So what was so great about Mafia 1

This is actually one of the lamest games I have ever played. Horrible mission design, lame story, and awful gameplay elements.

Things I liked and hated about the game

Liked:

There are a few enjoyable missions notably the Bank Heist and 'The Whore'
Police don't respond to crimes unless they see it
Driving is smooth
Good looking graphics which still hold up


Hated:

Every other mission in the game
The missions were too long and had too many parts
No benifits to exploring to city, once you finish the game there is nothing to do
The Racing Mission, that alone brings the game down
Awful scriptwriting, bad voice acting at some parts
The gunplay was mediocre at best but most of the time it downright sucked
Sniper rifle doesn't work
Police arrest you for going over 45km an hour
Huge fines as a result
You get damage in car crashes, very annoying when you have 10 health and you crash and die

Why is this game so appreciated by so many. I really hope Mafia 2 improoves.

The bank heist is one of the longest missions in the game.

But really they are just divided into getting there, the mission itself, then leaving. Its not that bad.

Once you finish the game you can do the Free Ride extreme challenges. Not many SP have that much replay value anyhow.

The Racing Mission is made easier if you patch the game and I'm pretty sure it has several difficulty levels.

The script provides plenty of twists and turns and allows the game to quite atmospheric. I didn't mind the voice acting when I was playing it. If you were actually immersed into the game you'd be more willing to go along with it. Granted there are games with better voice acting like my gf in HL2.

The gunplay strives for realism, something we probably haven't seen a lot of in Third Person shooters, it takes some getting used to, but its still fun.

The sniper rifle does work, I've used it.

Police will stop to fine you if you go over the speed limit. You have no idea as to whether the fine is huge or not.

Yes you get damaged in car crashes - just like in real life.

I hope the Mafia 2 is great too - finally we agree on something. Yeesh...

Sniper rifle was so tedious and awful it was impossible to use during that missions. The police fines come in during free ride which there is nothing to do in but drive and shoot things. Toriko42

There are no police in the Free Ride mode at all.

[QUOTE="Toriko42"]Sniper rifle was so tedious and awful it was impossible to use during that missions. The police fines come in during free ride which there is nothing to do in but drive and shoot things. biggest_loser

There are no police in the Free Ride mode at all.

[QUOTE="biggest_loser"]

[QUOTE="Toriko42"]Sniper rifle was so tedious and awful it was impossible to use during that missions. The police fines come in during free ride which there is nothing to do in but drive and shoot things. Toriko42

There are no police in the Free Ride mode at all.

Free Ride Extreme I should say, has no police.

[QUOTE="Toriko42"][QUOTE="biggest_loser"]

[QUOTE="Toriko42"]Sniper rifle was so tedious and awful it was impossible to use during that missions. The police fines come in during free ride which there is nothing to do in but drive and shoot things. biggest_loser

There are no police in the Free Ride mode at all.

Free Ride Extreme I should say, has no police.

Yea the racing mission really killed it for me, as when I was playing, I wasn't aware that there was a patch to add difficulty settings. Ther rest of the game I enjoyed though.

As on the unpatched game, the racing one is nigh on impossible (at least for me).

I played Mafia with a steering wheel and was impressed with how well it played with one. The racing mission was a blast. Some of the gunfights get really tedious since I wasn't used to the realistic shooting. After I adjusted, it became alot of fun. Freeride Extreme missions were really cool as well.

I really hope that Mafia 2 plays well with a steering wheel as well.

I forgot the game details about Mafia since I finished it like in 2006? But the game impressed me so much and I'm looking high on Mafia 2.

Wth Toriko42?


That is still on of the best games ever made. It came in 2002 and still better then many games that are coming out now.(I have replayed this game about 4-5 times.)

I enjoyed almost every mission in this game. This game has some of the most memorable missions imo. Even the racing mission wasn't so bad. Took me 5 tries or something and that's not too much hassle.

Graphics were beautiful and still look decent.

Story/script was good, maybe not movie quality, but still good. At least i enjoyed it.

Great atmosphere and interesting characters. And what's bad about voice acting, i don't remember that it was bad, probably it was good. Like the whole game.

I enjoyed that the game looks more real - can't walk around the city with your weapon drawn, police doesn't tolerate speeding and you have to watch traffic lights when police is around. And your health takes damage when you hit the wall or damage your car at higher speeds.

It was too realistic, the realism tottally ruined the game in my opinion. It's virtual reality, not real life. In my opinion Grand Theft Auto 3 which came out in 2001 and Vice City which came out in 2002 are much better games and don't punish the players for wanting to be as much of a criminal as possible.

Mafia was punishing to me and the missions were damn annoying.
Toriko42

Don't u think the story in Mafia is much better than GTA?

It was too realistic, the realism tottally ruined the game in my opinion. It's virtual reality, not real life. In my opinion Grand Theft Auto 3 which came out in 2001 and Vice City which came out in 2002 are much better games and don't punish the players for wanting to be as much of a criminal as possible.

Mafia was punishing to me and the missions were damn annoying.
Toriko42

It's like you play fifa 2008 and ask why the **** i can't drive a car...

I loved the combat, having to take cover and be careful. Would you rather bunny hop and strafe with a rocket launcher ? ;P

I also loved how you could control the camera with the mouse while driving, GTA 3 and Vice lacked that.

Some of the missions are above average difficulty however, but not less enjoyable. I am pretty sure they added damage on collision so you'd be more careful and to make driving more thrilling.

For Mafia 2 I hope for more of the same

Don't u think the story in Mafia is much better than GTA?

mac631

Mafia crushes San Andreas in terms of story. At least Mafia's is actually cohesive and makes sense.

SA is just too disjointed and fragmented

[QUOTE="mac631"]

Don't u think the story in Mafia is much better than GTA?

biggest_loser

Mafia crushes San Andreas in terms of story. At least Mafia's is actually cohesive and makes sense.

SA is just too disjointed and fragmented

In short, not linear ;). IF you can do almost all of them in what order you want of course it's fragmented, too bad you can't follow the story ;). Fragmented story= free roam, that's why Mafia is not free roam, it's just a few streets that makes you belive it is, but it is a joke to the free roam term.

[QUOTE="biggest_loser"][QUOTE="mac631"]

Don't u think the story in Mafia is much better than GTA?

DanielDust

Mafia crushes San Andreas in terms of story. At least Mafia's is actually cohesive and makes sense.

SA is just too disjointed and fragmented

In short, not linear ;). IF you can do almost all of them in what order you want of course it's fragmented, too bad you can't follow the story ;). Fragmented story= free roam, that's why Mafia is not free roam, it's just a few streets that makes you belive it is, but it is a joke to the free roam term.

Mafia doesn't intend to be a massive free roam game and its all the better for it. The story is much tighter and focused.

[QUOTE="biggest_loser"][QUOTE="mac631"]

Don't u think the story in Mafia is much better than GTA?

DanielDust

Mafia crushes San Andreas in terms of story. At least Mafia's is actually cohesive and makes sense.

SA is just too disjointed and fragmented

In short, not linear ;). IF you can do almost all of them in what order you want of course it's fragmented, too bad you can't follow the story ;). Fragmented story= free roam, that's why Mafia is not free roam, it's just a few streets that makes you belive it is, but it is a joke to the free roam term.

Mafia's story is also very poorly told. The written dialogue is laughable and the voice work is okay at best. SA's story (again, always with SA - it's not the best GTA game and it never was) has, for the most part, excellent written dialogue (excellent writing everywhere else, too) and almost flawless voice work.

[QUOTE="DanielDust"][QUOTE="biggest_loser"][QUOTE="mac631"]

Don't u think the story in Mafia is much better than GTA?

fatshodan

Mafia crushes San Andreas in terms of story. At least Mafia's is actually cohesive and makes sense.

SA is just too disjointed and fragmented

In short, not linear ;). IF you can do almost all of them in what order you want of course it's fragmented, too bad you can't follow the story ;). Fragmented story= free roam, that's why Mafia is not free roam, it's just a few streets that makes you belive it is, but it is a joke to the free roam term.

Mafia's story is also very poorly told. The written dialogue is laughable and the voice work is okay at best. SA's story (again, always with SA - it's not the best GTA game and it never was) has, for the most part, excellent written dialogue (excellent writing everywhere else, too) and almost flawless voice work.

Whats the point in having excellently written dialogue if the story remains pointless and nonsensical? The voice acting is pretty good I'll admit that.

But please also take into account that it was a very big decision for Mafia back in the time of its release that it used those rendered cutscenes to tell the story to give it a cinematic feel. It might not seem that much today given that all the games do it...

What Mafia did best was immersing the player in the time setting. The score was also exceptional. The actual gameplay itself was average. But as a total package, it was a true keeper.Qixote

What was average?

[QUOTE="fatshodan"][QUOTE="DanielDust"][QUOTE="biggest_loser"][QUOTE="mac631"]

Don't u think the story in Mafia is much better than GTA?

biggest_loser

Mafia crushes San Andreas in terms of story. At least Mafia's is actually cohesive and makes sense.

SA is just too disjointed and fragmented

In short, not linear ;). IF you can do almost all of them in what order you want of course it's fragmented, too bad you can't follow the story ;). Fragmented story= free roam, that's why Mafia is not free roam, it's just a few streets that makes you belive it is, but it is a joke to the free roam term.

Mafia's story is also very poorly told. The written dialogue is laughable and the voice work is okay at best. SA's story (again, always with SA - it's not the best GTA game and it never was) has, for the most part, excellent written dialogue (excellent writing everywhere else, too) and almost flawless voice work.

Whats the point in having excellently written dialogue if the story remains pointless and nonsensical? The voice acting is pretty good I'll admit that.

But please also take into account that it was a very big decision for Mafia back in the time of its release that it used those rendered cutscenes to tell the story to give it a cinematic feel. It might not seem that much today given that all the games do it...

What's the point of having a great story when you can't tell it properly? Well told but bad, badly told but great - SA or Mafia, either way, there's a massive flaw.

Personally, I favour storytelling over story, so I prefer SA. But, as I've said about fifty billion times, SA doesn't have so great a story. Vice City has a better story that's even better told, the world is smaller and more coherent, and even though it still doesn't have the focus of a heavily scripted and linear story, everything fits together well and makes good sense. It's unfortunate that you're basing your opinion of modern GTA games entirely on San Andreas, because Vice City is by far the better game.

Grand Theft Auto 3 did the epic cutscene storytelling almost a full year before Mafia, so I don't really see it as a huge deal that Mafia had it. All games do it now, but many games did it long, long before Mafia, too. Hell, games were doing full 3D voice-acted cutscenes back in 1996. It's hardly like Mafia set any precedents.

All I'm bringing into question is the quality of the dialogue. The developer is Czech, they probably translated in-house. I give them a little leeway, because I always do with foreign games. But bad is bad. I can't get past Mafia's pidgin storytelling - not for a game that is so heavily built around its story.

Amazing soundtrack on this game. Im a big fan of Jazz music so the soundtrack on here was perfect for me.

Also i enjoyed the atmosphere alot, really pulled me in.

I can't get past Mafia's pidgin storytelling - not for a game that is so heavily built around its story.

fatshodan

How come you're like the only one who seems to truly believe in that though?

Story was great..Think gtas story is better ha i laugh at thee...Mafia had the best ending in any game ive ever played...The game to me was great..The race track sucked arse an was pointless..Took me hours to get passed that part...Other than that way better than gta..Sorry you gta lovers out ther its a way better game..Gladestone1

Sorry but no ;). No game is better than the other. It all depends on taste, some people think mafia is great, some think gta is great. For me it's gta ;). GTA may have an awkward story but it's very well played unlike Mafia that may have a good story but it sucks (dialogue and other short parts of the story). It's like saying Oblivion rocks and Gothic 2/3 suck, I'm with Gothic on this.;)

If we judge by facts, sales, players, ........ Mafia is a joke to GTA, so it depends on taste.

What was average?

biggest_loser

As I clearly said, the gameplay. Except for the driving mechanics, I never found myself stopping to say "wow, they really did a great job with the shooting or stealth mechanics." Again average, not bad, not great. But I also said this game was a real keeper, so don't push it.

If we judge by facts, sales, players, ........ Mafia is a joke to GTA, so it depends on taste.

DanielDust

If we went by those factors than Halo 1-3 are the best games ever.

Please...

[QUOTE="fatshodan"]

I can't get past Mafia's pidgin storytelling - not for a game that is so heavily built around its story.

biggest_loser

How come you're like the only one who seems to truly believe in that though?

I probably couldn't answer that without insulting the majority of the GS forums or without seeming like an arrogant *****. Let it just suffice to say that I hold my games to a slightly higher standard than most others, especially when it comes to writing. This is also an international forum full of many people who don't speak English as their first language.

Besides, I doubt I'm the only person who thinks Mafia's writing is poor.

[QUOTE="biggest_loser"][QUOTE="fatshodan"]

I can't get past Mafia's pidgin storytelling - not for a game that is so heavily built around its story.

fatshodan

How come you're like the only one who seems to truly believe in that though?

I probably couldn't answer that without insulting the majority of the GS forums or without seeming like an arrogant *****. Let it just suffice to say that I hold my games to a slightly higher standard than most others, especially when it comes to writing. This is also an international forum full of many people who don't speak English as their first language.

Besides, I doubt I'm the only person who thinks Mafia's writing is poor.

C'mon. It sounds like you really need a reason to dislike this game.

If Mafia's writing is poor what does that makes something like Crysis...

[QUOTE="biggest_loser"][QUOTE="fatshodan"]

I can't get past Mafia's pidgin storytelling - not for a game that is so heavily built around its story.

fatshodan

How come you're like the only one who seems to truly believe in that though?

I probably couldn't answer that without insulting the majority of the GS forums or without seeming like an arrogant *****. Let it just suffice to say that I hold my games to a slightly higher standard than most others, especially when it comes to writing. This is also an international forum full of many people who don't speak English as their first language.

Besides, I doubt I'm the only person who thinks Mafia's writing is poor.

You are not alone :).

B_L Please.....

Halo 1/3 are great games.....on consoles, yes. I was talking about PC because this is the PC GAMES forum.

Again, it's about taste. You are more than obsessed with Mafia so I don't really care much about how good you say it is because I personally don't like it and the same for you and GTA. I gave Mafia 3 chances and I still don't like it, there's nothing I can't do, it's just lame compared to GTA IMO because if the way the story is presented sucks even tough the story is great and the gameplay sucks too, it's just bad, it's not great, it's not oh but it has good story and it;s not oh you will have to play more to see how good it really is.

At the end of the day I will still enjoy GTA and you Mafia;).

[QUOTE="fatshodan"][QUOTE="biggest_loser"][QUOTE="fatshodan"]

I can't get past Mafia's pidgin storytelling - not for a game that is so heavily built around its story.

biggest_loser

How come you're like the only one who seems to truly believe in that though?

I probably couldn't answer that without insulting the majority of the GS forums or without seeming like an arrogant *****. Let it just suffice to say that I hold my games to a slightly higher standard than most others, especially when it comes to writing. This is also an international forum full of many people who don't speak English as their first language.

Besides, I doubt I'm the only person who thinks Mafia's writing is poor.

C'mon. It sounds like you really need a reason to dislike this game.

If Mafia's writing is poor what does that makes something like Crysis...

Crysis' writing is poor - in fact, it's awful... but Crysis isn't a very story driven game, and the story isn't very dialogue driven. Mafia is entirely driven by its story, and that story is entirely driven by cutscenes. If Crysis had poor gunplay, that would be a serious concern. Story? Not so much.

And I don't even understand what It sounds like you really need a reason to dislike this game is supposed to mean. It has terrible, terrible writing. I'm evaluating the game honestly - nothing more. I recognise the good and acknowledge the bad. If that's not what you're doing with all games, you're biased, unobjective and/or a fanboy. Either way, your opinion can't be trusted by anyone if you don't recognise both sides of the coin.

[QUOTE="fatshodan"][QUOTE="biggest_loser"][QUOTE="fatshodan"]

I can't get past Mafia's pidgin storytelling - not for a game that is so heavily built around its story.

biggest_loser

How come you're like the only one who seems to truly believe in that though?

I probably couldn't answer that without insulting the majority of the GS forums or without seeming like an arrogant *****. Let it just suffice to say that I hold my games to a slightly higher standard than most others, especially when it comes to writing. This is also an international forum full of many people who don't speak English as their first language.

Besides, I doubt I'm the only person who thinks Mafia's writing is poor.

C'mon. It sounds like you really need a reason to dislike this game.

If Mafia's writing is poor what does that makes something like Crysis...

Your contradicting yourself there, as your finding a random reason to hate on crysis like you always do.

Besides that is a horrible comparison, its like saying airplanes can fly and cars can't so cars suck.

[QUOTE="Gladestone1"]Story was great..Think gtas story is better ha i laugh at thee...Mafia had the best ending in any game ive ever played...The game to me was great..The race track sucked arse an was pointless..Took me hours to get passed that part...Other than that way better than gta..Sorry you gta lovers out ther its a way better game..DanielDust

Sorry but no ;). No game is better than the other. It all depends on taste, some people think mafia is great, some think gta is great. For me it's gta ;). GTA may have an awkward story but it's very well played unlike Mafia that may have a good story but it sucks (dialogue and other short parts of the story). It's like saying Oblivion rocks and Gothic 2/3 suck, I'm with Gothic on this.;)

If we judge by facts, sales, players, ........ Mafia is a joke to GTA, so it depends on taste.

Who ever sells the most isnt always the best.

With that being said, i am just as much a fan of gta as i am of Mafia.

GTA is more open ended with more of a modern day gangster feel to it. While Mafia felt more like a really good movie to me.

Mafia = better atmosphere, music, better story and an artsy style to it

GTA = more open ended gameplay, longer in length with more side missions, A little more over the edge as far as sex, violence and humour goes.

Just my opinion, someone who enjoys both GTA games and Mafia games (finished Mafia twice, beat Vice City and GTA IV once each, while SA i got very bored of fast). For some reason though i felt really satisfied after beating Mafia, as opposed to GTA where i didnt really feel a big accomplishment after beating the games.

Is it ok to enjoy both? hehe

uumh wth, no way mafia's story telling was bad. C'mon imo it's better then in most gta games. (Tho, i enjoy both games.)

Imo SA didn't even have much of story and about storytelling was no way better then in mafia. Even the voice acting didn't feel anything special... (IMO)CavalAnts

Uh huh.

It's worse than The Godfather!regnumekal

Wow.. i thought Godfather was trash... not even in teh same league as GTA and Mafia imo

(But then again if some of you played Mafia on a console, i can see why you hate it.. its alot better on pc)

[QUOTE="regnumekal"]It's worse than The Godfather!kozzy1234

Wow.. i thought Godfather was trash...

Believe me - I thought so too, before playing Mafia.

[QUOTE="kozzy1234"]

[QUOTE="regnumekal"]It's worse than The Godfather!regnumekal

Wow.. i thought Godfather was trash...

Believe me - I thought so too, before playing Mafia.

Ohh well, we all are entitled to our own OPINIONS :)