Mafia II: Definitive Edition: Complete Guide

A full guide to Vito Scaletta's rise through Empire Bay: how the game works, police and money, chapter-by-chapter highlights, collectibles, the three DLC campaigns, and every missable achievement worth knowing about.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the Definitive Edition (released May 19, 2020) and its inclusion in Mafia: The Omertà Collection (August 14, 2026). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Edition note: Mafia II: Definitive Edition (Steam app 1030830) is the remaster by Hangar 13 and D3T. It includes the main story and all three story DLCs (Joe's Adventures, Jimmy's Vendetta, The Betrayal of Jimmy) plus the style packs. It's also part of Mafia: The Omertà Collection (with Mafia: Definitive Edition, Mafia III: Definitive Edition and Mafia: The Old Country Definitive Edition), launched August 14, 2026. Owning Mafia II: DE unlocks Vito's leather jacket and car in Mafia: DE and Mafia III: DE.

Quick Start

This is a story game, not a sandbox. Empire Bay is an open city, but the campaign is linear across 15 chapters. There's no free-roam mode in the main story; Jimmy's Vendetta is the closest thing to one.
Use the speed limiter. Police chase you for speeding and crashes. Toggle the limiter on for normal driving to avoid pointless police trouble.
Change clothes and plates to lose police recognition. If cops know your face, change outfits; if they know your car, change plates or repaint at a garage.
Sell cars for money. Mike Bruski's scrapyard and Derek at the docks buy cars. This is the main early income.
Buy guns at Harry's and clothes at clothing stores. A luxury suit is an achievement.
Health partly regenerates, but eating at diners and drinking in bars fully heals Vito.
Save points are automatic at chapter checkpoints. Don't quit mid-mission if you want to keep progress.
Pick up collectibles as you go: 50 Playboy magazines and wanted posters. Many are only reachable during specific chapters.
Some achievements are chapter-specific. See the missables list below.

Core Systems

Difficulty

Easy, Medium and Hard. Made Man requires finishing on Medium or higher; Tough Nut on Hard. Hard makes enemies deadlier and police more aggressive.

Police and notoriety

Offence	Result	Fix
Speeding, reckless driving	Police try to stop you, and you can pay a fine	Use the speed limiter, pay the fine or flee
Car identified	Cops look for your plates	Change plates or repaint at a garage
Vito's face identified	Cops recognize you on sight	Change clothes at a store or at home
Shooting, violence	Police escalate to lethal force	Flee, break line of sight, hide

Being arrested costs time and can fail a mission. Hard to Kill asks you to survive 10 minutes with the police wanting you dead.

Money

Source	Notes
Mike Bruski's scrapyard	Sell cars; Proper Scrapper for 5
Derek at the docks	Sell cars; Exporter for 5
Story payouts	Big chunks at certain chapters
Robbing stores	Aim at the clerk and take the cash; draws police

Spend on guns (Harry's), cars and upgrades (garages), clothes and food.

Cars and garages

Tuning upgrades speed and handling. Tuned Ride is an achievement for one level; Dream Handling for max.
Garages also repair, repaint, and change plates.
Store cars at your home garage.

Combat

Cover-based third-person shooting. Stay in cover; peek to shoot.
Headshots matter; Hairdresser requires 5 headshot kills in rapid succession.
Melee: light and heavy attacks plus dodge and counter. Knucklehead for 30 melee kills.
Grenades and Molotovs are strong for groups.

Story and Chapter Highlights

The story follows Vito Scaletta from a WWII soldier in Sicily (Chapter 1) to a mafia career with his friend Joe Barbaro. You'll work with and against the three families: Falcone (Carlo Falcone), Vinci (Frank Vinci), and Clemente (Alberto Clemente), with Henry Tomasino, Eddie Scarpa, Leo Galante, and Derek Pappalardo as major characters.

Chapter 1 is the Sicily WWII tutorial, Chapter 2 (Home Sweet Home) brings Vito back to a snowy Empire Bay, Chapter 6 (Time Well Spent) is set in prison, and the second half of the game jumps to the 1950s. Every chapter completion has its own achievement (Chapter 15's is Finish Him).

Story achievements to watch for (several are missable within their chapter):

Achievement	What to do
Big Brother	Protect Francesca (early, Home Sweet Home)
A Real Gentleman	Help the woman fix her car in Home Sweet Home
Back In Business	Do your first job for Mike Bruski
He Who Pays The Barber	Improve the dockworkers' haircuts
The Professional	Obtain the ration stamps without raising the alarm
Mail Man	Sell all the gas stamps before the time runs out
A Lesson In Manners	Show that you know how to treat a lady
Wake Up Call	Help Leo out of a tricky situation without getting caught
Hey Joe	Clean up after Joe
The Mafia Never Forgets	Pay a visit to an old friend
Out for Justice	Learn what it means to be a Scaletta
End of the Rainbow	Settle the score with the Irish once and for all

Stealth-based ones (The Professional, Wake Up Call) are the most commonly missed; save your aggression for after the objective.

If you miss a chapter-specific achievement, the chapter select in the main menu lets you replay chapters after you've reached them.

Collectibles

Collectible	Achievement
Playboy magazines (50)	Ladies' Man for all
Wanted posters	Card Sharp for all

Any collectible gives Collector's Item.
Many collectibles are in buildings only accessible during certain chapters. Use a chapter-by-chapter collectible guide if you want them all in one run, or clean up via chapter select.

DLC Campaigns

Joe's Adventures

Plays as Joe during the years Vito is in prison. Missions are linked by a score-attack free-roam with jumps, drifts and velocity runs. Achievements: What Witness?, Dockyard Discord, Five Finger Discount, Mind the Goods, Arctic Grave, Jacked Jumper, Driftin' Daddy-O, Hypersonic, Jack of all Trades, Same Shirt Different Day.

Jimmy's Vendetta

Arcade-style score attack campaign as the hitman Jimmy, taking revenge across Empire Bay. The first mission unlocks First Step and finishing it unlocks Revenged. Many achievements are grindy: Massacre (1,000 kills), Explorer (1,000 miles), Millionaire (1,000,000 points), Fireworker (100 vehicles), Armament King, Carnapper (all Car Dealer missions), Faster than Light (10x multiplier), Sharpshooter (100 headshots).

The Betrayal of Jimmy

Another Jimmy campaign of gun-for-hire missions across Empire Bay.

Achievement Tips

Pedal to the Metal: 125 mph needs a fast car and a long straight road.
Get Rich or Die Flyin': all four wheels off the ground for 20 meters; find a ramp or a hill.
Cruise Control: keep at 30 mph or more for 5+ minutes. Use a highway loop.
One Careful Owner: 50 miles in one car; do it naturally over a long playthrough.
Petrol Head: drive 30 different vehicles. Steal a variety of cars as you play.
Stuck Up: rob 5 stores in under 5 minutes; plan a route.
Sharp Suiter: buy your first luxury suit.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Speeding everywhere. Constant police chases waste time; use the speed limiter.
Ignoring clothes and plates. Police recognition lasts until you change.
Missing chapter-specific achievements. Read the chapter list above before you start each chapter.
Expecting open-world side content. The main story has few side activities.
Wasting money early. Keep enough for guns and a suit; cars can be sold for more cash.

Advanced Tips

Hide in cover and use grenades in big shootouts on Hard.
Drive carefully during missions to avoid police aggro interfering with objectives.
Headshots end fights fast; aim high.
Use chapter select to farm collectibles and missables after completion.
Jimmy's Vendetta is the best place to grind general kill and driving stats.

FAQ

Is Definitive Edition better than the original? It's the only version sold now and includes all DLC with remastered visuals. Owners of the original on Steam received the Definitive Edition for free at launch.

Is there free roam after the story? Not in the main campaign. Jimmy's Vendetta and Joe's Adventures offer open-world style score modes.

How long is Mafia II? The main story is roughly moderate length for an action game; DLC adds significant time.

Where do I start the DLC? From the main menu; each DLC is its own campaign.

Do I need to play Mafia first? Not required, but the Mafia trilogy has connections. Mafia III and The Old Country have further links.

What's the best way to get Mafia II now? Buy it standalone or as part of Mafia: The Omertà Collection (launched August 14, 2026), which includes all four Definitive Editions.