Mafia II: Definitive Edition

Oh, I was excited getting into it, driving to my first location and taking in the ambience. I liked the cars and the general atmosphere, and I thought I'd like the game as well or more than Mafia I. But then... Several chapters in and I'm realizing, it's nothing but DRIVING. And at very slow speeds (unless you want to get pinched by the cops.) Drive home, sleep, get up, drive to Joe's, talk, drive to the bar, get a mission, drive to the mission, have a little gunplay and cutscenes, drive back to the bar and have a drink, drive Joe home, drive yourself home, go to bed for the next chapter.

It might not be so bad if there were some side missions along the way, but each trip is practically always on the other side of the map and there's no Fast Travel. There are lots of shops along the way but there is no reason to ever visit them unless it's part of the very linear story.

The checkpoints are also too few and far between. You can get through killing the hundred guys and several rooms to get to your goal, then the guy behind the last door whacks you, and you have to restart that section from the beginning.

The glitches are abominable. You can be driving along and suddenly fall through the street and be flying in the air underneath the city. The only option is to restart (and replay that mission up until then, and hope it doesn't happen again). I had one entire conversation where the guy's Fedora hat brim was around his neck. I don't think it was supposed to be a metaphor for "talking through one's hat".

The facial animations and voice acting are pretty good. But the story is inconclusive, at best.