This Is Worse Than Bumper Cars!
Mafia II - Joe's Adventures is a DLC add-on for the game Mafia II.
It plays after Vito gets thrown into the slammer for reasons we will not delve into.
We played this add-on DLC after we had completed the full Mafia II game, in all honesty it is probably for the best to do so anyway due to specific spoilers. Anyway after doing so we became quite fond of the character Joe, he was in fact one of our favourite characters and thus thanks to this we could not wait to play it!
Playing as Joe the rather sarcastic character in the game was a really nice feeling. With his sarcastic wit and charm one cannot help but enjoy controlling him and taking down enemies as a completely different protagonist from the main game.
The DLC story is more about revenge and it does a good job of keeping tabs with the games main storyline. We opted to play on the 'Hardest' difficulty and there where parts in which we found to be rather difficult but still fun and enjoyable nonetheless.
In order to complete the story you are given specific missions to complete which in turn will unlock more of the story. Some of these missions can be rather tricky to complete and remind us a lot of the Grand Theft Auto series. Each mission is in a way ''optional'' to chose from and range from either Car Theft missions and/or Vandalism. However to continue the story you will need to complete each of these missions, the order of which though does not matter. We feel like this was a good way of keeping the DLC content going and keeping the player engaged.
However, it does feel very much different from the main game and as if the developers where trying out something new and different and it certainly makes the game feel different that is for sure!
The missions feel a bit cheap and most if not all are very much time based, there is also various different ways to gain points that count towards your final mission results and add towards the in-game Leaderboards which is great for those feeling rather competitive. So if your the challenging type who loves to score big on Leaderboards, then your going to love this!
Also featured for those interested is a wide range of different collectibles and trophies to unlock too, again some of which can be tricky to find and unlock but seriously where would the fun be if things where easy to accomplish?
OVERALL:
Whilst the DLC starts off being rather interesting and fun, it doesn't take that long for all of that to change.
With the whole ''optional'' missions put in the game and its whole time based mechanic and no way of avoiding it, one cannot help but feel a sudden and unexpected difficulty curve and this change is not for everyone!
So if your expecting more of the same that is featured in the main game, you may find yourself being somewhat disappointed.
Regardless we did still enjoy the DLC and we do so love playing as our personal favourite, Joe.
It is just unfortunate that these unexpected changes does make the whole DLC feel rather disappointing and with a bit of a repetitive aspect to it also.
PROS:
+ It does add some extra content to the main story, delving into what Joe was up to whilst Vito was behind bars.
+ Playing as Joe was great fun after having really enjoyed him and his personality in the main story.
+ The DLC does feature several obtainable Trophies and a mission results points system for those interested adding to the replayability.
CONS:
+ The DLC does have a rather steep difficulty curve one in which can potentially put a lot of people off.
+ Each side mission contains a Time Limit in order to pull off each task, making you feel more rushed to beat each one.
+ The main DLC story is rather short and whilst enjoyable, it makes the struggle completing each mission seem not worth it.
Story Length: 3+ Hours