By Sam Coles:
Seems to be the year of remakes and remasters, but that
doesn’t mean it is a bad thing as games age they tend to start to show their
cracks. The original Mafia that was release all the way back in 2002 was ahead
of its time, with a well written story and voice acting that was and still is really
good. However gameplay is rather archaic these days, and to be honest was at the
time coupled with the ridiculous difficulty spikes. Here we are in 2020 where
Mafia has been given a complete remake in the form of the Definitive Edition,
and it is fantastic. Let’s get into it.
You step into the innocent shoes of taxi driver Thomas Angelo,
or “Tommy” as he is affectionately called. He is working late one night where
he is confronted by two mobsters named Paulie and Sam, who are associates of the
Salieri crime family. They need to get the hell out of dodge because they have
crashed their car while trying to avoid their pursuers, and Tommy helps them
not out of choice as he is staring down the barrel of a gun. He helps them
escape where is offered a job with the family, but Tommy politely declines,
until he is ambushed by the rival crime family and has no other choice to get
involved with organised crime.
The story is very faithful to the original basically
retelling it scene for scene, however it adds new scenes which helps flesh out
the main characters as well as characters that were not as involved in the
original. The performances from all the actors are superb, which had me
emotionally hooked throughout.
Gameplay has been given a massive overhaul, Hangar 13 have
taken elements from their previous project Mafia 3 and have injected elements
of it into this remake. For starters the shooting compared to the original is
much better, with the added ability to take cover instead of awkwardly
shuffling behind doorways. The shooting feels fantastic, it has a nice weight
to it as you pull the trigger each time coupled with the visceral feedback as
blood spirts out of your enemies.
Driving also feels much better, but they are still stiff to
drive but this is thematically appropriate as the game is set in the 1930’s so
cars aren’t exactly fast or agile. However it is much more manageable when
turning tight corners, plus they have added period specific motorbikes which I thought
was a nice touch.
What I love about the gameplay experience is that the game
will let you customise your difficulty in different areas; this makes the game
replayable in my book with different difficulty tweaks. This can range from
changing the driving physics to realistic; changing how health works to my
favourite how sensitive the police are with your crimes. This is fantastic as
it caters to different play styles and opens the game up to everyone, whether
you want a hardcore experience or just want to explore and enjoy the story.
The presentation speaks for itself the game has been given a
complete graphical overhaul especially the character models, they look very
believable coupled with the full body motion capture performances. They manage
to capture every subtle detail on character’s faces from a slight smirk to
their eyes darting back and forth with worry. The world also looks beautiful,
with the warm sunny days lighting the pavements to the wet and neon lit roads
at the dead of night. This world looks beautiful and feels lived in coupled with
the exquisitely detailed cars, with some fantastic damage modelling. The
soundtrack is godlike in my book; the booming orchestra as you gun down
gangsters is magnificent as well as the iconic main theme that plays during the
opening credits!
Are there any issues with the game? Yes a few, for starters let’s
talk about the framerate as it is a problem on base consoles. I played this on
a standard Xbox One and oh boy does it chug in places, this would often happen
in busy firefights when there are lots of explosions and particle effects and
can get a bit annoying. The loading times were also another grievance, but
honestly they were not as bad as Mafia 3. Melee combat felt a bit underwhelming
and lacked impact; it didn’t feel like I was decking someone with a baseball bat
more like slapping someone with a wet fish. Finally the game does suffer with
pop in on the Xbox One; this can be textures showing up late to the party or
NPCs popping out of nowhere. These issues were somewhat annoying, but
fortunately they don’t happen often enough to sour my experience.
Mafia Definitive Edition is a beautiful remake of the 2002
cult classic, it managed to modernise the formula while staying faithful to the
original. Sure it has some technical issues, but the fun gunplay and engaging
storytelling had me hooked from start to finish. This is one of my favourite
games of 2020 and I urge you to go out and get!
The Mafia: Definitive Edition review really captures the essence of what made the original game a classic. The stunning visuals, updated mechanics, and gripping story bring a fresh experience while staying true to its roots. If you’re excited to step into the shoes of Tommy Angelo and explore Lost Heaven, definitely be on the lookout for a Mafia: Definitive Edition coupon. It's a great way to experience this nostalgic masterpiece at a discount!
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