Mafia (video game)

Mafia
File:MafiaUSCov.jpg
Developer(s)	Illusion Softworks
Publisher(s)	Gathering of Developers
Distributor(s)	Take-Two Interactive
Director(s)	Daniel Vávra
Producer(s)	George Lucas
Programmer(s)	Dan Doležel
Artist(s)	Pavel Čížek
Writer(s)	Daniel Vávra
Composer(s)	Vladimir Šimůnek
Series	Mafia
Engine	LS3D
Platforms	Microsoft Windows PlayStation 2 Xbox
Release date(s)	August 23, 2002 Microsoft Windows EU 20020823August 23, 2002 NA 20020828August 28, 2002 PlayStation 2 Xbox
Genre(s)	Third-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player

Mafia is a third-person shooter video game developed by Illusion Softworks (now 2K Czech) and published by Gathering of Developers. The game was released for Microsoft Windows in 2002, and later ported to the PlayStation 2 and the Xbox consoles in 2004, in North America and Europe. The game allows the player to take on the role of a mafioso who has to accomplish various missions in order to advance in the game.

Mafia received positive reviews for the Windows version, with critics praising the game for its realism, while the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of the game received mixed reviews. A sequel, Mafia II by 2K Czech, was released in 2010, and a third game titled Mafia III by Hangar 13 is scheduled for a 2016 release.

Story

Setting

Map of Lost Heaven.

Mafia is set during the 1930s in the fictional American city of Lost Heaven, with a countryside the total area encompasses 12 square kilometers in the game. The city incorporates parts of San Francisco and Chicago of the same time period.

Plot

Tommy Angelo meets detective Norman at a restaurant and offers to tell him everything he knows about his boss, Don Salieri, and his criminal activities, in exchange for a shortened sentence and protection for him and his family. He recounts his time back in 1930 as a taxi driver and a chance encounter with two of Salieri's henchmen, Paulie and Sam, who he rescues from hitmen working for Salieri's arch-enemy, Don Morello. The next day, he is attacked by the same two hitmen, but manages to run to Salieri's bar, where the two attackers are killed. Indebted, Tommy agrees to work for Salieri and the organization and starts a relationship with bartender Luigi's daughter, Sarah, whom he protects from a group of men that try to attack her. In revenge, Tommy and Paulie attack two of the men, killing one, who is later revealed to be the son of a city councilor, who is a friend of the mayor and Morello. Salieri's consigliere, Frank, orders Tommy to blow up a brothel who's owner has begun working for Morello and assassinate a target who has been providing information on Salieri. When Tommy confronts the informant and realizes it is Sarah's friend, Michelle, he is unable to kill her and instead orders her to leave the city and never return. Tommy later marries Sarah, and she gives birth to his daughter.

In 1933, during an assignment to buy a large amount of Canadian whiskey at a farm, Tommy and Paulie are ambushed by a group of corrupt police, resulting in the loss of the shipment and the near death of Sam. The same day, Frank hands over the account books to the police, providing enough incriminating evidence to put Salieri in prison; Salieri orders Tommy to find out where the books are and eliminate Frank. After Frank reveals that he betrayed Salieri because the police took his wife and daughter hostage, and tells him the location of the books, Tommy allows Frank and his family to flee to Europe, while Tommy fools Salieri into believing Frank is dead. In 1935, Tommy saves his boss from being assassinated at a restaurant, that was set up by Salieri's bodyguard-turned-traitor, Carlo, who is later killed. Declaring war with Morello, Salieri has Tommy and Paulie assassinate the city councilor and Morello's brother, Sergio, which stops much of Morello's income. These actions shatter the Morello crime family, allowing Tommy, Paulie, and Sam to finally kill Morello under Salieri's orders.

During a mission to steal a batch of Cuban cigars for Salieri, Paulie suggests a plot to rob a low-security bank, but both Tommy and Sam refuse, out of fear and loyalty to the family. After they complete the job, Tommy and Paulie discover that the boxes contain a considerable amount of hidden diamonds, some of which Paulie is tempted to steal, but Tommy convinces him otherwise. Deciding that Salieri was well-aware of the diamonds and intended to cheat him out of his fair share, Tommy joins Paulie in his bank robbery plan, which they successfully pull off. The following day, Tommy arrives at Paulie's apartment to find him murdered and the money gone. Sam rings the apartment, and tells Tommy that Salieri knows of the bank job and that they should meet at the city art gallery. It is revealed to be an ambush set up by Sam, who informs him that Salieri ordered their deaths because of the unauthorised bank job, and because he spared Michelle and Frank's lives, both of whom were eventually found and murdered by the mob. After a lengthy gun battle, Tommy is finally able to kill Sam, who delivers one final warning about Salieri's power.

Tommy then tells Norman that he and his family fled to Europe before he decided to return in order to testify against Salieri and ensure the safety of Sarah and his daughter. Norman agrees to put Tommy and his family under the protection of the police, leading to the arrest of Salieri, who is sentenced to life in prison, and 80 other gangsters, some of whom are executed. After the trial, Tommy is relocated to the other side of the country where he starts a whole new life and changes his name. In 1951, an aged Tommy waters the grass outside his house, when two men pull up in a car behind him. They address Tommy by his real name (which was changed beforehand by the FBI) and tell him that 'Mr. Salieri sends his regards', before shooting him with a double-barreled shotgun. As the two men flee in their car, a mortally wounded Tommy lies on the grass, lamenting what has happened to him, Paulie, and Sam simply because they wanted better lives but in the end got nothing at all.

Gameplay

File:Mafia Gameplay.jpg

The player controls the character of Thomas Angelo from a third-person perspective. He can freely move around, using cars or public transport.

Mafia's storyline gameplay consists of driving, mainly easy city cruise between different locations, as well as chases and races; the rest of the game is based on third-person on-foot navigation and shooting - all inter-connected with cutscenes. In addition to city and countryside, detailed interiors like the city's airport, a museum, a church, a hotel, an abandoned prison, restaurants and Don Salieri's bar are included. Weather changes and day/night cycles are in use, though unlike in Grand Theft Auto missions take place at a set time and the weather is fixed during the duration of the level.

51 classic American cars around the city can be driven in Mafia, plus 19 bonus cars (of which 5 are racing models) unlockable after the main mode and the opening of a new game mode. Cars are introduced periodically - in the beginning of the game, early 1920s models drive on the streets of the city, while models from 1930 begin appearing in later game stages. All of the vehicles are based on real-world cars from the era, albeit renamed and redesigned due to copyright issues.

Police book players for minor offenses such as speeding or running a red light, and car accidents cause physical harm to the driving player. While other forms of transport are available, such as trams and elevated rails, they are only ridable and not drivable by the player.

Mafia is noted for having comprehensive damage physics on nearly all vehicles, even going so far as to making use of real-time deformation, compared to vehicles in other games that used pre-made damage models. While substantially more robust than their real counterparts, smaller and weaker vehicles stand less abuse before breaking down and finally exploding, than large armoured vehicles. More realism is added here compared to other games in the same genre, such as the ability to puncture the fuel tank, overheat the engine, and the ability to break transmission gears. Many exterior components (such as windows, tires, headlights, and bumpers) can be removed from most vehicles with physical means such as crash-driving, hitting with blunt weapons (fists, baseball bat) as well as firing weapons at them.

Finishing the main storyline unlocks the "Freeride Extreme" mode, which is essentially the same as Freeride, but with the added benefit of stunt jumps, side quests, and the lack of police patrols. Side missions in this mode range from the trivial, such as carrying packages or killing gangsters, to the extreme and sometimes outlandish, like chasing an alien spaceship or driving an explosive-rigged truck at a certain speed.

Law and order

The police department in Lost Heaven uphold the various laws that have been set. When these laws are broken in view of the police, they will respond by booking the player with offenses that can be "minor" or "serious". Minor offenses (such as speeding in a vehicle or running a red light) will end up with the player being fined (-$1,000 in Freeride mode, no monetary value in campaign mode), and serious offenses (such as physical assault, or visible display of a weapon) can lead to the player being arrested for the first offense, or a shootout with the police. A series of four successive minor offenses qualify as a "serious" offense. Police force increases with the severity of the player's disregard of the law to a point where police, now well armed, form blockades with tire spike strips in attempt to defeat the player while firing from behind their cars.

Certain acts which would catch police's attention in real life do not in the game, such as driving on the sidewalk or on the wrong side of the road. The police AI do not recognize computer AI violations. In freeride, the police will ignore violent actions against the player. Certain motorists in the game will resist with violence if the player attempts a carjacking. The AI of these motorists does not differentiate between the player and police officers in active pursuit, and motorists will attack police if they are nearer than the player. The police will not take defensive action against the motorist and will, if the player stays out of reach, eventually be killed by the motorist.

Development

The game was in development since the end of 1998. It was codenamed Gangster and originally intended to be a driving game similar to Driver. The original plans included a multi-player and racing mode which was not present in finished version of the game. The release date was scheduled for 2000. The engine that was used was the same as Illusion Softworks used in Hidden and Dangerous but the engine did not fulfill developer's requirements. It led to replacement of an engine and in the end Mafia is run by LS3D Engine. Due to the change of the engine, the game was released two years later than planned.

Mafia was ported to PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2004. Illusion was not involved in porting the game. Some of the features of the PC version do not exist in the console port, such as police patrols around the city in Free Ride, and some aspects of the game's realism and graphics.

Story and theme development

"[As] I dug deeper, I began to see these men as people who are unwilling to obey the rules and would rather set their own. I wanted to tell the full story of a gangster- how somebody joins the Mafia as a young man, rises almost to the top and then falls down to the bottom."

—Vavra on writing the crime game.

The original cinematic inspirations of Mafia were films like Goodfellas and The Godfather, aiming for a more serious and mature tone for the game. Wanting to create a rich drama, director Daniel Vavra tried to mix drama, action and humour for hightening the game's realism.

Reception

Reception

Review scores Publication Score PC PS2 Xbox Edge 6/10 5/10 N/A EGM N/A 6.17/10 6.17/10 Eurogamer 4/10 6/10 5/10 Game Informer 9.25/10 7.75/10 8/10 GamePro N/A N/A Game Revolution A− C+ N/A GameSpot 9.3/10 7/10 7.1/10 GameSpy N/A GameZone 9.3/10 6.9/10 7/10 IGN 9.2/10 6.8/10 6.8/10 OPM (US) N/A N/A OXM N/A N/A 7.3/10 PC Gamer (US) 91% N/A N/A Maxim N/A 4/10 4/10 The Times N/A N/A Aggregate score Metacritic 88/100 65/100 66/100

Mafia was well received by critics and gamers upon release as more realistic and serious than a usual Grand Theft Auto-styled game. Mafia contains a much bigger city to explore than most video games of the time, with multiple forms of available transport in addition to an expansive countryside. Dan Adams of IGN gave the game a rating of 9.2/10, while GameSpot described the PC version as "one of the best games of the year" and rated it at 9.3/10. Game Informer compared it favorably to Grand Theft Auto III, and wrote that "from the living city in which you reside, to the incredibly realistic vehicles, this title has the heart and soul of a blockbuster."

While the original PC game received widespread acclaim, the versions for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox were considered inferior by many critics, and received lower scores as a result. In the Czech Republic, the country where the game's developers come from, the game received universal acclaim from both critics and players. Mafia was even elected the best video game developed in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in a Survey by Czech server BonusWeb when it received 3866 votes out of 13,143 as every reader could choose for three games to vote for. According to Take-Two Interactive, Mafia had sold 2 million copies by March 12, 2008.

Sequels

A sequel, Mafia II, was announced on August 22, 2007. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on August 24, 2010. The third installment in the series, Mafia III was announced on July 28, 2015.

External links

• Mafia at MobyGames
• Mafia at IMDb