Mafia II super review

Finally, there’s that eternal question: which console has the better version? In spite of therecent revelationthat the PS3 version of Mafia II actually looks inferior to its 360 counterpart, it’s not always easy to spot the differences, as they’re limited to details like blood pooling and cloth movement.

Above: Huh. That's... kind of a big deal, actually

If that bothers you, and you’ve got the option to do so, you should get the 360 version. But if you don't, then you should know that aside from the details, the versions look more or less identical. See for yourself – here’s a 360 screen, followed by a PS3 screen:

Above: Can you tell which is which? What if we hadn't told you?

Of course, that’s just graphics. While the 360 version looks a bit sharper, it also has some annoying glitches – things like minor graphical hiccups and loading freezes when switching radio stations at high speeds – that we didn’t see in the PS3 version. These appeared onthe retail version of the game, and may or may not be fixed by a patch, but they’re a minor annoyance and didn’t lead to any serious problems with the game.

Also, the PS3 version comes with a download code for an exclusive add-on story, Betrayal of Jimmy, in which you’ll play as a hard-nosed mercenary enforcer in a points-driven, mission-based version of Mafia II that’s reminiscent of the first two Grand Theft Auto games. It’s not a significant-enough add-on to affect the score, but it’s fun to dive into after you’ve finished the (somewhat unreplayable) story mode, and it gives the PS3 version extra weight. It might have made Mafia II a more complete gameif its missions had simply been an optional part of the game world, but it’s still hard to argue with getting an add-on adventure for free.

Above: Jimmy isn't a more compelling protagonist than Vito, but he is considerably more badass