- Notice: SPOILERS de Mafia I and Mafia II
This is one of those stories that I keep in my bedroom for when I have nothing to tell you. For me, January 2024 has gone from a very exciting month to an absolute bore. I don’t deny that there are interesting video games like Baldur’s Gate 3 or the recent Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, but the truth is that I’m on a completely different wavelength.
After completing Metro Exodus and its two DLCs, my hope was that GSC Game World would confirm the release date for STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl within the established release window (Q1, January-March). Imagine my disappointment when they said it was delayed to September 5, 2024. I was replaying Metro 2033 (with the intention of Last Light) to kill time and I have lost all desire. I have spent almost all my free time watching Kimetsu no Yaiba. Luckily, I always keep some comics in the bedroom.
I should never have played Mafia II… and not because it’s bad
Mafia II was one of the last video games I played in 2023. It was included at no additional cost in the PlayStation Plus subscription and I eagerly claimed it, since the remake Mafia I: Definitive Edition managed to make me fall in love with it to levels that I did not expect.
At the risk of being skinned in comments, Mafia II It wasn’t anything special. I had a great time, but the story is not up to par with its predecessor (very weak ending) and I found too many bugs. And not minor ones, but those that prevent you from moving forward. Although the worst was a story mission that made me freak out and hate my guts at the same time.
The mission in question belongs to the penultimate chapter of the story, “Chapter 14: Stairway to Heaven“. It begins with Joe Barbaro calling the home phone. We, like Vito Scaletta, answer and listen to the job proposal of our lifelong friend: he has a plan to get the $55,000 we need to pay off the debt with Bruno Levine .
I hang up the phone and quickly put on the most casual clothes I can find: a red jacket, shirt and pants. I find Joe at the door of my house with a beautiful red and white Smith Thunderbolt. My goal is simple: drive to Oak Street in Greenfield without breaking the car. I activate the speed limiter, put on my favorite station and start the trip.
“Okay, can you tell me what this is all about now?” Vito asks. “We go in there, take out a guy and leave. It should be a piece of cake. […] Eddie said it’s a favor for a family in another city. An unsolved matter.” Murders are never easy, especially when they’re in such a hurry. “Eddie said they’ve been looking for this guy for a while and they just found him. They are afraid that if it is not done right, it will disappear again. […] He ratted out his family to the feds,” Joe adds.
Vito and I are not on the same page. My character thinks that he “has asked for it,” while I can only think about the trouble that is going to happen as soon as we kill a guy protected by the Federals. Because obviously it’s going to be my turn to drive like a madman to mislead them and pay for the services of both the workshop and clothing to completely eliminate our trace. If you haven’t played Mafiaknow that the relationship and interactions with the police are much more complex than in Grand Theft Auto.
I take my time getting through the city. Once on the street, Joe asks me if I remember what to say before pulling the trigger. We park in front of a man who is watering the lawn of his house. We get closer, Vito says “Memories of Mr. Salieri” and Joe shoots him in the chest with a shotgun.
The police start chasing us as soon as we start the car. My mind is divided in two: one part focuses on driving perfectly to escape from the feds as soon as possible and the other does not stop cursing with all the atrocities I know. I didn’t miss out on a couple of stomps and a slam on the table to get out a little frustration. I just killed the protagonist of Mafia ITommy Angelo, a character that I grew very fond of and with whom I empathized more.
Joe doesn’t stop saying stupid things and reproaches me on a couple of occasions for running traffic lights. It is not a joke. After a few minutes of chasing, only a federal car chases us. I enter the port, accelerate on a long straight and finally pull the handbrake to cross the car. The federals crash while avoiding us, we get out and shoot them before they can recover from the blow.
He abandoned the Smith Thunderbolt and stole his Shubert Beverly. I manage to get to the shop to change the license plate and color, and then I sneak to a store to change clothes. I put some gas in the car and finally leave Joe next to his brand new car. Both killers are happy because they have their money, but I have to pause the game and take a couple of minutes to continue cursing… this time against the developers.
I have nothing personal against 2K Czech y Hangar 13, despite my expletives, quite the opposite! The mission is an incredible nod to Mafia I and I admit that I already knew that Tommy ended up dead… but I never imagined that Mafia II was going to make me the murderer of a character that I like so much. If I had known, I promise you that I would never have advanced to this point, even if it meant not finishing the game.
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