Most of you know that I have a love for gangster films so when I heard about Mafia, it was a no brainier on choosing to play the games. Unfortunately, I missed out on playing the original game and because its a rare game to come by, the chances of me playing it are pretty slim. So instead, I will be reviewing the second and third games seeing as I have enough knowledge of the gangster genre in general and that I have played both games. Think of these games as GTA if you had to obey the law, have to live in a historical setting, have to be in a city that looks suspiciously like a real American city and yes, have to be a gangster. But the concept kind of remains the same so let's look at these games:
II
Taking place in the 1940s and the early 1950s and set in a city that looks suspiciously like New York with elements of Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston and Detroit, we meet Vito Scaletta (voiced by Rick Pasqualone) who returns home after serving the armed forces (of which he was sentenced to doing after committing a crime and chose this over prison) of which he is given one month's rest. Upon returning home, he meets long time friend and partner in crime Joe Barbaro (voiced by Robert Costanzo) who welcomes him home and uses various methods to make sure that Vito doesn't return to the army, of which Vito starts of not liking, but accepts it later on. Joe then encourages him to join him in the life of being a gangster and from that point on, Vito's life changes for better or worse. In my opinion, I find that the open world genre is one that is used a lot and its often difficult to make it as great as it can be. But in Mafia II, there is plenty to do and you will not get bored with it easily. To start with, all the music you hear is music that was used in the time period that this game is set in along with its own original score which fits well into the game. Unlike GTA where you can go fast and destroy things without worrying about the police (unless of course they see you do it or whatever), this series of games, you have to obey the rules unless on a mission or there is a need to cause chaos. Such things that can get you into trouble include stealing cars via pick-locking them, robbing stores, killing innocent people and just doing everything that is considered bad or against the law. But unlike GTA where you have to get the heat off by running away and then hiding, in this series of games, you can instead call the police up to get the heat off and if you've been stealing a car, you can change the number plate and the look and feel of it to confuse the authorities. Aside from those things, its got the stuff that most open world games have and to be honest, its nothing new by any means, but I like how the game goes about it. Another thing I like is that the cutscenes show the vehicles and costumes used by the players rather than something whipped up by the developers like most games tend to use. It is a good game that gives players a real experience of being a gangster. It is very much like playing GTA, but the main difference here is the time period, how the police work and some other stuff to. I like the game a lot and I'm glad that the third game took quite a few years to make as I like games more if the developers spend more time on it than just rushing it out to shops. 9/10
III
So you have long running franchises which have three or four main games and several spin-offs and supporting material. But normally in the case of the third or fourth game, they have a lot of great things about them, but normally there's more bad things than good things such as taking away the things that made the previous games great and replace it all with something that no one is going to enjoy. These games also take the longest to make so its possible that the developers forget about what made previous games great. Such is the case for games like Batman: Arkham Knight, Mass Effect 3 and even this game. Its not by any means a bad thing that these games end up this way, but it just makes it disappointing that they ended up in the way they did. Now onto Mafia III, a game which took a risk in not giving out review copies to critics which is often considered a weakness in that the developers are scared that the game will not be received well which was the case with No Man's Sky, but not so much with Doom (2016) so that strategy has its flaws and controversy, but developers should feel confident in their product regardless of opinions. Taking place in the late 1960s, we meet Lincoln Clay (voiced by Alex Hernandez), a guy who was an orphan adopted by black mobsters and served in the Vietnam War as a special forces solider. He returns home to "Not New Orleans" where his mob family are in debit with a higher up mobster as well as having issues with another mob altogether so Lincoln sets out to deal with all those problems which lead him into doing a bank heist which ends badly when he witnesses his family killed in a shootout set up by one of the mobsters in question. Afterwards, Lincoln wants revenge and sets out to take over "Not New Orleans" in the hopes to bring this mobster down and recruits some underbosses to help him out with some familiar faces lurking around. It starts off strong with plenty to like and most of the game is narrated via interviews from those closest to Lincoln along with a senate meeting with Lincoln's handler. Since watching Spectre, I've never been much of a fan of senate meetings and just scenes of people doing nothing but talking about things no one wants to hear. A thing that these two games have done right is that they are both authentic with the time each game is set as you get cars and music that were popular in those times which is great. But that's really the only thing great about the game. Everything else is left for those to debate on. I like the game because as I said, I like all things to do with classic gangsters, but I feel that when playing the game, its like playing every other open world game out there. I like open world games, but I expect there to be something original which isn't easy to do in games like this and I get that. But as it is, I like this game, but I just wish it was done better and that the developers actually try to make it as original as it can be. But for what it is, its good, but could be better. 7/10
Of the two games, I prefer Mafia II because it feels like being a gangster and while it did follow a simple premise that felt like most gangster films, its actually one that's done well and there are plenty of interesting characters to keep it going. With the third game, its ok and I do like it. But its not very original and feels like its trying too hard to be like GTA. But I'm glad that I was able to play these games and if there is more to come from the franchise, I look forward to playing more games like these for as long as I like the classic gangster genre. 8/10
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