Difficulty:

Hard

Time Spent:

10 Hours or Less

The Bottom Line:

"Masterpiece"

Mafia was released in 2002 and competed with Grand Theft Auto Vice City. Mafia was underrated as obviously, anything with GTA in its name will always be hyped and bought. Mafia isn't all what you think.

Gameplay
Mafia gameplay focuses more on storyline missions, doing jobs for Mr. Salieri who saved your skin from some opposing Mafia goons. You help Salieri in various ways in a timeline that spans between the late 1920s to the late 1930s. The controls are ok and i modified them to be more like GTA (which are easier). There is no auto-aim (thank god!) and a crosshair that is always present (like Saints Row). Some missions may be hard and require some re-doing, but don't feel repetitive. Failing a mission will always bring you back to the savepoint within a mission, so you don't have to play the entire thing. However, the player can only freely explore the city in a seperate mode called Free Ride; I wished to be able to do missions when I want to, which is a bummer. There are also many available cars to steal and drive.

Sound
The sound in Mafia is exceptional, with the guns, the atmosphere and 1920's music. The only bummer is that you can't listen to the excellent 1920s songs within the car, which would have improved the experience.

Graphics
The graphics are excellent for 2002; they are better then Vice City. Character's faces look realistic and they are properly lip synced. Car's reflect light and the city looks great.

Story
The story brings the character through Tommy's life from being a cab driver to a made man. The story is engaging and is well written.

Conclusion
This is one of the few GTA clones that have succeeded. The game is exceptional in its story and gameplay. This game is much better then EA's The Godfather and is underrated. I recommend this game to anyone wanting to play a mobster game.