Mafia is the little GTA clone that couldn’t. I respect the ambition in trying to make an open world game with a setting that’s not typically used in games, but the execution failed to deliver. In a sense, it was ahead of its time; trying to capture the feeling of a relatively unexplored era in video games in a genre that was just finding its footing. But the only problems I can attribute to being of its time are the clunky shooting and general atmosphere of the world. The poor mission and level design, the overreliance on driving as a gameplay loop, and the high-school tier storytelling are all genuine problems that I can’t believe were not criticized more at the time of release.
