Mafia

It wouldn't be a gangster movie without the guns and Mafia features a small, but potent selection of old-fashioned weaponry such as the Colt 1911, Thompson 1928, Smith & Wesson Model 27 Magnum and the ever-reliable baseball bat.

witness close-ups of characters’ faces which display some of the most lifelike skin textures I have ever seen. Voice acting is occasionally irritating (the stuttering Ralph comes to mind) but generally well done.

In creating the sprawling city of Lost Heaven, the usual design pitfalls have been cleverly sidestepped. Pedestrians do not behave robotically and display various walking styles and mannerisms. Traffic lights are functional and the lavishly-detailed cars obey road rules. It’s through the strength of its simulation that Mafia’s “day in the life” gameplay dynamic atttains plausibility.

The 3rd-person view is adequate, but suffers minor problems with regards to combat. In the spirit of authenticity, guns exhibit recoil; while acceptable from a first person perspective, I found this setup to be awkward when aiming weapons from behind Tommy’s head.

But if gunfighting is occasionally problematic, the driving scenes are simply astounding. Cars handle superbly; I could feel the suspension of the car as it rocked and the slight sway of chassis as it rounded a corner. Vehicles damage realistically too, with broken headlights, punctured tires and even loose axles. Cars are authentic to the 1930's time frame and you'll be behind the wheel of such venerable machines as the Schubert Six, Bolt Ace Fordor and Lassiter Phaeton. As the game progresses, you will acquire faster and swankier cars which are stored in a garage for future use.

It's a pity the strength of its presentation is spoiled by a curious setback concerning game difficulty. There's one mission where Tommy has to win a race in which the driving proficiency demanded of the player is ridiculously high. The resulting frustration and repeated attempts (30 by my last count) almost single-handedly destroyed all enjoyment hitherto experienced. The casual gamers among us will certainly have their patience tested.

Mafia also requires some hefty system requirements. Even on my Pentium 4 and 64MB GeForce 2, I experienced considerable slowdown during the fast car chases (effectively defusing any suspense) or when atmospheric effects (rain, mist) were present. Load times were also lengthy.

But in the end, I have to admit that I enjoyed the life of a mafioso. While I didn't appreciate the sudden difficulty of the racing mission, it doesn't wreck the game as a whole. It's a nice change to be one of the bad guys: I invite others to do the same.

- Justin Liew

(October 2, 2002)