It's been a long time since I last played a Mafia game, and I've now finally had the chance to play through the first game as well as its remake. After the development of
Mafia III, 2K announced that the team who worked on that game would start making a new original game. But stressed that they wouldn't forget the Mafia series. Years later and the trilogy arrives on next gen consoles and gets some visual updates on PC. The newly released trilogy was an attempt to remake the first game (from the ground up with extended scenes, visual improvements and a new voice cast), remaster the second game (basically the same game, but with updated visuals and a disclaimer that reflects on the way the world is these days) and update the third game (further visual improvements more than anything else). All of that plus all DLC and additional content included. Surely this means that the games can now be enjoyed in the definitive versions that they are now. Well some problems here and there, but overall you get what you pay for and if you happen to have
Mafia II and
Mafia III in your PC library, they get automatically updated to the new versions (or in my case, I get two slightly different versions of the second game). So let's take a look at the first game in its original form and in the remake:
2002
Both versions of the game have the same story of the rise and fall of one Tommy Angelo. Once a taxi driver before joining the Salieri crime family out of a need for revenge against those that trashed his cab.
You're in the world of Lost Heaven in a 1930s setting where you have driving sections and third person sections which involve some shooting. Some detailed interiors here and there and a weather cycle (one of the first of its kind at the time) is there too. There are tons of cars to find and drive, but all are based on 1920s and 1930s looking cars. Like with the other games, Tommy can get caught by the police when committing crimes so make sure to move it to avoid them catching you (and also obey the speed limit too). One thing I will say about this game is that much of what you see and be able to do here is now used in many more games than back when this one came out. I guess you could say it was quite an influential game. What I personally like is how serious the game is when you compare it to the less serious Grand Theft Auto games which are very similar in many ways. It was a big game at the time and having played it years after release in a world that now sees this as the standard for most big games, it still holds up reasonably well even if people prefer to play the remake. 9/10
2020
The remake is essentially the same game. But lots of visual upgrades, story expansion and the ability to use motorbikes in addition to cars, makes this remake good. We can also explore Lost Heaven at our leisure this time around, and it's still as big as ever. If there was ever a game that deserved a remake, it was
Mafia. It's a good remake that brings the game to the current generation while expanding upon elements which should always be the main point of a remake. To build upon the good stuff, improve upon the problems that the original had, and you may get something quite special. 9/10
The remake for me is the true version of the game. Sure it's not perfect and is nothing like the original, but it's called the definitive edition for a reason and I believe that the reason is so that the developers can let you play the game in its absolute best form. The original is great to, but if you're wanting the extended cut, the remake is the way to go.
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