Leading up to the official release ofMafia: Definitive Edition, the upcoming remake ofMafia, I was given the opportunity to play an early build of the game and see the reimagined city of Lost Haven for myself. I also playedMafia 2: Definitive Editionon my PS4, whichprompted an op-edfrom me about deciding when something is a remaster or a simple port. During my short time withMafia: Definitive Editionthat question was far, far away from my mind. Instead, I found myself immersed in a gorgeous rendition of the windy city in the midst of the depression era.
Even before playingMafia: Definitive Edition, it stood out among the pack of “definitive"Mafiare-releases. The definitive version ofMafia 3is more of a complete edition, with all the DLC included, whereasMafia 2: Definitive Editionincluded graphical changes that were only obvious in screenshots comparing this version and the game’s original release.Mafia 2: Definitive Editionalso struggled to maintain a stable framerate on my PS4 Pro, and I experienced multiple bugs during my time with it. ButMafia: Definitive Editionis different - it looks brand new, it sounds brand new, andfrom the gameplay we saw back in July, it plays like a modern title.
After roughly three hours with the game,Mafia: Definitive Editionis looking like the only entry in this “definitive” trilogy to live up to its name.
There is a marked shift, however, with something entirely different from the otherMafiatitles - a commitment to being a cinematic experience. WhereasMafia2and3only managed to cultivate this kind of presence during cutscenes (and even then, it’s fairly rare), everything inMafia: Definitive Editionfeels as though it were ripped out of a world directed by Francis Coppola. There’s a stark contrast between the extreme poverty and the extreme wealth of the 1930s visible, and in the game’s first chapters, you experience that first hand. The world itself is filled with immense detail; the ever-present flicker of neon lights, countless loose objects behind bars, filthy streets populated by the hovels of the depression’s victims. All of these backdrops are made stunning byMafia: Definitive Edition’s lighting system. For instance, when you’re inside a dark building during the day, the outside looks realistically bright. These details add to the movie-like sense that follows the game through each mission.
Mafia: Definitive Editionmay change a lot of things, but what it doesn’t change is its story. The evergreen formula of a stupendous rise and meteoric fall of a criminal, akin to the stock market’s actions at the time, is still engaging. If anything,Mafia: Definitive Editionbrings that story to the next level with a re-written script, modern character modeling, and brilliant voice acting that brings the seedy yet somewhat honorable mobsters protagonist Tommy Angelo surrounds himself with to life. Even now, it’s hard to get the voice of Sam (Don DiPetta) out of my head; it’s a kind of raspy, drunkenness that perfectly matches his face. That quality carries over to all of the cast - they are caricatures of mob movie stereotypes brought to life.
My preview ofMafia: Definitive Edition, although thoroughly impressive, didn’t introduce me to everything I expect the game will offer. Every chapter began with Tommy getting right into a mission - there was never any of the downtime that fans of theMafiaseries appreciate. No time to go shopping for suits, knock down a few at a bar, or rob the place where you bought your suitinthat new suit.
What I played revolved mostly around combat and driving, which, to be fair, are a good chunk of what players do in theMafiatitles. Tommy gets his first taste of violence wrecking some of the cars of rival mob boss Morello. During this early mission, the game introduces a new feature I haven’t seen in aMafiagame before: melee weapons. And what’s better to smash an old-time jalopy with than a baseball bat? Satisfyingly, every smack of the bat leaves indentations on the car. But busting up a car isn’t quiet, and eventually, some goons come out to put an end to the fun.
Melee combat against enemies is fairly straightforward, but still something I haven’t seen from aMafiatitle before. There’s a dedicated button for melee inMafia: Definitive Edition, so no matter what you’ve got out, you can clock someone in the head. Hold down that button and you let loose a charged attack - bare fists make it a haymaker but with a baseball bat, you may as well be sending someone’s gut out of left field.
Beating up chumps with a baseball bat is something that theMafiafranchise has been missing, but it’s not the only gameplay improvement I saw in my preview. Gunplay inMafia: Definitive Editionis the best it’s ever been in the series, although it still has some kinks to work out. I only had three weapons available to me during my preview: the revolver, shotgun, and Tommy gun. Each weapon feels heavy, and that’s further accentuated by the aiming reticle’s bob with every step your character makes. There’s a purposeful inaccuracy too, something that I adore when games do it right. Tommy Angelo isn’t a soldier, he joined the mob after being a cab driver. He doesn’t know much about weapons, other than that you point them, pull the trigger, and the thing they’re pointed at is going down. Guns have a massive reticle, so don’t be surprised if a shot you expect to hit doesn’t. I did say there was one caveat to guns though, and it comes with how they sound. The revolver sounds more akin to a cap gun, and the other weapons I played with follow suit. I can’t say whether or not those sounds will change between now and the game’s release, but I sure hope they do.
I’m genuinely looking for one bad thing to say about my experience withMafia: Definitive Editionthat can’t be chalked up the game’s early build qualities, but I can’t find any. I’d hazard to say it’s the idealMafiatitle, something that fans of every game in the series can rally around and say, “Yes, this is what we’ve wanted all along.” I so thoroughly enjoyed my first few hours with the game, that I’m excited to get my hands on it again next month. It’s the same kind of excitement that came between every episode ofGame of Thrones- I’ve been left on a cliffhanger and I’m hungry for more.
Mafia: Definitive Editonis set torelease September 25on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
