Intensive Gaming Diary

The blog about videogames.

Tag: mafia

Playing Some Mafia (Definitive Edition)

Posted on by Viljami

I started this morning spending two hours of my time playing Mafia – Definitive  Edition. As you can see from the featured image I have now a new controller for my Xbox Series X. It is the Microsoft Elite Pad 2. Yes, it did cost some money but I am very pleased in its performance. At least I am for now.

It has battery and I keep it connected with the cable that came with it when I am not playing. When I am playing I do take the cable off. The cable has to be connected before I shut down the console. Otherwise the console gets powered on again. Also for taking a screenshot you have to first press Xbox button and after that you have to press Y button. Regular game pad offers a screenshot with one button press. Elite game pad did cost me something like 155 euros I think.

Mafia has been on my list of games to play since I read about it from a gaming book. The book was “Pikselipölyä” that was written in Finnish. The name can be translated to something like “pixel dust”. I don’t think this book has been translated or even available outside Finland but it was an interesting book that I borrowed from a library. In where I live we have very nice libraries. There are many of them and they have lots of new and good books to borrow. I like it a lot.

So, Mafia was recommended in that book. The game was first released on PlayStation 2. Also, in the book, it was mentioned that the Definitive Edition, the remake, would be a better opportunity if you can choose the version that you want to play. I didn’t have the game for PS2. So, I just bought the whole Mafia Trilogy collection of Mafia games. I have only played Mafia – The Old Country.

Mafia – Definitive Edition offers straight from the beginning some driving, shooting and very much discussion between the other characters and the main character. From the beginning you are starting to wonder why would a person like to work in a mafia. Well, there are some reasons why the main character just ends up on a mafias payroll. So, the plot starts to form from the early moments in this game.

There might be some other games that many gamers are playing right now. Forza Horizon 6 was released under two weeks ago. There was the new Bond game released just some days ago. The game is titled “007 – First Light”. I just yesterday watched some content on YouTube about the new Bond game. It was said that it is very good as a video game. Many of us are already also waiting for the next Grand Theft Auto Game – GTA VI. Well, I don’t care so much about actually playing games that are somewhat straight from the oven so to say. I just like to play any good game that I have missed and haven’t put so much time in. This makes my mind pretty much why would I want to play a game like the first game in the Mafia series. I might play the second or the third game next. I really don’t know yet.

Since there are so many good games out there you really have to try and think what to play next. I do, as you might notice from the blog post that I wrote yesterday, play some retro games also. I like to play some PS2 games and also Mega Drive games. I end up casually playing some good games also for NES and SNES with not forgetting PS1 games. Sometimes I like to escape the limitations and when I feel that kind of a sense I turn to some more modern games. In this way I can really see how the technology and also the design of video games has improved.

I could go on about some movies that are going to be available soon in 4K disc format (the next Avatar and also the Silent Hill movie) or tell you about how it uplifted my moods to see Finland win Canada yesterday in ice hockey’s World Championships but I think this is enough from me right now. See you next time my dear reader!

Mafia: The Old Country

Posted on by Viljami

I just finished Mafia – The Old Country. I played it for about 12 hours which is also the length of this game on “How Long To Beat” website. This time it was natural to follow the plot and i is actually a huge part of the whole experience that Mafia – The Old Country offers. I am not going to spoil the plot but it builds on romance and personal story of the main character of this game. I liked this game. It is also the only Mafia game in this series that I have played through.

The gameplay offers fighting (with knives and guns), conversations and a bit of driving around on horses and cars. A car means here something very old since the game takes place in the beginning of 1900s. Knife battles are challenging and you have to time your moves, swinging the knife and trying to dodge your enemy’s attempts to hit you, very well. When it comes to guns I found out that shotgun, preferably the pump-action one, that can have more ammo loaded, was my favorite weapon. You can actually hit your target from a very long distance. It is also a bit easier to hit if compared to the basic rifle that is also available, at least at times. You can also use the rifle if you want to hit even targets that are a bit more far away from you.

The graphics in Mafia – The Old Country are beautiful. The catchy accent of the characters feels just right. I found myself, as awkward it may seem, babbling the dialogue to myself in this italic accent. So, I have to say that the voice acting is in a good form in this game. It is a big budget game after all. I bought the digital copy of this game and played it on my Xbox Series X. I didn’t even have to think about any performance issues which in my opinion is a good thing. The digital copy had a price of about 50 euros.

I really don’t have the option here to compare this game to some earlier games in the Mafia series. This was the first game of this series that I ever have played. I think we can talk a while about other games in this series. The first game was released already in 2002. The series has also games Mafia II and III. The second  game was released in 2010 for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. The third game in this series was released in 2016 for PC, PS4 and Xbox One. There has also been a game called Mafia – Definitive Edition that was released in 2020. It was a remake. There is also a collection named Mafia – Trilogy. It was released in the same year that the remake was.

What did Mafia – The Old Country have to offer for me as a gamer? The story was immersive. You start as a young mine worker and advance to a mafioso. There is also the love story involved between Isabella and the main character, Enzo. I am not going to reveal the ending. The plot is important in this game. If you enjoy the plot I think you should choose a lower difficulty setting. If you prefer fighting, with knives and guns, you should pick a more challenging difficulty level. You might also want to first finish the game and then increase the difficulty level and play it once more. There are also lots of collectible items that you can try to find as you progress in the game. I found Mafia – The Old Country to be a comfortably enjoyable game that is well worth its 50 euros price. The game is of course available as a physical copy. Its just a matter of which format you prefer. The choice is yours to make.