Indeed, it might be the most appropriate one to take given the sort of story being told and the kind of character that Vito Scaletta seems to be. This is a different approach than other open worlds generally take with their emphasis on player freedom and the ability to do what you want, and it proves really to be just a different approach rather than a superior or inferior one. Empire Bay seems less to have been built for the player to play in, then as a place to really authenticate the protagonist and his story. The focus of the missions then, as is the world building, is on Vito himself. These lived moments make Vito seem like he really comes from something like a real place, rather than is the result of few didactically explained bits of biography.
Even while simply walking through his old neighborhood, people talk to Vito, welcome him home, and provide something to gawk at (like watching residents yelling at one another through open windows and the like), making the world feel alive and painting a picture for the player of the place that has made Vito who he is in a far more useful manner than the opening voiceover of the initial chapter that is intended to explain his background. The opening scenes of the second chapter, marking protagonist Vito Scaletta’s return home during the Christmas season to the Italian Quarter are especially well designed and scripted. Likewise, the Playboy magazines collected by the protagonist were certainly not available in 1943 or 1951, since Playboy‘s first issue appeared on newsstands in 1953.), nevertheless, the cars, architecture, and music are still evocative of these decades and are authentic in their sense of tone, if not their literal historical exactitude.Įmpire Bay is a fun city to look at and listen to, even if time spent in the open world is usually just occupied with moving from here to there in between and during missions.
While some elements of the world are slightly anachronistic (Songs appearing in the 19 section are from the decade but often were actually released in a later year. However, the fictional city of Empire Bay in the game’s context of a 1940s and 1950s America (the first several chapters of Mafia II take place in 1943, while the latter chapters occur in 1951) is rather lovingly crafted. The game constantly drives the player back towards his mission.
There are no side quests, very few side jobs, and exploration is something that the player is likely to be motivated to do in order to simply take a look around because there are few meaningful things to interact with in this world. Despite a myriad of details, both visual and aural, that set an authentic tone and atmosphere for the game, there is very little to do in the world that other open worlds might offer. At first glance, the open world of Mafia II might seem a wasted one.
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