The moment you make your first shipment, a speedy sedan gives chase while three mobsters hanging from the window fire at you. In one teeth-clenching task, you must deliver gun shipments to several weapon shops, which entails driving a slow, and slow-to-accelerate, wagon. Some other missions are just as frustrating. (It doesn't help that in two different key turns during this mission, the game's GPS can go haywire and send you off in the wrong direction.)Īs beautiful as Empire City is, driving from one disconnected mission to the next gets old.
#Mafia 2 joe series#
For example, one frustrating mission has you driving as fast as you can through a series of checkpoints, but roads slippery from the rain, congested traffic, and a strict timer make this race against the clock anything but enjoyable. This lack of cohesion between Mafia II's mechanics and the new content's structure is evident time and time again. Seven cars lined up at a stoplight might make for a frustrating barricade, and going over 40 miles per hour alerts any cop that notices you-and considering that a single city block might be patrolled by three or four policemen, there's a good chance you'll be noticed. Furthermore, the game's oversensitive police and busy roads aren't conducive to speeding about. The timer encourages you to rush, yet Mafia II's mid-1900s vehicles aren't built for precise handling at high speeds. This setup was, and still is, a poor fit for a character-driven game.
![mafia 2 joe mafia 2 joe](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/oYGlspbsy0I/maxresdefault.jpg)
Each mission comes with a time limit, and once you complete a mission, you can compare your performance with other players on the online leaderboards. You drive from one stand-alone mission to the next, earning points by filling your assigned enemies with lead or by maintaining high speeds in your vehicle of choice. The majority of Joe's Adventures, however, is structured like the Jimmy's Vendetta add-on. Good animations and great sound effects make it fun to shoot your foes, whether you're wielding a Magnum or a tommy gun. The brothel's interior is ostentatiously decorated and richly colored, while the market's shelves are stocked with fictional products that nevertheless strike the proper old-timey vibe. Glass shards fly around you, police barricades explode as you drive through them, and your potty-mouthed foes call out that they need to hurry and put a bullet in your head because the wife has a delicious dinner planned. Like Mafia II's best moments, these scenarios are made all the more exciting by the game's excellent visuals and audio. There are a few other such story-driven missions, including a gunfight in a supermarket that ends with an explosive escape and an action-packed sequence that begins in a bordello. The locale for this bloody battle is beautiful and atmospheric, and a car chase across a slippery frozen lake is an enjoyable finale to this introductory mission. There are incredible moments that Mafia II fans should experience-just ready yourself for some drudgery that misses the mark by a wide margin.Įven a blaze caused by a molotov cocktail can't match Joe's fiery personality.Īt the very least, Joe's Adventures gets off to a good start, putting you in the shoes of Vito Scaletta's boisterous, puffy-haired sidekick and sending you to a wintertime shoot-out. As a result, driving from one mission across town to the next becomes laborious, especially when you discover that the mission you drove to is aggressively unenjoyable.
![mafia 2 joe mafia 2 joe](https://www.giantbomb.com/a/uploads/square_medium/1/16482/1060306-mafia_content_img_joe1.jpg)
Joe's Adventures, like the downloadable content for Mafia II that came before it, fails to provide adequate narrative to motivate you. Even the most mundane tasks were exciting because you felt invested in them. One of Mafia II's most special qualities was how the excellent story and banter between characters gave context to your activities. It's unfortunate that the side missions surrounding them range from plain old boring to downright awful. Multiple story-based missions are electrifying and recall some of the main game's fantastic set-piece shoot-outs.
![mafia 2 joe mafia 2 joe](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zOKt7dNG7fk/maxresdefault.jpg)
Mafia II: Joe's Adventures does have its shining moments, however.
![mafia 2 joe mafia 2 joe](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/o3lrzcgQkUs/maxresdefault.jpg)
It's good to see Mafia II's Joe Barbaro again it's just too bad this add-on isn't worthy of the character.