Mafia Definitive Edition Honest Review – Gangsters Rebirth

Mafia Definitive Edition Honest Review

It’s hard to tell if the Definitive Edition is good or bad compared to the original. At least, if you have completed the Czech version, then the plot of the “American” will definitely not surprise you or amaze you. Friends, enemies, traitors, victims – everything is in place.

Not surprisingly, the adventure begins the same way. Our hero – taxi driver Tommy Angelo – found himself at the right time in the right place, which is why he was involved in a showdown between two mafia families Salieri and Morello.

It is, of course, impossible not to get into trouble when the bandits poke guns in your face and demand to drive at full speed. But after this we can’t return to normal life either: our competitors remembered us and decided to take revenge. And who will give us protection from the Morello guys, other than his only serious competitor in all of Lost Haven?

Further – a visit to places of military glory, the order of their appearance on the screen is fully consistent with the original source. However, the authors of the remake greatly changed the tasks, which is already felt in the introduction – there are special obstacles on the roads that make it easy to escape from pursuit. But the main difference is that in the “remake” many orders were significantly reduced.

Reduced the fuss with trips back and forth, somewhere they just threw out episodes, as if they did not exist. And I don’t think this is a wrong decision.

The sex scene even in 2003 (the official release in Russia was delayed for several months) looked wretched and inappropriate, and the attempt to push the victim onto the railroad tracks was stupid, given all the attendant circumstances (instead of it, for example, the game is dynamic and much more dramatic plot insert).

For me personally, the memories of Mafia are not only the delight of the powerful scenarios, graphics, game play for that time, but also the endless pain of stupid deaths in clumsy gunfights, dull driving of cars and driving on a sore track.

Of course, routine tasks allow you to slow down the pace in anticipation of the next portion of adrenaline (the main thing is not to overdo it, otherwise you will fall asleep in the saddle, as in Red Dead Redemption 2 ), however, the modern approach of the Definitive Edition  seems more sound to me, because, as a reminder, almost all events take place in Tommy’s past: all this is his story to the minister of the law about his dashing adventures.

In this case, the desire to squeeze the narrative into a concentrated action game is quite understandable, where explosions overshadow the gray everyday life of a novice gangster who hunts for car theft. Yes, detective, I need protection – and urgently! – so now I will tell you how I carried the boxes in the warehouse.

At first, the completely unrecognizable faces of the protagonists are much more perplexing. Hangar 13 worked excellently here too: even if Vavra called the new model Paulie “Shrek”, the good-matured face of the cold-blooded killer actually perfectly suits the image that is created by his actions and remarks.

Paulie, Sam, Tommy’s wife, like Tommy himself – many characters have become more alive, their lines are expanded, bright features are accented. Bank robbery at the very end of Mafia now it looks like a logical point in the development of the personality of the initiator of this event a good friend, a merciless thug, he is also tired of such a life and wants to get out of it as he can.

Moreover, the previous events are much more adequate to bring the heroes to the idea of ​​”yes, we must take it.” And this – with the saved sequence of missions with a minimum of edits in them! In the original, Tommy amazed with the wonders of deduction: “Then I did not think that Salieri was using us. Now I know that. ” No shit, Sherlock!

The altered dialogue and production command respect, while many of the original scenes, even adjusted for the antediluvian graphics, are difficult to take seriously. For example, the Morello brothers’ dialogue interrupting torture is on a completely different level.

Nevertheless, the excellent music of the old Mafia and, in general, a direction worthy for its time may surprise even now a video before a mess in a multi-storey parking lot or a terrible find in the opening of the last task are played there more powerfully.

Wicked streets

For Mafia, as well as for Mafia 2, the plot and its presentation played a huge role, and Hangar 13 did not disappoint with this. In general, the key sections in Mafia 3 were also great: animation, production, music. The game was spoiled only by bugs, mediocre mechanics and seemingly endless “grind”.

No, the Definitive Edition was not screwed up by the grind. Lost Haven is still large, very beautiful, but still a decoration, not a “sandbox”. There is almost nothing to do outside the campaign, so don’t be confused by the appearance of the game.

It is closer to LA Noire than to GTA. But technical problems sometimes occur – thanks to a friend from the Mafia 3 engine.

To tell the truth, seeing the familiar animation of a thug decisively stomping in the direction of the corner Tommy was hiding behind, I was at first in the mood for the worst.

However, everything turned out to be not so bad. Small mistakes, pedestrians disappearing right before our eyes, a clumsy effect when a bottle with a “Molotov” explodes, people stoically enduring hits from a firearm Definitive Edition. 

Which is sold in Europe for 40 euros instead of the standard 60 for a “big” game, definitely hinting at its “inferiority”, there is not enough gloss. And attention to detail in terms of shooting and related mechanics like RDR 2 or The Last of Us 2.

 In form, this remake is as powerful as last year’s Resident Evil 2, but it does not bring anything new and impressive at its core. A simple physics model for cars, a familiar third-person shooter with sticking to shelters. We’ve seen better.

Sometimes there is too much “meat”, and the “armored car boss” is the most inappropriate innovation, reminding us that this is not a gangster saga in the spirit of Martin Scorsese, but a daring adventure from Guy Ritchie. Together with the words in the remarks, the general tone also changed, and those who returned to the classics again and again, this is unlikely to please.

I still liked the fact that the old story was expanded, supplemented and modernized without throwing away whole semantic pieces. So, it turned out to be a fairly accurate retelling, and a good action movie, which at least does not discourage the desire to play, which is an achievement for the authors of Mafia 3. But the console picture is rather disappointing. Everything looks much better on PC.