I’m afraid to say this, but it has to be done.
A decade after the original release, Mafia 2 Definitive Edition isn’t a good remastering of this cult classic. Even on better hardware, the game has a lot of problems that didn’t exist on older machines (and the initial release for the PC) but inside this mess of a port, it’s still the same enjoyable game people knew and loved.
Presentation
Aesthetically, it is one of the better-looking games in the business with the abundance of period-correct cars, billboards, weaponry, and NPCs wearing what they would have back in the 50s, all of which had a bump in quality thanks to the remastering.
It’s a shame that the game runs quite poorly now, as it constantly gets graphical glitches during cutscenes, has awful textures pop-in before entering some indoor areas and hitches terribly during open-world segments.
In fact, it sometimes struggles to get a solid 30 frames on the PS4 slim during the opening snowy chapters of the game.
At least the soundtrack and radio stations music are still quite good and there aren’t any dialogue audio issues from my copy at least so that’s assuring.
Gameplay
Mafia 2 is still the organized crime game that we all know and love back in the day. You can steal cars, bump off your rivals in a hail of gunfire and then head home to end the chapter.
Its semi-linear style of gameplay is still quite interesting, which in reflection kinda feels like the structure of an action JRPG like Nier Gestalt but in a GTA-style sandbox.
But the guys who made this remaster, D3T, perhaps didn’t get any memo from 2K to fix most of the glaring issues in Mafia 2, one of which is the controls. They feel inaccurate most of the time and the settings on the options didn’t solve it at all, making the shooting quite “spray and pray” at times.
Not to mention how the camera now battles with you in some instances during battles, making it quite hard during hand-to-hand combat situations. Kinda disappointed that issues that were prominent during its original release haven’t been fixed at all.
Content
While the issues stem from outdated gameplay and awful performance issues, the story is still the main fixture of the game, with the additions of some DLC content where you become a mafia fixer and Joe Babero for a few missions.
While the main story remains the same, the DLC still feels shallow when compared with each other but it does let the player roam around the city without the main campaign’s restrictiveness, so that’s evens out, I guess?
Personal Enjoyment
I tried to love this version of the game. I really do. Alas, this is NOT the way to play it. And though Mafia is a series filled with janky stuff, this is too much jank for just one game, with the major issues being bugs and software issues breaking the immersion for me multiple times, a shame since you think all this power of a current-gen console could make it become a better experience.
But Vito’s story is still one of the best storyline in gaming. A great subversion of the “Rags to Riches” story that only this series could do. And that I can enjoy wholly.
Verdict
Mafia 2 Definitive Edition tries to bring this classic for the new fans of the series. But let down on the basics of a better port with its major issues that if the developers could have fix the glaring issues, it would made the game a better experience.
Reviewed on a PS4 Slim, Review copy purchased by the reviewer.
Mafia 2 Definitive Edition
Mafia 2 Definitive Edition tries to bring this classic for the new fans of the series. But let down on the basics of a better port with its major issues that if the developers could have fix the glaring issues, it would made the game a better experience.
- Presentation 6
- Gameplay 7
- Content 6
- Personal Enjoyment 6