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For the 2020 remade edition, please see Mafia: Definitive Edition.

Mafia is a sandbox third-person shooter video game that was released for PC in 2002 and later released on Playstation 2 and Xbox in 2004. It was developed by Czech based Illusion Softworks, published by Gathering of Developers, and both written and directed by Daniel Vávra.

It received strong critical acclaim and continues to maintain a loyal cult following. IGN gave it a rating of 9.2/10 while GameSpot stated in their review: "Quite simply, Mafia is one of the best games of the year." and rated it at 9.3/10. As of 2008, Mafia had sold 2 million copies according to Take-Two Interactive.

Synopsis

Mafia takes place between the fall of 1930 through to the end of 1938, during the later part of Prohibition, and is set in the fictional American city of Lost Heaven.

The player takes the role of taxi driver Tommy Angelo who, while trying to make a living on the streets of Lost Heaven, unwittingly becomes involved in organized crime as a driver for the Salieri Crime Family, led by Don Salieri.

Through the events of the game's story, Tommy begins to rise through the ranks of the Salieri family, becoming a Made Man while they battle the rival Morello family. Eventually he becomes disillusioned by his life of crime and arranges to meet police detective Norman in order to tell his story in exchange for witness protection and to aid in the destruction of the Salieri crime family.

Gameplay

Mafia's gameplay consists of 21 missions that include gun and melee combat, driving, car chases, and on-foot third-person exploration. In addition to the entire city of Lost Heaven and countryside, Mafia has several detailed interior levels, including the city's airport, museum, a church, a hotel, an abandoned prison, a restaurant, and Don Salieri's bar. Changing weather and time of day add to the realism of the game.

Mafia offers players the opportunity to drive a total of 51 classic cars based on real-life counterparts. Another 19 bonus vehicles, including five classic racing models, are available for unlocking upon completion of the game. Cars are introduced progressively throughout the storyline, with 1920s models available early on and newer models appearing later. In addition, the players must be taught how to steal vehicles before they can drive them. Mafia was also noted for having damage physics rivaling other games of the day with the ability of vehicles to break down and sustain realistic damage from crashes.

Console Versions

Mafia was released for PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2004. While similar games of the day were almost identical to their PC counterpart, many changes appeared in Mafia's console versions. It was reported that because of the grand scale of the original PC game, sacrifices were made in order to accommodate the lesser processing power of consoles. Many of the features of the PC game do not exist in the console version and many players reported that it had sluggish controls and other technical issues. However, the console version contains a Grand Prix mode which was not available on PC.

Free Ride

The game includes Free Ride and Free Ride Extreme, arcade style game modes where you play as Tommy Angelo and can do side missions and explore the city by car or on foot while making money, killing gangsters, running from the police, and much more.

System Requirements

  • Operating system: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP with DirectX 8.1
  • CPU: 500 MHz Pentium III or AMD Athlon (700+ MHz recommended)
  • RAM: 96 MB minimum (128 MB recommended)
  • Hard Drive: 1.8 Gb free space
  • CD-ROM Drive: 16X speed required (32X recommended)
  • Graphics: DirectX 8.1 compatible 3D accelerator card with 32 MB RAM
  • Sound: DirectX 8.1 compatible
  • Keyboards & Mouse: Microsoft compatible

Trivia

  • Playboy reviewed Mafia, saying it was "An offer you can't refuse".
  • Much of Lost Heaven's art gallery interior is based heavily on the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria.
  • The British newspaper Daily Mail unsuccessfully called for Mafia to be banned after the murder of Stefan Pakeerah, in which the murderer was allegedly believed to be inspired by the game Manhunt.
  • Four of the game's voice actors, Matt Servitto, Dan Grimaldi, William DeMeo, and Cara Buono, all appeared in the mob-themed TV series The Sopranos.
  • The game features a location, the Corleone Hotel, named after the Corleone Family in the Mario Puzo book The Godfather.
  • The Morello crime family is named after a real life mafia family that was one of the earliest to be established in the United States and New York City.

Gallery

Trailer

Mafia_The_City_Of_Lost_Heaven_Trailer

Mafia The City Of Lost Heaven Trailer

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