Reliving the Classic: Mafia Definitive Edition in All Its Splendor
Created: inshot
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Mafia Definitive Edition takes place in the 1930s in the city of Lost Heaven, a North American city mired in a terrible economic recession following the Crash of '29 and oppressed by a strict Prohibition that prohibits the sale of alcoholic beverages. In this historical context, the mafias dominate the economy, control the police, and influence politics. Our protagonist is Thomas Angelo, an Italian-American taxi driver who is seduced by the Mafia's easy money and begins working to make a name for himself within the family.
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The story follows the original's narrative style, maintaining all its narrative charm and showcasing well-developed characters. However, Hangar 13 has taken advantage of the remake to introduce minor changes to the plot. Characters like Sarah, Paulie, and Sam have gained prominence, and their personalities and motivations are explored a little more deeply. The cinematics have also been reworked from the ground up, respecting the original work, with new facial animations, new dubbing (including Spanish), and a visual finish much closer to the aesthetics of The Godfather film trilogy. In terms of gameplay, it's an open-world action game where quality prevails over quantity, with the narrative being the central axis of the experience. The game lasts around 15 to 18 hours depending on the difficulty. This makes for a very cinematic game, including stealth stages, chases, races, and plenty of gunplay. The missions are generally varied and entertaining, although some have become somewhat dated, there are inexplicable difficulty spikes, and the final stretch is less surprising.
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The enemy AI now behaves more realistically, a much-needed update. They now utilize cover better, stealth is more effective, and chases are more exciting. At the highest difficulty levels, we find demanding challenges, something that can be taken to the extreme with the new Classic difficulty, which seeks to emulate the original title with more effective and aggressive enemies in combat. The use of weapons has also changed significantly, now offering a much more authentic and satisfying feel. Shots are powerful, and the different weapons offer distinct behaviors. The cover system is another new feature, allowing us to protect ourselves from enemy fire and move without taking damage. This mechanic works well, although the character's interaction with the environment is too clumsy, which detracts from the dynamism and can be frustrating at times. Finally, hand-to-hand combat has been revamped, although it is still too simple.
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To move from one mission to another, we can freely roam around Lost Heaven. However, it's important to note that Mafia isn't really a sandbox, so there aren't dozens of side missions, collectibles, or tasks of all kinds scattered across the map. This focus on action isn't necessarily a negative, but inevitably, there's a lack of playable content and little reason to explore the city, which is relegated to a vast, beautiful backdrop. As we constantly move around the city, we'll only have to worry about the police, who rely on the usual wanted star system. The most interesting addition is the Classic difficulty setting. Here, we'll be pursued not only if we run over pedestrians or hit other vehicles, but also if we exceed the speed limit or ignore red lights. This option isn't designed for all players, but rather for those who want to relive the original experience.
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Another interesting improvement is that the outdated vehicle handling has been fine-tuned to offer a more balanced experience, enjoying a multitude of cars and fun motorcycles. More experienced players can also enjoy Simulation mode, an option with fewer assists and in which the condition of the road surface is extremely important (rain or dry). Finally, a new GPS system has been added, which not only shows the route on the minimap but also with dynamic traffic signs. Hangar 13 has done an outstanding audiovisual job with the Mafia remake. To achieve this, they have redone all the models, added high-resolution textures, and implemented highly realistic animations. The city of Lost Heaven has also been recreated from the ground up, taking into account the original map, giving the city a highly realistic feel and adding a large amount of traffic and pedestrians.
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We must also highlight the fantastic work done with the lighting, both interior and exterior, which is meticulously crafted and offers photorealistic locations. The rain, the night lights, the amazing reflections, and the fantastic use of HDR left us entranced as we contemplated the city of Lost Heaven. On the downside, the graphics engine used by Hangar 13 has some flaws that we've already seen, for example, in Mafia III. Lighting glitches, slight visual bugs, sound errors, and the occasional physics issue leave some inconsistencies in an otherwise outstanding performance.
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Mafia Definitive Edition is a great example of a carefully crafted remake that knows how to modernize itself without losing an ounce of its original essence. The main focus of the adventure remains the narrative, with a plot that captivates us from the very beginning. However, Hangar 13 has gone a step further by expanding some of the storylines, small changes that have worked wonders. The gameplay has also been tweaked, with more precise control of both the character and vehicles, an effective cover system, and satisfying weapon handling. On the downside, character mobility is somewhat clumsy and leads to frustrating situations in the most demanding shootouts.
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The mission set maintains the original structure and offers a wide variety of stages, achieving a good narrative pace. However, time has taken its toll on the design of some missions, resulting in simple and repetitive developments. The city of Lost Heaven, meanwhile, is wasted due to the lack of playable content and ends up being a beautiful backdrop through which we move from one mission to the next. Visually, the finish is outstanding. Lost Heaven has been rebuilt from the ground up to create a photorealistic world, highlighting an interior and exterior lighting system that fascinated us. All cinematics have also been re-recorded, the new Spanish dubbing is excellent, and the soundtrack has been updated. The only negative aspect is that the graphics engine suffers from certain visual defects and occasional errors that slightly hinder the experience.
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Without a doubt, Mafia, with such a carefully crafted remake, is the perfect excuse to replay it almost 20 years later and an essential opportunity for players who didn't enjoy it at the time to delve into one of the best mafia titles in history
Created: blog gif