First of all, in my head, I keep calling this the Mafia: The City of New Haven, as it sounds like a town not far from Brighton called Newhaven. Heaven and Haven… the two are permanently confused in my simple mind, so if I’ve called it that at some point, just ignore the stupidity. No Mafioso types there, just chavs… Also there will be spoilers herein. I know it’s a very old game, but fair warning. Anyway, back on track we go.
The Mafia series of games have seen quite a bit of output over the years with 3 original titles, and a full blown remake of the original and remasters of the 2nd and 3rd releases. More work has been poured into the franchise than most and it’s a testament to how popular the genre is, and how impactful the original game was, and still is today. Illusion Softworks (later merged with Hangar 13) developed the game and it was published by Gathering of Developers, released in August of 2002. Quite an old game then by most standards, yet the first thing that struck me upon booting it up after so many years was how lovely it looks, and how well it runs on my system (Windows 10). I’m not sure if it was updated in a technical capacity when released on Steam, or if the game was just programmed well enough to support a multitude of screen sizes at the time. It was removed from online platforms some years ago, and only returned after some changes in 2017, so who knows what happened behind the scenes. There was one obvious change, but we’ll come to that soon… Other than that though, the game works perfectly, and once we’re in, we’re met with one of the all time best menu screens. I love seeing an in-world representation of this done well, and this one certainly is. The camera pans in slowly, giving us a look at the mafioso office. It settles on the spinning projector as the menu defaults to the ‘Intro’ option. Moving our cursor down the list, the camera sweeps lowly about the room, focusing on things like the map of Lost Heaven for the ‘Free Ride’ option, or looking to the door if you hover over ‘Exit’. The room is full of details, and there is a focus for each option, and as you toy with this, you’ll be enjoying the sublime and beautifully appropriate theme music composed by Vladimír Šimůnek. After having had some fun in the menu for a while (a source of fun that is usually neglected in most games) we click on ‘New Game’ and after a brief loading screen, we’re transported back to the 1930s.
The game opens with our character (named Tom, which is apt for my playthrough, at least), and we find him in a café having a little chat with a Detective Norman. Tom seems to be sniffing about for some kind of deal with the police, and as such is more than willing to spill the beans on his mafia chums and his own illegal exploits. This retelling of events acts as a pretence to go over his past adventures, and as he begins to explain, we cut back a few years and experience the initial events that led our protagonist to become a gangster. Ol’ Tommy was naught but a humble taxi driver to start, and a serious case of wrong time and wrong place occurs. A couple of goons wave us down and a brief jot as a getaway driver has the taxi a bit banged up, pitted with a few bullet holes, and generally a little buggered. Our new mates hand us a wad of cash to make up for the trouble, and we are offered work, should we want it. Despite the age of the game, there are qualities in the cut-scenes that appear timeless. The voice acting is great, with performers from various shows such as the Sopranos, Law & Order, and Boardwalk Empire making appearances, giving life to each scene. The framing and general direction is brilliant too, with inspiration taken from the mob film greats such as Goodfellas and the Godfather. The game is already compelling, even after one brief stint of gameplay, but at this point, I halted my playthrough of the game and took the time to re-watch of both aforementioned titles. A good time was had, of course, and after many hours of cinematic joy, I returned to the game with a new focus on how the game was directed from a filmic point of view.
Tom, Thomas, or Tommy, depending on who is addressing him, has a good old think about what to do next and after getting his car fixed up, Tom shakes off his rather traumatic experience and just gets back to work on the taxi driving. This mission acts as a sort of driving tutorial, as well as an introduction to the city of Lost Heaven. I say tutorial, but there aren’t actually any pointers, but it’s a relatively low stakes time, giving you a chance to get to grips with things, primarily navigation. We’ve been spoiled over the years when it comes to this in games. Trails leading our way, simulated GPS systems, interactive 3D maps, and map rotation. None of this fancy stuff here. There are waypoints, and a compass, but they only point you in the direction of the thing, which would be useful if you could fly, for instance, but you can’t. You have a map too, which overlays the screen as you play by pressing tab but this is very basic, and is fixed in its orientation. You’ll find yourself remembering a string of left and right directions and pressing tab a lot to begin with. The minimap/radar is also pretty rudimentary, no roads show up there, only very small lines to indicate traffic. White for cars, yellow for trams, blue for the police, and red for aggressors (other gangs or police). The lack of sophistication in the map system is countered wonderfully by the myriad of small details that fill the game, bringing it to life. I recently played Medieval Dynasty and found that for such a modern game, that the world itself felt quite dead. There were small details that went some way enhancing the simulation, but here, in a game over twenty years old, we find much sophistication. When I first played the game around 2002, I recall being struck foremost by the inclusion of working indicator lights on the cars. My 13 year old mind was successfully blown. I’m slightly harder to impress now, but I find this, and the rest of the small details in this game to be just as impressive, even by modern standards. When it rains, citizens of Lost Heaven will pop up an umbrella, as you travel on the train, you’ll see maintenance workers busy at their jobs, as you drive around you’ll see cars parking up and their drivers getting out, walking off to their business. Traffic lights work, police patrol the streets, petrol stations are manned and usable… The list is substantial, but much of the detail is focused on the experience of driving. You can switch your engine between manual and automatic transmission, your petrol tank will empty over time, the odometer racks up the miles, your headlights will switch on automatically when driving through darkened areas, your engine will cut before you get out of the car, and, if you crash, your car will become damaged in a realistic fashion, the game utilising a very advanced deformation system. It’s important to bear in mind that this game only released a year later than GTA 3, and included many more sophisticated systems. The comparison might not be entirely fair however, as the game was in development for around a year longer, and was originally set to be a driving simulation game. This might explain why there is such a focus on the driving, and why the combat (while not terrible) is certainly the lesser aspect of the game.
While we’re on the driving… I know what you’re thinking. I’m thinking the same. You’re thinking that I’ll manage to get myself to the race mission and that I’ll inevitably give up. Well, if it comes to that, this post might be a little shorter than I was expecting, but, as we’re not there yet, let us continue the taxiing. After a few fares, we pull up for a smoke break, and unfortunately, the blokes from our last trilling drive took note of our number plate. Before we know what’s happening, we’re getting beaten up. Only one thing for it, peg it to Salieri’s Bar. Cue a running away section while being chased by men with guns. Seems a little unfair, but there we go. The game will occasionally feel a little unfair – get used to it. As I run, I realise something seems off about the game. I hesitate for a moment and die because of it. A worth while death however as the penny drops a moment later. There is no music… Other than the opening theme, the world is devoid of musicality. This is the downside of the Steam (and GOG) version(s)… some years ago it was taken down, and like I said earlier, it was re-released in 2017 sans-music. It has been ripped from the game so unceremoniously and rather than replacing what was taken with some era appropriate tunes, or just instrumental music, we are left with an audio void. Another mark against digital only platforms. Luckily, the internet being what it is, there are plenty of people around the world to rectify problems such as these, and you can patch in the music yourself by sourcing a mod from the likes of Nexus. After restoring the musical soul of the game, I load back in and redo the mission – SO MUCH BETTER! I absolutely hate licencing issues. I can understand it for a remake or remaster, but stripping original titles of something so important… Imagine if Steam or GOG came to your house and replaced your Mafia disc with a burned CD-R of the game without the music! Madness, of course, but essentially, that’s what’s happened. The price we pay for online game libraries. A nice simple fuck off should be uttered now, but I suppose, upon closer inspection, the Steam and GOG descriptions do state that the music has been removed, as though that somehow makes it ok. With the rant over, we eventually make it to safety (with the joy of the music restored), and we’re given the chance for some payback. We get introduced to a few other characters, and we’re told to pick up some supplies from Vincenzo, the Don’s weapons expert. He gives us a classic piece of sporting equipment (a baseball bat), and a nice few Molotov Cocktails.
“Better to die young and loaded.” – Thomas Angelo
I drive Paulie to Morello’s Bar, and after we arrived, I snuck around the back of the car park and tossed a couple of fire bombs over the fence. This made them quite angry, unsurprisingly. The whole crew of bastards came pouring out to get me then. I made it to my car, but accidentally got out again as they swarmed me. Whoops, time to give them an intimate look at the baseball bat. One of them dropped a gun at that point, and then it is I who became death, destroyer of mobsters. Once everyone was dead, I smashed up the last car, and slowly drove home (our tyres having been shot out in the melee). Having succeeded there, we’re made part of the family, and we’re immediately on collection duty, picking up protection money. Before most of the missions start, we’re given control of Tom in the back room of Salieri’s Bar, and taking a moment to appreciate the details there is recommended. While the city itself is a little sparse on the finer details on the buildings and street furniture, the few interiors that the game has you explore are very well realised, and the bar is a prime example. The office, the billiard room, the seating area. The atmosphere here is perfect. The background noises, the mumbling of the diners, the passing citizens, the vehicles beyond the windows, Luigi the barman cleaning up… all I want to do is pull up a stool, order a couple of fingers of whisky, and mull over my life choices. No such luck, we’ve got work to do. Move through the backdoor and emerge in the parking lot and garage. There we find Ralphy, who gives us a car. But not just any car, this one has 40hp! Wowzers. He also teaches us how to steal a Bolt B model car, and during the course of the game, he’ll instruct us on how to carjack lots more vehicles, and the garage will eventually fill with our collection of stolen vehicles – seeing this populate with beautiful classic cars is a joy too, and having a choice for certain missions is a nice addition. After that, we collected a weapon and set off with Paulie and Sam in tow. A couple of local pickups first and then we head out of town to a motel. Of course, all goes pear shaped and a shoot-out takes place. We break in around the back and deal out some more mob justice before getting caught out by a goon who escapes in a fancy car. Time to step on it, as it were, shooting from the behind the wheel as we run this guy down and retrieve the cash he’s stolen.
Back to chatting with the Detective for a bit of context and after that, we’re back to business stealing a sports car… hang on. A sports car? This isn’t in preparation for a race of some kind is it? I can hear Han Solo somewhere stating that he has a bad feeling about this. We’ve no choice though, we must do what the Don asks. We must steal the vehicle from the racetrack, get it to a garage for some alterations, and return it again, all within a time limit, and without a spot of damage… Easy as pie, specifically pie purchased from the Difficult Pie Shop. Anyway, we manage it, just about, and in the very next scene, we receive a phone call. The dreaded call. We knew it was coming, but this soon?! Back to the track we go – I feel a bit queasy. I hate this mission. I’ve hated it since 2002! Ok. It’s ok. Hate rescinded. Difficulty set to normal, and damage on… Took me about 13 false starts and about 5 proper attempts, but I did it eventually, and you know what? It really wasn’t that bad. One thing in particular that I do like about this game is the challenge.
It’s in no small part to the lack of quick saving, generous checkpoints, or more regular health cabinets, but overall, the game is reasonable, and the more difficult sections only require a few goes to get right (mostly). The race isn’t all that unfair, and in replaying it after so many years, all I see is a section of the game that requires a little more skill. Having said that, with the mission done, let’s move on and never look back, yeah? I set off on my next mission and as I speed across the city (likely too accustomed to speed after the race) I neglect to apply my speed limiter and as I cross one of the bridges into Central Island I am pulled over by the police. This highlights the rather advanced wanted system. In GTA, the police are very much in ask questions later mode, and don’t get me wrong, if you do something bad enough, assaulting a police officer or brandishing a weapon in public, for example, they will go all rammy, but there are shades of grey here. Just speeding? If you pull over, you’ll be issued a ticket and let go. This defuses many situations that, in other games with wanted systems, would likely result in a deadly chase/murder spree. I pay my ticket happily, especially as in the story mode, there is no cash… jokes on them, eh? And after that, I drive off at 40mph, no faster.
Playing the game now with a slightly more mature outlook, Mafia feels more important, even than it did upon release. It feels more like a GTA 4 or a LA Noire – it’s a mature story, with rather mature gameplay, and as I explore Lost Heaven, it’s clear that it’s a well-designed, thoughtful, and authentic virtual representation of a 1930s city. That was at least until the clunky sex scene… This comes about from a mission Luigi (the barman) gives us, to escort his daughter home after having been harassed the night before. Being a gentleman of sorts, Tommy obliges and as the pair make their way to Sarah’s apartment, we get attacked by a gang of twats. Here we can make use of knuckle dusters, knives, bats, and even planks of wood. This bloody fight puts us in Sarah’s good books and upon getting her home, the romance begins, and shortly after intercourse, Tommy lights a cigarette in what has to be one of the most overused tropes in cinematic history. Eventually we have kids with Sarah, but she is barely seen again for the rest of the game… The Don makes sure proper vengeance is gotten however, and we go back to kill every last one of the gang members after the street fight. With all that nasty business over, more pressing mob business takes over, and we are asked to enter a hotel, murder the owner, silence one of the working girls who has been letting intel slip, steal some documents, and rig the place with dynamite. Of course, a shootout ensues, and as the guards there come streaming toward me guns blazing, we shoot them dead one by one. This results in a lot of screaming from the innocent bystanders in the hotel, so naturally they need to be killed too. Once the place is nice and quiet again, I’m free to go about my business. Passing one of the hotel rooms, we can hear the moans of pleasure from a hooker and her client, and I must wonder how many gunshots it’d take for them to cease their activities. Door is locked, so good luck to them I suppose.
We find the hooker that we’re meant to take out, but Tommy lets her go if she promises to never return to the city… I’m sure that won’t end badly. After that, we head on up to the Director’s office. After pinching the document and rigging the place to blow, we run down the corridor and do a very macho leap through the window as the flames lick our heels. We land on the opposite roof, and have to make our escape to the sound of sirens. We scale a fire escape, leap across to another building, and eventually reach some scaffolding – all while being shot at and shooting police. Sounds rather straight forward, but my god, it was frustrating, my low health having carried over from the previous mission. Eventually I had to redo the hotel section, conserving as much health as possible. Starting the rooftop section with 99 HP just about allowed me to finish it, and I made it to the church in the distance. Here the game felt particularly like Max Payne. Some bullet time would have been appreciated, but at least there was a cabinet of painkillers (or whatever Mafia calls the health-ups) to hand. After dealing with our wounds, we make our way down the stairs and find that a funeral is in progress, and for someone we had killed earlier in the game (although I already forgot about that particular murder). All would have been ok, but the bloody priest there gave away our hiding spot, and… we had to kill a bunch of mourners. That’s ok though, because after another challenging shoot out, we get to steal a hearse and have another fun police chase…
Alright, turns out my post is almost as long as the Godfather films, so this post is split in two. If you’ve enjoyed this look at Mafia so far, pop back next time for the second part.
Also, as a little bit of exciting news (well, at least for me), I had my first bit of videogame related writing published in this month’s edition of EDGE Magazine! I’m very pleased to have started out in the right place haha. Pick up a copy of issue 389 to read my little ramble on navigating the virtual world.
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