Really good dialogue and cutscenes in line with Mafia 1 with a nice variety of italian phrases and insults seasoned in there for a diverse and flavorful exchange between characters. And multiple side and a few main characters are found in Mafia 1 and 2 for those who are long running fans. 8.5 / 10
Gameplay however is lacking in some major ways, gunplay is easily the worst in the series with a small and mostly unremarkable selection of firearms. Combine this with the abysmal time it takes for the crosshair to get even remotely close enough for you to hit anyone beyond 10ft away. id recomend the double barrel shotgun for every fight on this basis alone. in fairness i played through on hard but it felt like you would take cover and pop out every once in a while to take a single well aimed shot to the head and slide back down to recover health and wait for the return volley to pass, turning every fight into an almost tedious exchange that holds you back from progressing. body shots are also a poor choice because it takes 4 or 5 shots to the chest to kill anyone with most pistols. 6.5/10
Driving is similar to Mafia 1 and it even has horses and races, however anyone who has played mafia 1 knows driving was rough and its the same here but with the cars being super new it certainly fits better into the world and story for them to steer poorly. Horses are just fine but not special in any way taking a back seat to driving for most of the game. the races are pretty good and a nice addition to the series, im hoping they continue to include them in the future and these are not even a fraction as hard as the race in mafia 1 but lack the difficulty or the urgency that one instilled. 7.5/10
finally the game adds knife fights for boss battles and you even pick your own knife early on and can buy others that have different stats but for the most part its a knife and the fights while a neat idea lack any real depth mechanically as you can only parry, dodge, stab and strike leading to all the fights feeling the exact same. although it should be said its visually quite appealing and allows for a fair bit of swearing an witty dialogue as you brutally dice your foes. 7/10
Overall the games a 7.8/*10 so id say get it on sale for 35 or so. This review doesnt include the future DLC thats planed for this fall.
