



Gamers who are more used to modern-day standards for shooters may not be quite as impressed, but what's where still mostly holds up. The gunplay may actually be one area where Mafia 2 outshines its inspirations, with the game playing like a proper, cover-based third-person shooter as opposed to having the shooting just tacked on. Mafia 2: Definitive Edition shootouts control like a dream with a mouse and keyboard setup, and each combat encounter is plenty fun. Mafia 2 missions shine when things break out into firefights. Some of the missions revolve around fistfights, which aren't all that exciting because the hand-to-hand combat is mind-numbingly easy. Stealth missions in Mafia 2: Definitive Edition are tedious and uninspired, and there are some missions that require players to just slowly follow NPCs around. It doesn't help that when Mafia 2 players reach their destination a lot of the missions aren't all that exciting. So not only do players often have to drive excessive distances, they have to do so cautiously or else they will find themselves hiding from police or getting out to fix smoking engines. In an effort to make the game feel more realistic, Mafia 2: Definitive Edition straddles players with things like easily destroyed cars and police that chase them if they're caught speeding. Unlike the Grand Theft Auto series that Mafia 2 emulates, driving is not particularly fun. There are long, boring stretches of Mafia 2: Definitive Edition that consist of nothing but driving, and there are some design choices that make this process even more tedious.

This is most apparent with its mission design, which consists of a lot of busy work, like simply driving from point A to point B. Mafia 2: Definitive Edition is still largely the same game that launched a decade ago, and so a lot about it feels outdated. From Mafia 3 developer Hangar 13, Mafia 2: Definitive Edition attempts to update the original Mafia 2 for modern consoles, and while there are undeniable enhancements, there are some things about the game that can't really be fixed without a full-blown remake. Last year, Mafia 2: Definitive Edition leaked online, and now the game is finally available.
