Mafia II is a third-person action-adventure game set in the fictional American city of Empire Bay between 1945 and 1951. Players control Vito Scaletta through a story-driven campaign involving organized crime, navigating an open world on foot or by vehicle. Gameplay combines shooting, driving, and limited melee combat, with a wanted system that escalates law enforcement response based on criminal activity. The game features era-appropriate vehicles, licensed period music across multiple radio stations, and a cover-based combat system.
In 1943, Sicilian immigrant Vito Scaletta is arrested during a robbery and chooses to enlist in the United States Army rather than serve prison time. After returning home on leave to Empire Bay in 1945, he reunites with childhood friend Joe Barbaro, who has become involved with the city's organized crime families. When Vito learns his late father left the family deeply in debt to a loan shark, he turns to the criminal underworld for work, taking on jobs with Joe and various mob contacts to settle what is owed. After a stint in prison, Vito emerges in 1951 and rises quickly through the ranks of the Falcone crime family alongside Joe, securing the lifestyle he has always wanted. But as tensions mount between the city's rival factions, Vito finds his loyalties tested and his ambitions threatened by forces he cannot control.
