The protagonist of Mafia II is drawn into the mob for personal reasons, nearly all of them having to do with him wanting the money and respect he saw lavished on mob guys when he was a kid. The son of a Sicilian immigrant, Vito was born into a life of poverty on the mean streets of Empire City and grew up determined to avoid becoming a “nobody” like his father. After a botched robbery gets him shipped off to World War II, he comes home determined to make it big – and he sees life as a mobster as the way to achieve that, both for himself and those around him.
Raised in circumstances similar to Vito’s, Joe’s a small-time hoodlum who’s been friends with Vito since the two were kids. While Vito was off fighting Nazis, Joe was back home committing petty crimes on behalf of the mob – and when Vito comes home from the war, Joe is his ticket into the underworld. Throughout the game, Joe and Vito will be partners in crime, and their friendship will be one of the most important elements of the game’s story.
Unlike Vito and Joe, Henry’s already a made man – which, if you’ve never seen a gangster movie, means he’s a full-fledged soldier in a crime family, bound by an oath of loyalty and guaranteed the family’s full protection. We’re not entirely sure why a made man is hanging out with a couple of small-time (at least at first) toughs like Vito and Joe, though. Maybe he grew up with them. Maybe he was assigned to them by his Cosa Nostra overlords. Or maybe he’s just decided to take them under his wing, like a big brother.
Whatever the case, Henry’s status as a made man is an inspiration to Joe and Vito, and aside from being a buddy to the two, he oversees their induction into, and rise within, the mob.
Source: http://www.gamesradar.com/
