Mafia II: The Real Cities Behind Empire Bay

The first chapter of Mafia II takes place in the fictional Sicilian town of San Celeste. Vito, arrested during a robbery in 1943, joins the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment to avoid prison. Then a Sicilian operation goes wrong, and Don Calò arrives to order the Italian soldiers to stand down. It is Vito's first brush with the power of the Mafia. The town is invented, so the pin marks the island of Sicily.

Location precision: San Celeste is an invented town; the pin marks the island of Sicily, where the game places it.

In February 1945 Vito returns home on leave to Empire Bay and reunites with his childhood friend Joe Barbaro. The city is fictional, on the eastern coast and divided by a river, and its design is based on New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston and Detroit as they looked in the game's two time periods, 1945 and 1951. Real American cities shaped its architecture, cultures, public transport and landmarks, but Empire Bay itself is not a real place.

Location precision: Empire Bay blends six real cities; the pin marks New York City, on the eastern coastline where the game places Empire Bay, as a stand-in.

In April 1951 Vito is released early from prison thanks to his connection with Leo. He reunites with Joe and meets the Falcone family, led by Don Carlo Falcone and his underboss Eddie Scarpa. In the game's underworld, a Chinese Triad outfit, the Irish Mob and several street gangs share Empire Bay with the mafia families.

Location precision: Empire Bay is fictional and this story beat has no real-world location, so the stop is left unpinned.

Vito joins Joe and Henry to profit from heroin bought from the city's Triads. Then Vito and Joe witness the Triads publicly murdering Henry and escaping with their money. The Triads are the city's Chinese criminal outfit, one of several groups, including three mafia families and the Irish Mob, that divide Empire Bay between them.

Location precision: Empire Bay is fictional and this story beat has no real-world location, so the stop is left unpinned.

Indebted to loan shark Bruno Levine, whose money they borrowed for the heroin deal, Vito and Joe take on various jobs to raise cash, including the assassination of retired mobster Tommy Angelo. After they pay off the debt, Bruno turns out to be the same loan shark his father once owed. Leo then confronts Vito, scolding him and Joe for sparking a war between the Mafia and the Triads.

Location precision: Empire Bay is fictional and this story beat has no real-world location, so the stop is left unpinned.

Vito looks for work with his late father's former employer and discovers that the man ordered his father's death. He kills him in retaliation and takes his retirement money. Meanwhile the Vinci family kidnaps and tortures Joe until Vito saves him.

Location precision: Empire Bay is fictional and this story beat has no real-world location, so the stop is left unpinned.

Leo arranges for Vito to be spared by both the Commission and the Triads, as long as he kills their common enemy Carlo. Carlo offers to make Joe a caporegime if he kills Vito, but Joe refuses and helps Vito kill him. Leo then takes Vito off to celebrate while Joe is driven away in a separate car. Vito agitatedly asks where Joe is being taken, and can only watch.

Location precision: Empire Bay is fictional and this story beat has no real-world location, so the stop is left unpinned.