Mafia: Definitive Edition may look like a contemporary video game, but it doesn't exactly play like one. This shouldn't be too surprising considering it's a remake of the classic 2002 mobster epic, but it also doesn't play like that game either. This is a remake that's been built entirely from the ground up, with a stunning visual overhaul, expanded story, and greater sense of place. Yet its gameplay systems have only been modernised to a limited extent. As a result, Mafia: Definitive Edition feels archaic as it covers the well-trodden ground of its contemporaries, hindered by many of the same ailments that held back Mafia III, despite that game's strong narrative.
The same is true here, as Mafia: Definitive Edition's story is far and away the best part of this remake. You play as Tommy Angelo, a timid cab driver who gradually turns to a life of crime in the fictional city of Lost Heaven during the 1930s. Tommy's an interesting and often conflicted protagonist, and a few new scenes have been added to the original story to flesh out the rest of the cast and inject some levity into Tommy's tale. Characters like Don Salieri have been given more ambiguous motivations, while weapons supplier Vincenzo is now a point of comic relief instead of the self-serious tough guy he was before.
Dialogue has also been reworked and sharpened throughout, although the main story beats of the original game are still present. It's clichéd at times, and sometimes relies on homages to classic gangster cinema, but it's easy to become attached to its relatively small cast of characters, particularly now that each one has been enhanced with new voice work and facial capture from its accomplished cast. Aside from looking a whole lot better, these new performances allow for more subtlety in each scene, as facial expressions are able to express more than words often can.
Continue Reading at GameSpot
0 comments:
Post a Comment