Mafia 2's story

I've been thinking about the plot of Mafia 2 and I've got a nasty suspicion that it doesn't actually make any sense. There are a fair number of incongruities... None of them exactly ruin it, they just don't quite work and hint at a development team making plot twists for their own sake. Spoilers follow:

1) The cops show up during a drugs run

So you and some mates are going to smuggle some drugs. You've handed over the money, picked up the drugs and OH NO! The cops show up. About thirty of them. You think you're screwed but one of your mates notices their shoes - they're very clean and well made. WAIT! They aren't the shoes of a cop, they must be a rival gang! A firefight ensues.

The problem is, we're never given any explanation for who these people are. Given that no-one was supposed to know about the deal, it doesn't quite work.

2) The fed

One of your mates turns out to be a fed. This is fine, he's been infiltrating your group. The problem is, this mate a few chapters before he is revealed as a fed had planned, initiated and been the primary driving force behind a massive cocaine distribution operation. I really don't get why a fed would do this. It's not as if he hasn't got enough evidence to hang everyone in the game. It could be the money I suppose but he's a fed, they're not supposed to be after the money. As far as I see it, it's an incredibly dangerous thing to do which can (and does) blow his cover for very little reward. It doesn't quite work.



3) A friend who you helped disappear pops up at the end.

So you're supposed to kill this chap but you help him escape. He disappears, never to be heard from again. But he turns up at the end to help you out of a bind. This one does sort of work... helping out old friends and all that, but there are an enormous mesh of co-incidences at the end including a triad leader who this guy somehow knows and has agreed not to kill you for reasons never fully explained. Other than loyalty, which is a bit tenuous considering your characters actions during the last act of the game, this bit really doesn't ring true.



As you can probably tell, Mafia 2's plot isn't exactly bad. There are just a lot of bits that, on closer examination, make you go "hang on a second...." much in the same way Inside Man did...