Mafia franchise is back thanks to the all-new Mafia: Trilogy that includes the classic original game, part 2, and the not so good Mafia 3. The trilogy is set to release with brand new stunning visuals all made from scratch so let’s go ahead and talk about Mafia with a whole lot detail.
Family. Power. Respect
The twitter account of the Mafia videogame surprisingly tweeted three different tweets in the following order: “Family.” “Power.” “Respect.” This had gamers thinking that a new mafia game was in the works and 2K had eventually decided to come out of the dark from that. Soon, a teaser for the “Mafia Trilogy” was released on the internet that very much confirmed the release of Mafia 1, Mafia 2, and Mafia 3 for the PS4, Xbox One, and the PC. There is not much to go by from the small teaser but the fact we caught a glimpse of Jimmy’s Vendetta most likely highlights that we will be getting all three games bundled with DLC to make a truly definitive experience. More will be revealed on the 19 May 2020, regarding the game.
The City of Lost Heaven
Released in 2002, Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven takes place between the fall of 1930 through to the end of 1938, during the Prohibition Era, and is set in the fictional city of Lost Heaven. The player takes the role of taxi driver Tommy Angelo who, while trying to make an honest living on the streets of Lost Heaven for his beloved family, unwittingly becomes involved in organized crime as a getaway driver for the Salieri Crime Family which was led by Don Salieri.
Through the events of the game’s story, Tommy begins to rise through the ranks of the Salieri family, earning their trust and eventually becoming a Made Man for the Salieri 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 as an informant.
The game has players drive a myriad of classic cars after learning to unlock them. The player learns to also use different weapons to finish a variety of jobs to earn the almighty dollar and rise in power to command respect within the family as an emotional, heart-touching story of friendship and betrayal unfolds before the player.
Let the Good Times Roll
The engaging story of Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven had taken players on an emotional joyride with its narrative. Soon, this would be followed up with another sequel titled “Mafia II”. This would place us in the shoes of Vito Scaletta, a Sicilian immigrant who settled alongside his family in Empire Bay, which would go on to be the setting of the second installment.
Eventually, he would grow sick of an impoverished life within the law and pull of a variety of crimes with his friend Joe Barbaro. Soon this would end up with Vito in prison and he would be forced to join the military in an attempt to avoid a jail sentence since World War II was ongoing at the time.
Next thing we know, we go back to Sicily to participate in the war effort and return home with forged documentation to escape another draft into the military to resume a life of crime.
The story of Mafia II takes place from the World War II-era of America to the 1950s post-war boom, along with the period-correct trends of both the eras with the wealth of songs to drive to. The game contains around two hours of in-game cutscenes with a screenplay of 700 pages.
Daniel Vávra, the writer and director of the original and the sequel, discussed the new angle of the game stating: “The old game was a tribute to gangster movies, a romantic vision. Mafia II is grittier, real, a darker world, and the effects are based in reality.” The Official Playstation Magazine states: “A high body count is still promised in this tale set in a fictional city inspired by New York of the 1940s and ’50s, but those casualties will come the hard way — through small-scale operations rather than mass firefights”. Also, the game humorously contains the largest amounts of profanity for a videogame of its time.
The expected widespread popularity of the game would inspire a single-player DLC titled “Joe’s Adventures”, “The Betrayal of Jimmy” and “Jimmy’s Vendetta” that would allow players to expand their experience while adding more to their gaming content.
“Family isn’t who you’re with, it’s who you die for”
Mafia III was released in 2016 on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The story of the game departs from the previous installment to take us to 1960s New Bordeaux with the right kind of licensed music, muscle cars, and a storyline that tries to capture the seriousness of the issues which had plagued America during it most turbulent time in history.
The game, in an attempt to mimic the drama riddled narrative of the previous titles, tags sensitive topics such as the Vietnam War, racism (since the main protagonist is an African-American), and the presence of the Ku Klux Klan.
The game was certainly not kidding around and most of these issues would prove to be an obstacle in front of our main character Lincoln Clay. After serving in the Vietnam War alongside his friend Donovan, Lincoln is back in his home country. Things would soon turn sour when his surrogate family, the Black Mob, is betrayed and wiped out by the Italian Mafia, Lincoln blazes a path of revenge and redemption through the Mafioso responsible for killing his family and leaving him for dead.
Unlike the Italian roots of the previous game, this installment has us leading our own crime family and the introduction of side quests into game. In this game, how the players make decisions and handle affairs affects various cutscenes.
The outcome depends on which of your underbosses you have favored throughout the story and this, in turn, dictates all the perks that would be unlocked for Lincoln. Mafia III also featured a more open world element to further explore New Bordeaux with an entirely reworked combat system and a stealth mechanic that left a lot to be desired.
Like the previous installment which was Mafia II, Mafia III would feature DLC available for purchase to expand the experience of the game. On the contrary, the game would fail to live up to the expectations of the gamers with its repetitive content and mediocre stealth mechanics that would attract a Metacritic score of 68.
With the announcement of the Trilogy, it would seem that the wallets of many fans of the series are ready regardless, especially if they had to part with their older consoles. One question that remains to be asked is if it will have the complete licensed music of the previous installments? Will some of our favorite oldies be removed entirely or will they be replaced?
Let us hope we hear the good news that everything is exactly the way it was when it comes to the music.
