Mafia: The Old Country

Nowadays, in more cases than less, big franchises that paved the way for video game entertainment today never seem to realize what made them successful in the first place. On that notion, we have received so many broken, lackluster, and repetitive games with nothing to show.

That is not the case with MAFIA: THE OLD COUNTRY.

Hanger 13 and 2K have crafted such an experience, reminiscent of past Mafia entries, specifically Mafia 1 & 2, that shows their commitment to making a memorable narrative, exciting gameplay, and a true authentic period piece many Mafia fans will love taking in. Maybe even historical experts.

The rise and fall story of Enzo and the Torrisi family marks 2K's best narrative to date. With gripping character development, unpredictable set pieces, and most importantly, a love story so powerful, never once does the game feel soulless in any regard.

Stealth and combat feel weighted, in many good ways, but at times, some bad ways. You play a very scripted, enthralling campaign that most developers these days wouldn't dare taking a chance on making. The delivery knife fights at times can level a certain annoyance as the balance of script and combat do not want to compromise with each other. Leading to half of the boss fights feeling a bit underwhelming.

Being a new release, the game does include some frame rate issues, specifically when encountering larger set pieces as the world and gameplay have trouble keeping up with one another.

However, these flaws listed get outshined by the pure artistry the developers have in mind. This isn't an open world adventure, nor an RPG. The developers have taking the time and precautions to deliver a story-driven game, which seems as a forgotten genre to today's standards.

As someone who loves linear games who don't fall under what most mainstream media would like to offer, MAFIA: THE OLD COUNTRY feels like a breath of fresh air. In need of some touch ups for later entries.

Rating: 7.8/10

Mafia: The Old Country is a masterful narrative-driven experience that combines a powerful story with stunning visuals. By returning to the series' roots, Hangar 13 has delivered a gripping and emotionally resonant gangster epic.

Highlights

• Gripping Story: The game's narrative is a powerful tale of loyalty, love, and the corrupting nature of power, with a tight and focused structure.

• Compelling Characters: The characters are wonderfully written and performed, with Enzo's relationships being the emotional core of the game.

• Visual Masterpiece: The game is a visual masterpiece, with breathtaking detail and realistic lighting, set in early 20th-century Sicily.

Criticisms

• Lack of Innovation: The gameplay doesn't bring much new to the third-person action genre, relying on a standard formula.

• Limited Player Choice: The game's strict linearity means there's little room for player choice or exploration outside of the main path.

Verdict Mafia: The Old Country is a triumphant return to the series' narrative-driven roots. It's a stunning, cinematic, and deeply tragic gangster story that's a must-play for anyone who loves a great, character-driven story.

It's a fun game, with a lot of fighting and shooting, but nothing more than that. The story, in my opinion, it's ok, the graphics are good, but not extraordinary and the game has a lack of details and the world isn't dynamic, so if you explore the map, you'll not see many npcs or cars traveling nearby, you'll have the sensation that you're the only one on the map.

Let's start with the positives. It has a *pretty good* story. I mean, utterly predictable & recycled and as such without the ability to elicit any real emotion. But still. Enough to make you care. Decent voice acting, although the accents get grating after a while. Either have the people speak Sicilian, or let them speak actual English. This mix is fine for an initial cutscene, after that it's just exhausting, given the sheer amount of cut scenes. Also, it pretty much entirely lacked in humor, which is in stark contrast to the first two entries to the franchise. Nice environment graphics, horrible character facial features.

Now the bad. The whole thing feels like a game from 2005. I don't mind it's not open world. I welcome it. But if every.single.mission is drive here / have the same carbon copy gunfight / have a knife fight with the boss, it feels very much like an unimaginative arcade. Why introduce car racing (which was super fun), only to never have it play a role again? Why have the player spend ALL GAME collecting a special currency, only to find out you can buy cars & guns with it which you NEVER get to use, since a vehicle is assigned you most missions, and you can find whatever gun you please as soon as you shoot the first couple bad guys in each mission.

The whole thing just lacks in scope, imagination, progression, interesting game mechanics. It's immensely repetitive, with zero reward and frankly a deeply unsatisfying finale. Was done with the whole thing in like 15 hrs, which feels ridiculous for a game with a AAA price tag.

I actually replayed the original Mafia not too long ago. Had SO much more fun with the story and actually found the gameplay to be immensely more rewarding. Doesn't feel like much of an evolution. And that's in spite of the very inspired choice to set the story in Sicily, chronologically before the rest of the franchise. Just frankly felt lazy and like such a wasted opportunity. An entirely forgettable game.

Great game, Plot, Setting, character development, references, it ties the franchise all together. Don't expect an open world since it's not GTA. Stop focusing on how you can't do any activities because obviously that's not what the franchise is about. From start to ending i was hooked. The story developed is good, I didn't see people complaining about Mafia II since it had the same linearity to it.