IGN: Mafia II Video Review

Mafia II is upon us and ushering in a new era of wise guys and made men. If you've been waiting for this one, there is good news – the game is fun. Having shootouts in bars while bottles explode and glass flies, finding a mob hacking your friend to death, and going to brothels are all great times. Still, those moments aren't the entire game, and the accompanying parts hurt the whole.

[comp_ali]

IGN is pathetic, they give the game 7/10 on all formats , looks like they didn't hear of ps3 version inferior graphics or PC physx. they just copied the review and pasted it on all formats

[movements]

I'll rent the thing.

[Galaxia]

IGN is probably the least credible site on the net. I can't believe people still defend that place.

There reviews are basically fueled by hype and how many hits they can get. And I hope we have all heard by now that IGN doesn't even finish playing the games they review. Imaging reviewing RDR without seeing the ending? In some cases IGN has only played the game for 5-10 minutes before reviewing it, remember Mikami's game, God Hand?

IGN are the filth of the gaming world. No review by them is to be trusted.

Edit: Whoops meant to reply to BorntoKill.

[BornToKill]

most of the things they pointed out weren't about graphics.

[comp_ali]

if you read nowgamer review for each foramt you will see what I mean, for IGN it is just copy and paste with no effort extorted to see the ups and downs for each one.

[AndrewRyan]

IGN writes good reviews. That is why they are one of the top 3 sites people visit. If people thought they were not good they would not visit the site. Stop trying to protect Mafia 2 from 1 decent review. Just because you think it deserves a 9/10 or even 10/10 does not mean others think so aswell. If you like the game buy it, and if you don't like reviewers open up your own website where you review games, see how far that takes you. Fool.

[shoddy]

claim it's the game of the year. Or best graphic on console like Rage and Crissis 2

[sikbeta]

Come on dude, it's clear that there is more than graphics for the reason of why IGN take out points for this game, I know the PS3 version is inferior, but when the game doesn't deliver, you can do nothing...

[STONEY4]

"That is why they are one of the top 3 sites people visit."

No, it's because people are sheep and their name is everywhere now.
And they're stupid. Marking down points for no co-op. Halo 3 got a TEN in graphics, a big 10. Call of Duty 4 won their best graphics of e3 over Crysis, which honestly kills their credibility the most.

[badz149]

I'm not pointing out this review or trying to justify anything regarding Mafia II but IGN gives high marks for popular and hyped games and that's a fact!

[nix]

count me in badz... GTAIV, anyone?

[Shepherd 214]

IGN didnt take the time to give it separate reviews because its obvious that although the game isnt horrible, it apparently is quite the let-down anyway you look at it.

Generic shooting mechanics, empty and lifeless world, stiff animations, etc. have nothing to do with sheer graphics.

IGN is quite credible, and one guy thought GTA 4 deserved a ten. I suppose MGS 4 actually deserved a ten then, because IGN gave it one the same year as GTA 4. Im sure most here will have no problem with MGS's score even though it can be argued that it comes close but doesnt deserve a ten.

[badz149]

are they are always among the 1st 3 to come out for any game! this is kinda explaining the copy & paste for all formats!

[realplayer82]

Maybe if you read the review the complaints arent about graphics but gameplay. The game is mediocre no way around it.

[-Alpha]

That's not his point-- he was stating that the reviews are all copy and paste, not that the game was any better. Perhaps there isn't much of a difference to warrant any significant deduction but I do agree with him that sites like IGN tend to overlook differences sometimes, especially between consoles. I haven't been following Mafia II all that much but I do know that the PS3 version was badly ported. Anyways, I tend to go by Metacritic, so if there really is a significant difference between the consoles/platforms we will know eventually.

[realplayer82]

The point is the reviewer had a problem with the mission structure and pace of the game which is the same for all versions.

[mastiffchild]

Lets be honest, though, the shortcomings of the PS3 version aren't game breaking and wouldn't be more of an issue for me when choosing a version than everyday ones like controller preference. The devs AIMED for parity and missed by not optimising the PS3 version early enough or working the way that suits the platform best and even then there was minimal loss really. If the game wasn't going to be the best looking game on either console anyway are the looks the most important issue? I don't think so and it sounds as if there are much bigger iossues with the game as a whole from this.

Also, the unfairness of this doesn't compare with outlets like Edge or Teletext only giving the PS3 version of FF13 a bad score and totally ignoring the 360's weaker version does it? Is the better version of THAT game still holding the higher meta score? Does it stop anyone who bought the 360 version from enjoying it? Seriously, we get caught up in pointless debates about multis that are MEANT to look identical, nearly do and were never going to be the best looking games for the platforms they're on anyway. I'd much rather the game was judged generally like this if devs aren't going to make the very best game they can on every platform anyway.

If a port is noticeably awful(tOB for example) then, sure, make a point out of it but otherwise leave it for those who care on comparison sites because to me all it really proves is that some devs can't be bothered tailoring their work for the PS3 and that parity between the consoles is their cheif aim. Pointing out small shortcomings just seems like smalltalk to me-would you seriously go for the "better" version in the strength of this kind of thing even if you preferred the controller for the other version? A texture here, a dropped frame there(maybe only findable with a program)and the net goes wild even if they wouldn't see it with the naked eye, God help us.

[T9X69]

@realplayer82

That is not the point he is trying to make. If a game comes out for PC, 360, and PS3, if a certain version of game has poor frame rate, or screen tearing etc. Why should the superior version(s) suffer by getting a score based on the worst version of the game. That would be like porting Starcraft 2 to consoles and giving the PC version, lets say a 7 because RTS games are not the greatest on consoles.

[Double Toasted]

No...the PS3 version is Shite...mastiff.

[-Alpha]

@realplayer

No one is denying that. But that is not the only aspect of the game that the review judges. Like mastiff said games like FF13 are proof of inferior versions sloppily getting a uniformed score for no other reason than seeming laziness.

[turgore]

then why did it get 8.5 at gamespot and 9 at gameinformer ? face it IGN only gives good scores based on hype...GTA4 a 10. Oh please...that game was garbage.

[gamerzBEreal17]

i thought graphics didn't make the game? lmao

[jamesgtaiv]

When did we start listening to IGN? Their reviews are what's mediocre.

[Playerz8]

IGN reviews are not always mediocre. The review didn't really go into too much detail about the game, but the story is really all that's in the game, and I totally agree with the score. Just because you don't agree with a review doesn't mean it's a bad review.

[DatNJDom81]

stop crying. ff13 on xbox360 got the same score as the PS3 version.

[meetajhu]

Looks like a score for console gamers! Can't wait for PC game review!!!

[number47]

FF13 was wayyyyy different than just Grass & textures. And no one said peep. It was like the early days of the PS3, when the PS3 version was vastly different and running 1fps.

Mafia is underwhelming on both consoles, and PC. pretend all you want that its not, or that having 1.5% less jaggies is better, but the games visuals aren't its strong point on consoles. Remember guys GRAPHICS DONT MATTER...

Removing that, concentrating on the gameplay, its the same mediocre game on all platforms. IGN picks and chooses its different reviews, much like most of the media, and for some reason it only gets a lower score when the PS3 version of a game runs 1.5% more jaggies.

2k is idiotic for slapping the PS3 owners in the face with this nonsense. I'm not buying it, and it only serves the game right that its an underwhelming title to begin with.

[multips3fan]

very disappointed.this game was to be game of the year contender.il be renting it.

[-PINNER-]

If it was developed by R* it would've gotten a 10.

Everything he described reminded me exactly of how I felt about GTA4.

[comp_ali]

yeah, becasue most of the time. R* games gets overrated. Hi GTA IV

[TheLastGuardian]

Wow you think just because a game doesn't have grass it deserves a lower score?

[AusWarrior]

Is that a problem is it? It's not like it's game-changing or anything like that lol.

[Chris_TC]

I just watched their video review for the PC version. They mention that "there's a fair amount of screen tearing" - LOL
No mention of the Physx either.

They obviously tested this on one of the consoles, then copy/pasted the review.

[GeoramA]

Can't believe this game has no sidequests. So disappointed in this.

[DlocDaBudSmoka]

so basically its just do the story and its done? i know there are playboys to find, but playboy sucks. they shoulda got penthouse or hustler. back on topic, if that is the case, then fuck mafia 2.

just read the actual review, how does ign justify the 7/10? they said themselves that the games is basically 'the truman show'. heres a snippet of the review-

'You cruise the streets and see other people and cars, but it feels like The Truman Show. Everything is happening because of you.'

[Ri0tSquad]

I guess it's a good rent then.

[zagibu]

Well, i'd rather have 15 hours of good story-driven gameplay than 5 hours of that and another 10 hours of side quests. But yeah, I understand the points made in the review, and it's possible that I will react similarly. But Mafia 1 was so good I just have to see myself how 2 is doing.

And the PC demo was quite promising, I thought.

[Jazz4108]

You are wrong. I played both versions of ff13 and read the reviews and the general opinion was the cut scenes were better on the ps3 but the 360 held a more consistant framerate. Play them both before you make a comment based on what you heard from your other sheep I mean fanboyz

[frankymv]

ouch

[Megaton]

Been telling people to dial back their excitement. Got a friend who's been working on this for awhile now, telling me bits and pieces of disappointing info. It's pathetically short for the kinda game it is.

[TANUKI]

I pre-ordered the collector's edition... and although this is just 1 review, I'm getting kinda worried...

[tplarkin7]

It's currently 78 on Metacritic which is pretty good. I was pleasantly surprised by the demo. You really felt like you were in 1950.

[Playerz8]

For a game that's been anticipated for years, and worked on for 6+ years, 78 is not a great score. I excepted a 90+ game, but I guess it fall right next to Godfather 2 (except it was actually fun).

[Sizzon]

A rent, no sidemissions or online. Def. a rent game.

[GAM]

**** outta here! Mafia 1 or 2 is NOT your "ordinary" sandbox style game. The developers just took a dump on public standards of what a sandbox game should look like and they focused on the story instead. Don't you all understand that by now?! I guess not...

[HelghastKid]

WTF man...this game is turning into a damn roller coaster, at one point it gets great news, then at other times it gets slammed. I really hope im not wasting my money on this.

[CrzyFooL]

Imma workin onna mah PC review!! pleasea to wait!! itsa good!! for PC . . .

[Are_The_MaDNess]

damn, i even did pre-buy it on Steam too, im a bit worried.
i mean no side-quests, in a sandbox game, damn that sucks
still gonna enjoy the story tho

[jy_mrnd]

I also pre-ordered on Steam awesome game!

[spiky1228]

IGN got it right this time. After the hype and delays, this game should exceed expectation. It's kind of sand they build this entire city with nothing to do and the driving was so stiff. Even the city in Infamous feels more alive.

The framerate and screen tearing is awfuly. I am still getting it becasue the story is good but definitly not getting it for $59.99. I hope they drop the price for the PS3 version, because thats the version I am going to get.

[blodulv]

Rental.

[itsralf]

Fair review, good job IGN. This game has been over-hyped for too long.

[orange-skittle]

No it hasn't. An over hyped game is GT5. This game isn't even close to being released and you morons have it as the holy grail of driving simulators. The longer it takes to come out, the technology is going to look aged. You haven't heard much about Mafia 2 until recent weeks because it was pushing the release date. You barely see the posters or banners up for it so STFU

[CrzyFooL]

I haven't given a shit about Gran Turismo in years. I'm going to go drive my real car simulator that's parked in my driveway.

Edit: uhh the guy above me?? That's who I was responding too?

[itsralf]

Who said anything about GT5? Are you just here to troll? I personally don't like racing games/sims so I most likely won't even purchase GT5. It's just not what I like. I enjoy JRPGs and primarily play those. But I understand why GT5 is being so hyped, and that's because it is going to be epic... It's previous sequels have been top-notch and it's very clear that this is going to be the best racer this gen.

I've been hearing about Mafia II since 2008, and even more the last five or so months. It's not an amazing game. It's just average and I think it deserves a 7/10. Especially considering how much they slacked off on the PS3 version.

[itsralf]

I was talking to orange-skittle. You just replied a minute before I did and I couldn't be bothered to edit my post to clarify that at the time. Sorry for the confusion.

[JonnyBigBoss]

I am actually surprised. The first Mafia was fantastic and I enjoyed the demo for Mafia II..

[iJOIK3R]

This game is ok. It'd be a rent at most for me

[Clarence]

Like say this game is crap

[xxchicago33xx]

The score doesn't bother me....what does is the fact that him staring at the wall while answering the phone was factored into said score.

I guess I'm not understanding what you wanted him to do...it's the 40's, the phone is connected to the wall and phone console. It's not like he could do jumping jacks or cook some eggs.

This review...similar to most reviews recently from IGN are very poorly written and are lacking any actual substance. I could care less about the score, the number doesn't let me know if the game was good or not...it's the written piece that is supposed to give me a view of what playing this game is like. I think IGN needs to give their staff a 101 on creative writing and how to articulate what they experienced while playing each game.

I give this review a 2/10

[xxchicago33xx]

I do agree with their overall score though, definitely feels like a 7-8/10 is justified...

[ShabbaRanks]

Lolllll Amen

[gamermind]

This is what we have seen in every 3rd person shooter. Moron. What is Gears of War? Just pop-up your head and kill monsters. Beside we have human in Mafia:P
I totally disagree.
It should be near somewhere 8.5

[Gilliand]

I think I'll pick this up around christmas time when it drops down in price. I'd buy it now if I knew it would stay $60, but everytime I ave done that, within a month it drops down in price.

[HardcoreHDGamer]

and ive played both many times. Having my PS3 in my room and my Xbox 360 downstairs. I normally play both just as much and playing both of these, I have to say. They both play the same and the graphics you people talk about, is BS. They are the same. character movement/clothing movement, graphical appearance. It's all the same on both consoles.

So please stop reading into these pathetic comments on such topics for this game, they are the same. So buy whichever copy you prefer, you wont be disappointed. I personally buy PS3 games these days.

[Steve_Urkel]

You're obviously blind as a bat, or are lying about playing both versions. Its pretty obvious there is a bunch of differences in the console versions of the game.

Did I dooo that?

[Jazz4108]

I would buy more ps3 mutiplat if they would be on par with the 360 and drop the stupid time eating mandatory installs which are plain pathetic but ps3 guys are used to firmware update every week and long installs for there games. I'm just not that patient and when I have an option I take the 360 as you have none of this time consuming bs. You put the game in and play it. The end.

[MoneyMeng]

i could tell this game was gonna be mediocre just from the demo...

[ShabbaRanks]

Guess we didnt play the same one

[dkgshiz]

No side quests.....looks like a really quick rental to me. I might as well just go to blockbuster and rent this instead of renting it from gamefly. Then I have to wait for the game to come to my house then after I beat it I have to wait for gamefly to receive the game in Pittsburg.

[CrzyFooL]

Where on earth can you still find a blockbuster? :-p

[El_Colombiano]

Watch the video and replace Mafia II with the name GTA IV and replace Vito with the name Niko. It's almost scary.

[ShabbaRanks]

San Andreas > Mafia II > GTAIV

[Playerz8]

At least there was actually stuff to do in GTA 4, and it was fun for what it was. Mafia 2 is just kinda boring.

[TheIrishBeast]

A few days ago I have realised that IGN, Gamespot and Gametrailers have the worst reviews I have ever seen in all of games journalism.

Example - PS3 reviews of Scott Pilgrim - Marked down for no online play WTF! Who cares really? The game looks like great fun and they mark it down for no online, when most hardcore gamers would rather play it with a buddy on the same screen like the good old days of Double Dragon on Master System, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage etc on the Mega Drive!

and Lara Croft: GOL getting points took off because 360 users dont get online co-op for a few weeks - Tekken 6, had no scenario mode co-op for about half a year I think, and it wasnt marked down for that!

Mafia 2 and Kane & Lynch Dog Days with 1/10 - 9/10 reviews, WTF is going on these days? Its all about sit traffic, and advertising money.

Eidos, Kane and Lynch, Gamespot and Jeff - nuff said

[ShabbaRanks]

Dont you see whats going on, the money is the problem... one guys pays for this and for that. The perfect example is gta4. It got a 10 almost everywhere, san andreas should of had a 10. Gta4 had nothing compared to s a except for graphics. Crisis is the same without the graphics it would of sucked, come on even the ragdoll physics blowed. Im tired of all this crap gaming isnt like it used to be.

[AEtherbane]

You know 7/10 mean the game is still good right? I would think that maybe a 5 or 6 would be a rent. You misunderstand review scores so much.

[TheIrishBeast]

7/10 is a very good review score, I know that, some 5 and 6/10 games are still very good.

I read GamesTM every month and they have a great review system, where a 10/10 is extremely rare. Very good score system and great reviews.

[ShabbaRanks]

Lol its funny how back in the day ps2 owners used to brag about how munch gameplay was more important. Today everyone is obsessed with graphics. San andreas on the first xbox had slitly better graphics, but the black and white buttons made car shootouts a drag with the controller and thats why it was better on ps2 (it came out first on ps2 also lol ... But now people are complaining about not having grass in the ps3 version witch is pathetic. I played the demo and i enjoyed it. So sorry graphic whores im gonna go for exclusive dlc... Have a nice day

[Paradise Lost]

I was going to buy the game until i tried the demo and was disgusted by the horrid control scheme.

[DigitalAnalog]

Upon watching the review, I believe all points are laid on the table with clarity. Because of too much "biased" in gaming media, I tend to look at the actual content of the review to see if it would appeal to me. An example would be Jim Sterling's 10/10 on Deadly Premonition (Red Seeds Profile on PS3) - granted I hate the dude, but I feel the score is justified due to the review he presented. HECK, I wanted to get the game for myself, except for the fact the PS3 version has no english subs.

-End statement

[-IronMan-]

I give Mafia 2 a 7/10. +2 points was added cause of the bewbs. (Playboy)

[big_silky]

I'd have given it a 7 based purely on it's utterly generic concept and worked down from there.

[TheLastGuardian]

I really like IGN's video reviews because most of the time I'm too lazy to read a long review though I will make an exception for gamesradar's reviews for a game I'm interested in. Only thing about IGN's video reviews is that they don't go too indepth but at least you don't have to read through everything to find out what you want to know.

[Pika-pie]

Played the demo on both the 360 and PS3. The game is mediocre on both from my impression and this review just confirms it.

Will be passing on this one.

[mrmikew2018]

I agree, besides Mafia 1 wasn't even that good. It's just sad that 2K failed at delivering a good game on all platforms, especially the PS3.

[CrIpPeN]

I feel like this guy does, it doesn't bring anything new.

feel the same way with Kane and Lynch 2

I would have both bough games just for the story.

[freezola75]

Suffered the same fate as it too was ported over. I see where the game (mafia 2) may get a little redundant and it's not as much of an open world as it appears. On the graphics and game play side, the demo looked cool so naturally the game would be as well. I liked the aiming. Then I hear about frame rate issues and the thing for me was camera concern. It was a bit loopy at times... like in the elevator lol. However, I am a bit disappointed that 2k could not build this game from the ground up on both consoles.... but that also doesn't mean that it is a bad game.

Hey, I played Bayonetta too on the Ps3 and it was great (after the patch)... until I got tired of dodging all the dam time (Bayonetta needed a rechargable blocking meter like in Death Spank). I am also with the gamers because we should not be getting inferior ports sold to us for $59.99