It is pretty crazy to think that the original Mafia game is nearly 20 years old! I was very excited when I heard that the game was getting remade with the Mafia: Definitive Edition. It is a fantastic remake of a game that really paved the way for 3D action and open-world games back in the early 00s.
How to Download Mafia: Definitive Edition
To download the game from Steam, click on the Download button that you will find located at the end of this review.
The Game Review
The story of Mafia: Definitive Edition is the same as it was in the original. The main character, Tommy is telling his story to a detective and you play his rise as a gangster in flashbacks. It is done incredibly well and while the story is the same, the execution is not. For me, the original had the best story and it is even better now.
The story feels far more authentic than it did before. The dialogue has been rewritten and given new voice acting and both give the story far more weight. The voice acting is truly spectacular and full of little 1930s sayings and phrases that I got a real kick out of as I played the game.
It also looks great too. The Chicago inspired, Lost Heaven is incredible and full of awesome locations for you to check out. The character models are great and have fantastic facial animations and the cars, buildings and pretty much everything else in the game has a very high level of polish to it all.
Those who are coming into Mafia: Definitive Edition and are expecting a more open-world style game as we got with Mafia 3 may be a bit disappointed. The game has the same 20 missions as the original and the progression of the game is rather linear. Some missions have been altered a tad, but for the most part, you are doing the same things here that you were back in 2002.
Do not get me wrong. Chasing down some goon in an old-school car is great. Also great is having a firefight in a location such as an old farm or an Italian restaurant. However, I do feel they could have added a bit more content here. The city of Lost Heaven is great and you can explore, but there is no huge array of side missions like a Rockstar game has.
I had a blast playing through this from beginning to end. There are many different “options” that you can tweak. The game has simulation settings that can alter the way the cars drive and even the way the cops react to you. This is not for me, but I can see why some people do like it.
The gunplay is your typical 3rd person cover shooter stuff. It is fun and I enjoyed using these old-timey guns a great deal as I put some mook in his place. However, it is very basic and you do get the impression that they have played it rather safe. That though does not mean there is anything wrong with the gunplay.
For the most part, Hangar 13 has done a truly remarkable job with Mafia: Definitive Edition. Yet, the game does have some issues. These tend to be strange “glitches” such as characters getting stuck in objects or weird graphical ghosting that can occur from time to time. It can be annoying, especially if you get stuck and have to reload a save.
Even with the couple of glitches I encountered, Mafia: Definitive Edition is a game I had a fantastic time with. It has one of the best prohibition-era mobster stories of any game I have played. The presentation is great and the gameplay, while linear by today’s standards is fun, exciting and will keep you invested until the ending…oh, the ending, by the way, is truly incredible!
