I can't for the life of me remember whether I finished the original Mafia or not, but I can still be sure I absolutely loved this game. It oozed atmosphere, looked brilliant and sported a plot that was on a par with a decent mob film. Mafia may not have been the Godfather of video games, but it was both interesting and great fun to play through. Also, it was way better than any GTA you'd care to mention, and now it's about to get a sequel; the aptly named Mafia II, the demo of which I just finished. Not that it was a particularly hefty one mind, but I did get to play through one mission and get to ride around the game's city for 10 minutes or so.
Truth be said, you too can grab said demo via Steam, though I guess I could let you know what I thought of it. Well, it was good. And looked spectacular, easily recapturing the mood of the original as far as visuals are concerned. The texture of the world felt alright -it really is too early to properly judge- and the story quite promising. Importantly, the demo seemed to be quite demanding from the player too, following the notorious spirit of the original's difficulty levels. As for them new bits, the only thing that really stuck out was the shiny new cover system ,which deeply impressed me. I have, after all, never played Gears of War etc you know and still live in the Dark Ages of the shooting stuff genre.
Related @ Gnome's Lair:
Thanks for the heads up!
ReplyDeleteI too loved the atmosphere of the original and I know I didn't complete it. I was still trying to return the racing car if I remember correctly. Either that or it was just one of those difficult bits that is permanently etched on my brain.
Can't say i've played GoW either. The last FPS I played was the original Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and loved it=) The introduction of a cover system sounds good though.
I'm off to see if this will actually run on my system now.
The first Mafia was great, and I know I did finish it. It is good to hear that the sequel might be good as well.
ReplyDelete@ Rambo: I do know I was way past the racing bit (especially that winning the race horror), but I just can't remember much. Was the airport after that? Oh, and haven't played CoD 4 either. Not much of a shooter person, really. Anyway. Good luck with running Mafia 2.
ReplyDelete@ Jonathon: Indeed it is! BTW, you did get the competition mail didn't you?
@ gnome: Yes, got it almost a week ago.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I played mafia right next to another mafia based game I cannot remember which is which. But I remember them trying to make the car jacking and road rules more interesting (if I am remembering the right game).
I believe that every so often you would just be given the ability to steal new cars (by being taught how to steal them by some guy).
The road rules seem similar to the first game, need to drive within speed limit and not go threw red lights (maybe?). But it would all depend on how well they implemented it. I remember speeding on the side walk was a pretty good way to get around the polices detection.
Great! Oh, and I'm sure I'm not aware of another Mafia or mafia-styled game I'm afraid. And yes, the fact that you got taught how to steal each car was a brilliant little idea.
ReplyDeleteSo I guess you'll be buying the full release, yes?
ReplyDeleteMy ancient laptop doesn't stand a chance of running this (and my linux box even less) which is a shame as a mobster based GTA-style open world game could be buckets of fun.
Perhaps the first one will be more to my lappy's tastes? Though I don't like the idea of playing a third-person shooter with no cover mechanism. Unless it's MDK, of course.
I guess I'll be buying it Marc. Provided it's not ridiculously expensive that is. Oh, and I really can't recommend the original Mafia enough...
ReplyDeleteOddly enough, Gears of War is really good. While at the core it is somewhat repetitive TPP shooter of the duck-shoot-duck-shoot variety and its story is that of machismo and evil aliens, it's the mood that it builds that makes it a masterpiece.
ReplyDeleteThe atmosphere of fighting a losing battle with overwhelming force when the only outcome is dying, the question only after how much time. The ambiance of waging a defensive war that is already lost on the ruins of civilisation is extremely well conveyed.
A masterpiece you say? And then go on to describe it in a most alluring way? Well, Barts, I'll probably give it a try then.
ReplyDelete@ Barts: That is probably the best sounding review of GoW I have ever heard, actually want to play it now.
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