One of the most drastically improved franchise's of the past decade, Mafia II improved on many things, in particular the voice talent behind its characters. Introduce Robert Costanzo, who bar a role in BTAS as Harvey Bullock and some other animated adventures, had really yet to cement himself as a big voice acting talent. His role as Joe Barbaro however is simply fantastic, and begs the question - why hasn't he done more? Mafia II's mob plot line was lauded by critics when it first released, with the game managing to compile and pay homage to a plethora of mafia films from The Godfather to Goodfellas and more. Barbaro occupies the role of the player's main introduction to the criminal world, and in that task he succeeds indubitably. Better still, Joe is easily the best character in the story, outshining Vito and the game's primary antagonists with ease. Since Costanzo's performance is so overlooked, there aren't actually any videos of him online showing off his talents, you're just going to have to check out the game yourself. It's quite the underrated performance, but one worth seeking out if you have the time.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
