overlord20
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Hello!
I just got done reviewing Joe's Adventures on PC. Want to see how it stacks against the main game and previous DLC?
Back in late August Mafia II, the highly anticipated sequel of a great game hit shelves. It was in so many words decent and fun but not one of the key titles of 2010. To everyone's surprise, two weeks later the first DLC was released titled Jimmy's Vendetta. To many's disappointment it was lacking everything the main game had, but contained everything the main game needed. Why couldn't they have made the main game better and not released Jimmy's Vendetta?
Few months later on November 22nd the second DLC for Mafia II was released under the title Joe's Adventures. It follows Vito's best friend Joe, through his adventures while Vito was in the slammer. How will it stack up to the main game or previous DLC?
The story is important to me. Even in downloadable content, there needs to be ties to the original story. Jimmy's Adventures didn't really have that going for it. It felt totally off. This new installment, Joe's Adventures, was actually greatly tied into the story. If you are wondering what happened while you were in the slammer then this DLC will tell you that.
But what about the game play? If you felt that the main game was too linear, then this DLC would be a good change of pace. It starts out linear like main the game which is there to establish the story but after the first few missions, you get to choose which missions to do in what ever order you like.
This is a big part that I beleive developers to struggle with. They can't fix the problems of the main game in the DLC without making completely different and that is what happened in the first DLC. This one though, seems to go beyond that and fix what the previous couldn't accomplish.
Other similarities to the first DLC is the point and leaderboard system. You can still gain points in the all ways, killing enemies, drifting, driving fast, and completing missions quickly. These add something extra to work for. The mechanics didn't really change much that was a good thing. Cars still felt like they probably should, and the overall mechanics felt complete like in the previous.
They also had some good changes in this new DLC. The most noticeable one I found was the difficulty. On medium the game was much harder then before. Because of that it took me longer to complete missions and sometime a few different tries. On top of the difficulty bar being raised there were new areas to explore. This recent DLC brought me to a new area of Empire Bay which was previously off limits. It was a nice change of scenery.
Some not so good similarities is the mediocre missions from the previous which again lacked substance as well as the the constant driving. You may not drive for the main part of a mission, but that is how you start and end every mission. This gets a huge dock in my book.
If you wondering if your DLC packs (Clothes and Cars) are transferable to the DLC, my answer is yes and no. You have access to every car from the DLC packs that came with your game, but the clothes are stuck strictly in Vito's closet. I was really hoping to dress Joe up in a veterans outfit.
Last thing I always talk about is graphics. Well, the absolutely did not change in this DLC which is to be expected. So, they are pretty decent but not really anything to call home about. Some spots can look absolutely amazing while others can look absolutely horrendous. There were some glitches I did notice that I couldn't replicate in the main game or previous DLC. When I was near the outskirts of town bushes, cars, and people wouldn't appear until I had hit them. I found this to be ridiculous and it got old really fast.
My final conclusion of this game was well made. The DLC was fun and combined the good things from the both the previous DLC and main game. But it still lacked substance. The graphics were great and at a length of 6 - 9 hours (length of the main game) it is a good add on. If you can only afford one DLC this holiday I would suggest Joe's Adventures.
Mafia II downloadable content #2 gets a 8.5 out of 10.
It really just lacked the substance it needed to be great.
The video review by Intense Gaming TV:
Steven James
President/Editor
Intense Gaming TV
I just got done reviewing Joe's Adventures on PC. Want to see how it stacks against the main game and previous DLC?
Back in late August Mafia II, the highly anticipated sequel of a great game hit shelves. It was in so many words decent and fun but not one of the key titles of 2010. To everyone's surprise, two weeks later the first DLC was released titled Jimmy's Vendetta. To many's disappointment it was lacking everything the main game had, but contained everything the main game needed. Why couldn't they have made the main game better and not released Jimmy's Vendetta?
Few months later on November 22nd the second DLC for Mafia II was released under the title Joe's Adventures. It follows Vito's best friend Joe, through his adventures while Vito was in the slammer. How will it stack up to the main game or previous DLC?
The story is important to me. Even in downloadable content, there needs to be ties to the original story. Jimmy's Adventures didn't really have that going for it. It felt totally off. This new installment, Joe's Adventures, was actually greatly tied into the story. If you are wondering what happened while you were in the slammer then this DLC will tell you that.
But what about the game play? If you felt that the main game was too linear, then this DLC would be a good change of pace. It starts out linear like main the game which is there to establish the story but after the first few missions, you get to choose which missions to do in what ever order you like.
This is a big part that I beleive developers to struggle with. They can't fix the problems of the main game in the DLC without making completely different and that is what happened in the first DLC. This one though, seems to go beyond that and fix what the previous couldn't accomplish.
Other similarities to the first DLC is the point and leaderboard system. You can still gain points in the all ways, killing enemies, drifting, driving fast, and completing missions quickly. These add something extra to work for. The mechanics didn't really change much that was a good thing. Cars still felt like they probably should, and the overall mechanics felt complete like in the previous.
They also had some good changes in this new DLC. The most noticeable one I found was the difficulty. On medium the game was much harder then before. Because of that it took me longer to complete missions and sometime a few different tries. On top of the difficulty bar being raised there were new areas to explore. This recent DLC brought me to a new area of Empire Bay which was previously off limits. It was a nice change of scenery.
Some not so good similarities is the mediocre missions from the previous which again lacked substance as well as the the constant driving. You may not drive for the main part of a mission, but that is how you start and end every mission. This gets a huge dock in my book.
If you wondering if your DLC packs (Clothes and Cars) are transferable to the DLC, my answer is yes and no. You have access to every car from the DLC packs that came with your game, but the clothes are stuck strictly in Vito's closet. I was really hoping to dress Joe up in a veterans outfit.
Last thing I always talk about is graphics. Well, the absolutely did not change in this DLC which is to be expected. So, they are pretty decent but not really anything to call home about. Some spots can look absolutely amazing while others can look absolutely horrendous. There were some glitches I did notice that I couldn't replicate in the main game or previous DLC. When I was near the outskirts of town bushes, cars, and people wouldn't appear until I had hit them. I found this to be ridiculous and it got old really fast.
My final conclusion of this game was well made. The DLC was fun and combined the good things from the both the previous DLC and main game. But it still lacked substance. The graphics were great and at a length of 6 - 9 hours (length of the main game) it is a good add on. If you can only afford one DLC this holiday I would suggest Joe's Adventures.
Mafia II downloadable content #2 gets a 8.5 out of 10.
It really just lacked the substance it needed to be great.
The video review by Intense Gaming TV:
Steven James
President/Editor
Intense Gaming TV
awesome
