I'm new to Backloggd and I'm stoked as hell that this game is the first one I get to review. Just so you all know, If I have a lot of thoughts on a game I played I will go pretty in depth. So let bust some knee caps and get into it.( Bad joke I know but I'm fully italian so I'm allowed ;))
Pre-Game thoughts:
I have been a huge fan of Mafia 2 since it was released back in 2010 and I like many other were disappointed in Mafia 3. However, despite being a big fan of the second installment of this title I never played the original.
I heard that the original Mafia had some rough game play and and absurd difficulty etc. SO when I heard that Hangar 13 was doing a full re-build of the 2002 title my heart sank like It was wearing a pair of concrete shoes. I will say, after some time I started to get a little nervous due to the fact that Hangar 13 developed Mafia 3 and like I said earlier: I wasn't a fan.
However I did consider the fact that Hangar 13 as a company only ever cut their teeth On Mafia 3. It was the first official game the company ever developed so I figured it wouldn't be fair to judge their abilities as developers based on their first crack at it. I bought the game and I'm happy to say that Hangar 13 stepped up real well.
The Story:
Don't worry I'm not gonna spoil anything and I'm also not gonna talk about the story for long because I simply just really enjoyed it. I know that they didn't change anything about the story from the original except for expanding on some missions supposedly but since I never played the original, I couldn't tell. Plus I think this story might rival Mafia 2's so take that for what you will.
Game Play:
I think a majority of us would agree that this game looks gorgeous so I won't talk about graphics. The very first thing I took notice of after gawking at the cool scenery was that Tommy controls incredibly similar to Lincoln Clay in Mafia 3. I didn't take any grievance with this because I actually really like how the controls feel. Tommy is very responsive when he moves and he doesn't have stupid problems with taking cover like Vito sometimes did in Mafia 2.
Now I played this on PS4 and I didn't experience any glitches at all pretty much, frame rate drops at most. I did watch someones review of the game that played it on Xbox One and they experienced some major glitches as well as a few soft locks unfortunately. Maybe I got lucky or the PS4 version might be more stable for some reason but I just thought that was worth mentioning.
Combat is pretty fun and with how long the game is it didn't feel like it got repetitive or boring at any time. I really like that you aren't allowed to carry an arsenal on you like Vito can and that you're limited to one long gun and one side arm of your choosing as well as a melee weapon if you want. I think that this limitation is nice as it makes the player really think about what kind of job they are doing and gives you the opportunity to think carefully about what you'd like to bring or even just let you pick what gun you like the most. It will also force you to think on your feet and adapt a bit if the weapon you're currently using isn't well suited for the environment.
The weapons feel really nice to shoot ,however I think the reticle movement is very sluggish and stiff. Even if you up the sensitivity it still feels stuttery. I heard that some people weren't happy about the variety of weapons that were available and would've like to seen more. I personally really like the simple options and thought that every gun was designed to suit somebodies preference. I always thought that gun selection in Mafia 2 was a bit "verbose" for lack of a better word. To me it always felt like there was some other weapon that was objectively better or the difference was purely aesthetic so I like that the different types of pistols and long guns all felt like they fired or behaved a little differently in some way.
The weapon sway and recoil are VERY active. Trying to fire your gun while moving for any reason will be a fruitless venture about 9/10 times it seems. The mix between the drastic weapon sway, the violent recoil, and the fact that the enemies in this game actually have pretty smart aim and will shoot you A LOT if you're in the open for too long. This didn't seem like too much of a problem to me, I found that you can get used to it pretty quick. Plus I think the game is trying to incentivize the player to be smarter when approaching shoot outs and to not be the cliche movie mobster that stands out in the open with a Tommy gun and never gets hit. The only two melee weapons are a baseball bat and a stiletto and there's really only one or two times in the game where they can be used without getting killed, but they were still fun to have none the less.
The Driving is pretty solid. This all depends on the type of car you drive but all in all every car seems responsive enough. All the vehicles feel VERY heavy like the other games of the series. It doesn't necessarily seem like a bad thing, but if you've never played any of these games and you're the type of person who is very comfortable with the way GTA driving feels then it might take a chapter or two to get a good feel for it. Again, no story spoilers but we all know that if there's a game with heavy emphasis on cars and driving then there will probably be a race sooner or later. During some research on the original version I heard a few people refer to one mission in particular that was one of the hardest in the game due to a car race thats involved. However I didn't have any trouble with this mission when playing it on standard difficulty.
Conclusion:
As a whole, I had a blast with this game and I'm happy Hangar 13 rebuilt it. The story is engaging enough if you're into the whole mob theme, the characters are entertaining, gun play feels satisfying, and its fun to drive around. It might not be perfect and it certainly isn't a revolutionary or innovative game but it's a fun time. If you enjoy shooters you'll dig it.
Pre-Game thoughts:
I have been a huge fan of Mafia 2 since it was released back in 2010 and I like many other were disappointed in Mafia 3. However, despite being a big fan of the second installment of this title I never played the original.
I heard that the original Mafia had some rough game play and and absurd difficulty etc. SO when I heard that Hangar 13 was doing a full re-build of the 2002 title my heart sank like It was wearing a pair of concrete shoes. I will say, after some time I started to get a little nervous due to the fact that Hangar 13 developed Mafia 3 and like I said earlier: I wasn't a fan.
However I did consider the fact that Hangar 13 as a company only ever cut their teeth On Mafia 3. It was the first official game the company ever developed so I figured it wouldn't be fair to judge their abilities as developers based on their first crack at it. I bought the game and I'm happy to say that Hangar 13 stepped up real well.
The Story:
Don't worry I'm not gonna spoil anything and I'm also not gonna talk about the story for long because I simply just really enjoyed it. I know that they didn't change anything about the story from the original except for expanding on some missions supposedly but since I never played the original, I couldn't tell. Plus I think this story might rival Mafia 2's so take that for what you will.
Game Play:
I think a majority of us would agree that this game looks gorgeous so I won't talk about graphics. The very first thing I took notice of after gawking at the cool scenery was that Tommy controls incredibly similar to Lincoln Clay in Mafia 3. I didn't take any grievance with this because I actually really like how the controls feel. Tommy is very responsive when he moves and he doesn't have stupid problems with taking cover like Vito sometimes did in Mafia 2.
Now I played this on PS4 and I didn't experience any glitches at all pretty much, frame rate drops at most. I did watch someones review of the game that played it on Xbox One and they experienced some major glitches as well as a few soft locks unfortunately. Maybe I got lucky or the PS4 version might be more stable for some reason but I just thought that was worth mentioning.
Combat is pretty fun and with how long the game is it didn't feel like it got repetitive or boring at any time. I really like that you aren't allowed to carry an arsenal on you like Vito can and that you're limited to one long gun and one side arm of your choosing as well as a melee weapon if you want. I think that this limitation is nice as it makes the player really think about what kind of job they are doing and gives you the opportunity to think carefully about what you'd like to bring or even just let you pick what gun you like the most. It will also force you to think on your feet and adapt a bit if the weapon you're currently using isn't well suited for the environment.
The weapons feel really nice to shoot ,however I think the reticle movement is very sluggish and stiff. Even if you up the sensitivity it still feels stuttery. I heard that some people weren't happy about the variety of weapons that were available and would've like to seen more. I personally really like the simple options and thought that every gun was designed to suit somebodies preference. I always thought that gun selection in Mafia 2 was a bit "verbose" for lack of a better word. To me it always felt like there was some other weapon that was objectively better or the difference was purely aesthetic so I like that the different types of pistols and long guns all felt like they fired or behaved a little differently in some way.
The weapon sway and recoil are VERY active. Trying to fire your gun while moving for any reason will be a fruitless venture about 9/10 times it seems. The mix between the drastic weapon sway, the violent recoil, and the fact that the enemies in this game actually have pretty smart aim and will shoot you A LOT if you're in the open for too long. This didn't seem like too much of a problem to me, I found that you can get used to it pretty quick. Plus I think the game is trying to incentivize the player to be smarter when approaching shoot outs and to not be the cliche movie mobster that stands out in the open with a Tommy gun and never gets hit. The only two melee weapons are a baseball bat and a stiletto and there's really only one or two times in the game where they can be used without getting killed, but they were still fun to have none the less.
The Driving is pretty solid. This all depends on the type of car you drive but all in all every car seems responsive enough. All the vehicles feel VERY heavy like the other games of the series. It doesn't necessarily seem like a bad thing, but if you've never played any of these games and you're the type of person who is very comfortable with the way GTA driving feels then it might take a chapter or two to get a good feel for it. Again, no story spoilers but we all know that if there's a game with heavy emphasis on cars and driving then there will probably be a race sooner or later. During some research on the original version I heard a few people refer to one mission in particular that was one of the hardest in the game due to a car race thats involved. However I didn't have any trouble with this mission when playing it on standard difficulty.
Conclusion:
As a whole, I had a blast with this game and I'm happy Hangar 13 rebuilt it. The story is engaging enough if you're into the whole mob theme, the characters are entertaining, gun play feels satisfying, and its fun to drive around. It might not be perfect and it certainly isn't a revolutionary or innovative game but it's a fun time. If you enjoy shooters you'll dig it.