Some People have wondered what life was like for those who risked everything in order to gain power in the underworld of Italian organized crime. Mafia 2 is a third person, action adventure game that gives players an incredible chance to live the life of a “Wise Guy” in the ‘40s and ‘50s world of organized crime.

The storyline follows a Sicilian immigrant named Vito Scarletta. Vito’s story starts in early 1945 when he returns home from fighting overseas in Europe. Mafia 2 takes place in the fictional city of Empire Bay on the east coast of America. As soon as Vito gets off the train in Empire Bay he meets up with his close friend Joe Barbaro. Quickly, Joe and Vito descend into the underworld of the Italian Mafia inn Empire Bay ruled by the Falcone, Vinci and Clemente families. You enter a very bleak time in America because of the war raging all over the world and the end of the Grea

t Depression. All around, people are trying to make a living in this hard era. As the game progresses into the ‘50s, you immediately see the change into post-World War II prosperity. Fast new cars and the birth of rock and roll really makes it feel like you are in the fabulous ‘50s.

The attention to realism is the greatest thing about the game, which is not foun

d in a lot of games today. While driving on icy roads, take extra care while hand-braking around a street corner while going 60 mph, or you might find yourself smashing into a hot dog vendor on the side of the street. Mafia 2 also brings a very physical, hand-to-hand combat system to the table. It is almost too real giving that final kick to the head of your unlucky opponent.  The gunplay is also very

realistic due to the fact it only takes two bullets to kill Vito, which making the game somewhat difficult. Some of the flaws with Mafia 2 are Empire Bay, which is a very small city, making the storyline short. Mafia 2 can be found at Gamestop for $60 for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 and $50 for the computer

Mafia 2 sets an incredible table to make it feel like you are the “Black Hand” of th

e Italian Mafia. The game shows how much influence the Italian Mafia had over people of power during the ‘40s and ‘50s.