Mafia

by Gathering

Product Features

• Start out as a hitman, enforcer or getaway Driver -- you'll have to complete missions to earn the respect of other mobsters, plus Don Salieri himself
• Deal with rival Morello family while controlling your rackets -- see if you can run all the gambling, extortion, smuggling and prostitution in the city
• You'll need patience, skill and accuracy with a Tommy Gun as you fight your way through 20 dangerous missions
• High-speed car chases, bootlegging, assassinations, bank robberies and more -- you'll have to do it all and avoid getting caught by John Law
• Just remember, your actions have consequences -- don't hit any innocent people unless you want heat from the cops, and don't cross Don Salieri unless you want to wear cement shoes!

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B000083GIV
• Item Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: March 9, 2004
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,612 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Game Informer Review

When we reviewed the PlayStation 2 version of Mafia a few months back, we claimed that the game didn't age well and wasn't nearly as enjoyable as it was on the PC when it originally released. With the arrival of Mafia on Xbox, many of the issues that plagued the PS2 version are nowhere to be found.

The loading times that stretched on for well over a minute have been shaved down to a reasonable 10 seconds. You'll also notice that the visuals in this version are a bit cleaner and the lighting effects showcase a higher level of realism.

The one area where the title hasn't made any strides forward is gameplay. If you had problems playing GTA because you felt that the gameplay was clunky, Mafia will make you pull out every last strand of hair. Not only are the character controls a bit awkward, driving a car from the 1930s that has about as much horsepower as a Rascal scooter isn't exactly a mind-blowing experience.

Thankfully, with compelling storytelling, and one ingenious mission after another, Mafia has enough firepower to keep you playing until the end.

Concept:
Travel to the 1930s and join the Salieri family in this gritty action game that delivers a remarkable story and unforgettable missions

Graphics:
Smokes the PS2 version in both lighting effects and load times

Sound:
There's nothing quite like the crackle of a Tommy gun. The soundtrack is also a nice collection of thirties jazz

Playability:
The on-foot sequences are a bit stiff, and the cars just aren't that entertaining to drive

Entertainment:
The inventive missions and mobster-heavy story make an otherwise mediocre game very enjoyable

Replay:
Moderately Low

Rated: 8 out of 10
Editor: Andrew Reiner
Issue: June 2004

2nd Opinion:
It's not even fair to call Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dawn of Destiny a video game – it's more like the solitaire programs that come preloaded on PCs. I'm sure the Xbox-owning Yu-Gi-Oh! fans (all six of them) will appreciate a chance to play the game without getting Cheetos crumbs on their precious cards, but everyone else will choose to play something that's actually fun.
–JEREMY

Rated: 7.5 out of 10
Editor: Matthew Kato


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Product Description

In Mafia, you've been accepted into the ruthless Salieri crime family, and your goal is to rise to the top!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best game of 2002 enters the Xbox world, January 17, 2004

By 

Lubos Motl (Cambridge, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mafia (Video Game)

My sister's boyfriend recommended me to buy this game, and as soon as I launched the Czech PC version of the game - which is the version that I started with - I found it totally amazing. I am proud of my fellow Czechs who were able to construct this game - a game chosen as the best game of the year 2002 (at least in many European countries). The amount of data (contained on 3 CD's) that the creators had to put together is shocking, and initially it seemed to me that a team of 20 people would need several centuries to finish this task. Well, fortunately they have used a lot of modern technology, for example a system to scan the motion of the real actors which is subsequently translated to the motion of the artificial humans, and therefore the task was doable. There are many hours of "movies" in between the different scenes, and there is a lot of audiovisual effects everywhere. The individuals in the game have pretty good artificial intelligence, and you will be impressed how realistic all these objects and their motion are (unlike the cartoonish style of GTA, for example).
The Lost Heaven City is a completely realistic city, designed according to the actual buildings in the New York City and Chicago of the 1930s. Everything seems to work perfectly in this city - including the gas stations, public transportation, banks, car races, ships, small airport, and so on. Imagine more than twenty squared miles of the urban architecture where everything responds in a realistic fashion, including many things that are unnecessary to fulfil the game's twenty main missions (e.g. you decide jump from the bridge in order to see the ship from another side). There are 60 different models of the cars - that you can steal on the street if you learned how - that were carefully copied from the real cars in the 1930s (but they were renamed). All these cars respect all the laws of physics and they are described by 100 physical parameters each. If you shoot at the car (or use some explosives), it's getting destroyed in a very realistic way.

Moreover, there are about 30 fan web sites dedicated to the game, and the people who understand computers well enough can have a lot of additional fun with modding the PC version of the game - changing the cars, textures on the buildings, music, sounds, and so on. The Xbox version does not allow you to do it, I guess, but it has other advantages over the PC version - it seems that the graphics is even smoother.

The game has a tutorial where you learn how to control Tommy (which is you). On the PC version, the arrow keys and other keys on the keyboard are used for motion (and changing the weapons, jumping, and so on) while the mouse allows you to change the direction where you look (or shoot), and this combination is very natural. You can practice as the taxi driver - you will learn geography of the Lost Heaven City after some time (the map is recommended). The main game has 20 main missions with 106 checkpoints or so where the game is saved, and afterwards you may continue with the "free ride extreme". Nevertheless, I needed about 50 hours to complete the main missions.

The story seems as a good piece of literature - you are a taxi driver who accidentally becomes a member of Mafia, and you are getting increasingly difficult tasks. Well, you will have to shoot a lot of people, but from a moral perspective, I am sure that at the end you will agree that being a mafioso is not the best (and easiest) option for your life - especially because your friend will betray you, and you will have to kill him. After the war, they will kill you anyway.

The game was banned in Italy for some time in 2002 because the authorities viewed it as a perfect textbook to become a criminal. The most natural audience for this game are almost definitely Americans like you, but the publisher company of the PC version did a bad job when they promoted this game in the U.S. and the success in the U.S. was much weaker than the game's achievements in Europe. Therefore you are sort of lucky to read this review. Mafia might be the best game ever (so far, as of January 2004), and it is much less known in the U.S. than it should be (so far). Don't get manipulated by the advertisements of less perfect games. Buy Mafia, and you will be impressed.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One word: Excellent, December 20, 2003

By 

Tony Phan "tonyphant" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mafia (Video Game)

This review is based on the PC version, but it's identical for all versions.

The game's graphics are nice, flows smoothly, and is colorful. There's a lot of cars moving around, and pedestrians too.

The game is a lot similar to GTA 3 and Vice City, only better. The gameplay is fun and hard. It's realistic (you run out of gas and need to refill), and has excellent sounds, voice acting, and intense gunfights too.

The sounds and voice acting is great and the story's excellent. You'll keep playing to see what happens next.

The only bad thing is that the cars are a bit slow--they're from the 1930s and move like so. They lose speed when going up hills, and there not fast overall. These cars are not sports cars.

Lastly, a realistic feature is that you can't just steal cars so easily. You need to learn how to do it (the game gives you the ability to do so) and you can't just steal a car in 1 second--there's a meter and it's your progress of picking the car's lock. People actually lock their cars, and you're picking the lock! Realistic!

This game is long and challenging. One of the best games ever made. Enjoy it!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Oh man, May 23, 2005

By 

SteveMor "stevemor909" (Cleveland, OH) - See all my reviews

= Durability:2.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:2.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Mafia (Video Game)

I have not played this game on PC2 but it sounds like what I am about to say for Xbox is even worse in PlayStation2 mode. Mafia The Game for PC is my favorite game of all time. I spent a year of my life all day and night playing this game. I was going through a divorce and this was a GREAT escape and I loved it. I spent 6 months just on Free Ride and never got tired of it. Then the missions, the shootouts, the wild chases, criminals and police all coming after me, not even GTA could match this. Then my new computer had some sort of video glitch and even after trying 2 video cards, my processor kept burning up (so no matter games on the PC. I recently got an XBox and thought I would take my favorite game for a spin. I would have to say honestly this isnt even the same game. The graphics are not good, very fuzzy and not clear looking at all. Worse, on Free Ride, suddenly all the police have vanished from the streets. The police were an intregate part of the game before and made things exciting. You didnt just have to worry about speeding, or the criminals, but the police were always watching you and on your tail. Part of the fun was trying to get away with 4-5 cars full of police and 4-5 Mafia cars chasing you, in and when you get out of the car and try to run, shoot, hide, etc. Also, I noticed it was very easy to run over the bad guys dressed in black. They seem to go down like a sitting duck. And to shoot them was the same, even a bullet somewhat close they were dead. Also the pedestrians act differently, and whole groups of them get into same positions (almost overlapping one another) and you cannot accuratly fight with them, shoot them, or whatever. The accuracy of the game is not even close to the original Mafia PC game. I also noticed as I started some missions, the police are barely noticable even if you speed around the whole city at 100 mph. The game has to reset EVERYTIME you go over the bridge and if you finally did get the police to chase you, the XBox will crash right at that moment. Also, the characters repeat the same lines over and over again endlessly. There are a few new lines they read, but they repeat the same ones sometimes 3,4,5, times in a row. The accuracy, innovation, realism, and precision of the PC game is not evident here. I can understand now why this company decided not to make a Mafia 2 and decided to shelf the whole Mafia francise plans. You have to make a great game GREAT on all flatforms. The other games I have tried on XBox are awesome (even better then the PC) because my screen is bigger, on a grander scale, and better looking then when you view it on a 15 or 17 inch monitor. But with Mafia, this game looks like a copy of the original. Even their new RACE mode has spectators clapping that look phony as a $3 bill. That sums it all up, I doubt the same people who made the PC game were even involved with this project. if you have ever played Mafia on the console and wondered what all the hype was about, you are right. But get a PC version and play it on a good computer with a good graphics card and you will see why this game ranks RIGHT UP THEIR with GTA and actually as far as accuracy, animations, action, and AI it can't be beat. Again that goes for the PC version, XBox, dont waste your money.