothes after committing a crime as your details are wanted and the same goes for your car, you need to re-paint it and change the license plate.
⚫Another note about "realism" - When the weather changes to dry you can drive fairly smoothly but when it is snowy at the start of the game your car is all slippy and hard to control.
⚫The game has a fantastic story with memorable moments and unforgettable characters.
⚫The game has a fantastic, yet dated, soundtrack/radio station songs to accompany you on your life of crime!
⚫The graphics have been improved from the original. Nothing major but I noticed that it looked better.
⚫You get all the DLC for free and Mafia II Classic for free with it!

My Verdict

It pains me to say this but I just cannot recommend such a buggy mess of a game to anyone. If this did not have so many issues, bugs, stuttering, freezing... ugh... I would have recommended Mafia II to everyone and anyone. I just do not get why I had so many issues playing this.
At one point I had to follow a STEAM guide to fix my game. To make it run better. Personally, I believe that the issues are caused by the crappy 2K launcher that you are FORCED to use when you press play.
So, after all is said and done. I cannot recommend Mafia II in this state. Maybe I should have played the CLASSIC version instead and put up with the "downgraded" graphics as, from what I have been told, it seems to run better and smoother than the Definitive Edition.

A solid 5/10. I would have gave it a 9/10 but the issues just got to much for me. Thank's for ruining my favourite "MAFIA" game 2K

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Joe's Adventure DLC

This is going to be quick as I have NOTHING good to say about this DLC at all. So let's begin.
⚫I had every single issue I had from the base game in this DLC. Please read above.
⚫No "mission" was fun. If anything it was very tedious.
⚫No mission actually mattered. Only 5 or 6 missions actually made sense the rest are just pure filler to make you waste your time.
I do not like "Joes Adventures" at all and this ruined the exceptional story that is/was Mafia 2. I'd recommend just playing the base game and ignoring this DLC.

Joe's Adventure DLC - 2/10. Boring fetch quests with tedious completion tasks

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Jimmy's Vendetta DLC

This is also going to be a quick one as I also have nothing good to say about it. So let's begin.
⚫Again the missions are just boring.
⚫Again, had the same issues as the main game and the first DLC.
⚫Whoever made the achievement - DRIVE 1000 MILES IN JIMMY'S VENDETTTA - I hope you got fired. I used an exploit to achieve this and I also drove up and down a bridge for a few hours. It took me about 9-13 hours to get 1 achievement. Below I will post a link to the video: https://youtu.be/FbewW853vmY
2K what did you do... you ruined a perfectly good game for what? More playtime? You could at least test your game before you release it, heck, AND THE DLC.

Jimmy's Vendetta DLC - 2/10. This is how you ruin a perfectly good game.