Mafia Definitive Edition, PC Review
With the release of Mafia Definitive Edition last month, 2K’s Mafia trilogy is now complete. When I reviewed Mafia 2 in August this year, I ended my review (based on the lacklustre Mafia 2 remaster) by saying: “I can’t recommend this package right now, especially given it’s incomplete until Mafia is released in August.”
Straight to the Verdict, your Honour?
Well, now that I have finished Mafia Definitive Edition, my verdict is easy: It’s definitely worth your time. Especially with the love that has been lavished in updating the original Mafia for today’s modern gamer. A game that tells the rise [then fall] of Lost Heaven (New York) taxi driver Tommy Angelo through the ranks of a feared crime family during the 1930s. The original Mafia was released on PC in 2002 – I still own the original but since deciding to forgo a disc drive in my PC I can no longer play it. It was a great game, despite having a few frustrating missions: the infamous race car one being the main culprit.
The graphical overhaul is the most obvious change to Mafia here and the game play/mission structure has stayed the same. Mafia comes from an age when games were linear, story-driven experiences and not open world. Mafia Definitive Edition sticks to tight mission structure of the original and is so well crafted that I didn’t find playing it a chore (apart from the occasional frustrating “lose the cop” missions which crop up from time to time where it seems every police officer in the city is chasing after you).
A tale of Tommy Angelo.
Mafia Definitive Edition has highlighted how tightly paced the narrative was in the original game. It doesn’t distract you with a multitude of side missions: It’s story driven and unapologetic about that. This remaster also has great voice acting and a likeable main character in Tommy Angelo, even if he is a gangster doing questionable moral things.
The city of Lost Heaven feels like it’s built on a living, breathing city, too. While it’s sparse compared to open-worlds of today, it has little touches that make it feel grounded: Pedestrians yelling abuse if you drive too close, cops that will pull you over and write you a ticket for an infringement. Cars and trucks will flash their headlights if you pass just a little too close to them, your car’s radio reception breaking up as you drive through a tunnel, tail lights reflect on wet roads, pedestrians give you lip if you get too close. Top it off with a wonderful 1930s soundtrack and you’ve got a winner written all over it in my book.
Are there any technicalities?
Like the previous two games included in this collection – Mafia 2 and 3 – I played Mafia Definitive Edition on PC and it frankly looks gorgeous, with highly detailed car and character models, and a much more detailed Lost Heaven than the original, especially at night when it’s undeniably beautiful as you drive around the city with neon signs reflecting off the rain-soaked streets and car tail lights glowing in the dim light.
I’m no technical genius but it seems developers Hanger 13 are using some form of software based ray tracing here that looks so good that several times I just stopped mid-drive to just soak in the surroundings. 2K recommends a Core i7-3770 or AMD FX-8350, 8Gb RAM, and an nVidia GeForce GTX 780 or AMD Radeon R9 290X. My i5 8400, 16Gb PNY XLR8 RAM and RX580 GPU handled things just fine, pushing out frame rates between 55 to 60 using the game’s high graphical settings (averaging around 56FPS).
Cut scenes, too, seemed locked at around 60FPS but I did notice drops into the mid-40s when driving through open countryside. It was certainly pushing the RX580 to its limit, that’s for sure, with temperatures sitting around the 70deg mark and it wasn’t uncommon for it to be sitting at 100% utilisation. An update seemed to lift frame rates to the high 60s – even 70s – at some points.
You can take the man out of the Mafia, you can’t take the Mafia out of the man.
You’ve probably guessed by now that I loved Mafia Definitive Edition, but it’s buggy at times. One character model was missing entirely from a cutscene while the dialogue continued and the “lose the cops” missions are frustrating as hell. In the game’s favour, the infamous car race seemed more forgiving this time than when I played it on the original. Sure, the other drivers are still aggressive but I managed to win it on my second attempt.
A new patch also lets you minimise HUD elements, which is particularly welcome when using free ride mode. Also, the game has a great free ride mode that’s unlocked after you’ve completed a particular mission. Meaning you can explore the city of Lost Heaven in any vehicle: It’s a good way to visit parts of the city that you don’t during some of the story drive missions.
Mafia Definitive Edition is a remaster that has been lavished with love by developer Hanger 13. Now, all I need is someone to remaster EA’s The Godfather or Scarface on the PlayStation 2 and I’ll be happy as Larry.
