Mafia Classic

There is a bit to like about this game. Not many games cover the time period as well as this, so it's reasonably unique in that aspect, the story is enjoyable from what I've played of it but that's about all I have to say on the good things about the game. There is no licensed music in the game anymore because of course licensing wasn't renewed. Why? No clue. I guess the monopoly on really old music no one listens to anymore must be extreme lucrative. This leads to most of the game being too quiet as a whole. Except when some of the sounds are f*ck off loud for reasons. It looks like garbage. I get that the game is rather old so I can forgive it somewhat but other games released around the same time or even early look better in some cases. The controls are trash. I spent a solid hour in the tutorial so I could try and get the controls mapped in such a way that I could actually play the game. I was patient, I figured it all out and for the most part every thing was fine after that, until... The Race. This single level of the game has completely halted my pregress and has constantly frustrated me. This level was so notoriously trash that a setting was patched into the game that is supposed to make you skip the race, but all it does is fail you and send you back to the start of it all so you can suffer some more. There isn't a better example of absolutely horrible game design than this. A racing minigame in a game in which the controls suck, the in game physics are a mess and simply turning a loose corner can make you spin out and susequently put you so far back that you can't recover. So I threw in the towel so I can devoted my time to its far better sequels. All roughness aside, this game had huge potential back when it was first released, and I honestly can't think of a better game that could do with a remake than this one. The premise is solid and with better physics and controls and the missing music added back, it could be a giant.

The story is your average "from taxi driver to mafioso" story with gang wars, betrayal, revenge and a guy raising up in the ranks by performing increasingly difficult tasks for a Don. Whatever, nothing memorable. Rather read The Godfather. The driving is a clunky mess with your car skidding around the road like in a soapboy derby, completely turning 360 degrees when you drive a little bit too fast. You actually get damage when bumping into street lanterns? You are forced to constantly drive a measly 40mph or the police will flag you down for a fine. They tell you at the beginning that all the cops are on your payroll, so why is there a mandatory speed limit for you? The worst part are the shooting sequences and car chases, so basically every part of the game where any action happens. The levels are incredibly inconsistent, every combat sequence and car chase will play out differently. every. single. time. If you hit an enemy with a gun, they get "stun-locked" and you can just spray them to death with one mag from a 1911. The problem is, enemies will also do this. There will be sections where enemies with Tommy Guns wil completely annihilate you from 100HP to 0 HP in 3 seconds. From 20 meters away. And not just once. Enemies will either quickly finish you off or never hit you. You have a sideways dodgeroll, but you will only trigger it involuntarily. In car chases you will encounter road raging drivers that will behave like a steamroller in traffic and will make other vehicles in their path literally flip into the air. I only beat some levels due to the enemies bugging out or getting stuck. After a certain point in the game you will not play a mafioso game anymore, but Call of Duty where you blow up buildings and kill dozens of enemies one-man-army style. The game is a bug-ridden mess. Every good memory is overshadowed by loads of moments of rage and frustration. How can anyone say "this is the best Mafia game"? I regret wasting 8 hours of my life on this.

This game got really bad controls... I've tried many different settings and it's useless... car racing is a nightmare and some action shootings... OMG... you need to play some of them a 100 times and maybe then you'll get it right... but of course your companion will go for it and rush and of course when he's dead mission is failed as well... it is a real nightmare... Creators made a good job with script, music and voices... but how can you enjoy it if you're replaying the same mission again and again just to see the same loosing scenario, even if you can't do anything about it... It's not worth it...

Is this version English-only? Steam version has French text and audio.

I have no doubt that when this came out it was probably a decent game, but in this day and age, the horrible mechanics and gameplay really are frustrating. I'd wait for the remake to come out on GOG.