3/5 ★ – stephenhill777's review of Mafia: Definitive Edition.

Mafia would be a great little game if it wasn’t trying so hard to be Grand Theft Auto. There is a rich story being told here, albeit one you already know if you’re at all familiar with Martin Scorsese. It’s easy to see how the opulence of the gangster lifestyle might tempt the average joe during this time of depression. Corrupt politicians and open warfare in the streets have obvious parallels with the modern day. And of course, the paranoia of being part of the mob is something that is actually explored with admirable nuance. But it falters because so much focus is put on the barren open world and its sub-par gameplay loop. The story is almost beat for beat that of Goodfellas, which isn’t a bad thing. It’s a classic narrative, and there’s enough tweaks made here to keep it interesting. Our protagonist, Tommy, is initially uninterested in joining the mob, until a rival gang pushes him one step too far. The next thing we know; he’s being welcomed with open arms by Don Salieri, a pistol shoved into one hand, a dame shoved into the other. From there, we see his meteoric rise and inevitable fall from grace as he negotiates the pitfalls of organized crime. While GTA has its defenders, I’ve personally never been interested in it’s overly cynical and satirical brand of storytelling. Mafia is a much more sincere story, and easier to engage with. It should be noted that the changes made in the remastered edition do a significant amount of legwork in making it so appealing. The actors are at the top of their game here, particularly Glenn Taranto, who does the voice and mo-cap for Don Salieri. The moments spent sitting around a table in a darkened room are some of the best parts of the entire experience, but it’s clear that the original simply saw these as stepping stones between the gameplay segments. While there is an open world to be explored, it isn’t quite the same as the sandboxes that Rockstar are famous for producing. You are never not on a mission, so you are rarely given the incentive to simply drive around and explore. Even if you do, there isn’t an awful lot to find outside of some special, hidden cars, or the occasional collectible. There are no mini-games or side-missions, and committing crimes just doesn’t have the same sense of anarchic joy that it does in GTA. And yet, the world itself is relatively expansive, which begs the question, why is it there? So much effort has been put into making the city of Lost Heaven feel open and inviting, but there is nothing to engage in, outside of car chases. Which, it should be emphasized, are not particularly fun. Rockstar has had its ups and downs when it comes to how cars feel, but the cars in Mafia match their lowest point. Almost every vehicle is a slow lumbering shopping trolley, rarely conveying a satisfying sense of speed, and with controls that feel largely unresponsive. It could be argued that this is reflective of the automobiles of the era, but this is a place where artistic license could have easily solved that problem. Cars at the time might have been comparatively slow to modern machines, but they surely would have seemed fast to the people driving them? There is even a mission that involves a road-race, with a souped up racer, as a way of apology for this. The fact that this concession isn’t made, but the graphics have been gussied up to look absolutely gorgeous shows that this remaster is really just skin deep. And while the game certainly looks stunning, I would nonetheless recommend playing in Noir mode, a black and white filter that makes everything feel appropriately of the era. It detracts a little from the visuals, sure, but it at least gives the game more of a sense of identity. As for the non-driving missions, these are a mixed bag, but there are more high points than low. The accessibility options are enough to accommodate any level of skill or playstyle, and the shootouts feel genuinely dangerous when they occur. There isn’t a massive selection of weapons, but because what’s there works, it feels much more forgivable than the janky car controls. Being a remaster of a PS2 title, the set pieces themselves definitely feel a little shorter than they should, but the best ones are remarkable. One mission takes place on a boat and requires a little humorous espionage before you can even pick up a gun. Another starts explosively in a brothel and carries all the way over the rooftops and into a church. My personal favorite, however, involved an abandoned prison that Tommy needs to climb to the top of in order to fire a sniper rifle. The environmental storytelling on display here is excellent, with a number of homeless NPCs milling about, some helping you, others attacking, but most just lethargic to your presence. It’s a haunting reminder of how miserable the lives of the working class American were at this time, and what a wide breadth of people it affected. These are the moments that make the game worth playing, but they would be better served in a more focused genre than the crime sandbox. As it is, it feels like a diluted experience, like a bottle of watered down hooch during prohibition era Chicago. Enjoyable but not as potent as it could, and should, be.