Mafia

[Terminus]

There's just SO much stuff to see in free roam, and such a great story to get through in the game.[&o][&o][&o]

[Grell]

That game is wonderful!

Regards,

Greg

[Grell]

Remember the gunfight in the parking garage? That was cinematic.

Anyway I did a google search for Mafia 2 and found the site.

It's called Mafia II : http://www.2kgames.com/mafia2/home.html


Regards,

Grell

[JudgeDredd]

The Garage scenario was released as the demo and sold me...I went out and bought it on that basis.

Thx for the link...I'll be keeping my eyes open for this one

[Dixie]

Thanks to the positive comments I've now ordered the game.  It had better be as good as you say [:-]  Else I will be very upset...


..well maybe a little bit sad.  But it'll be all your fault [:D]

[JudgeDredd]

It's only £4.99. I'd say you'll get that much fun out of it at the very least

And make sure you watch the intro...best intro to a game I remember!

[Grell]

ORIGINAL: JudgeDredd

The Garage scenario was released as the demo and sold me...I went out and bought it on that basis.

Thx for the link...I'll be keeping my eyes open for this one

Hi JD,

I did not know it was released as a demo, that's interesting.

Regards,

Greg

[ORANGE]

ORIGINAL:  JudgeDredd

Probably one of the best endings to a game ever...and you missed it unfortunately.

How would you know?

ORIGINAL:  JudgeDredd

There are, from what I recall, 3 games I have "completed" in my life...Mafia, Max Payne and Call of Duty 4. There could be more, but those "stick out".

I have to say I played it on XBOX and it dragged.  I finished it and loved the ending but it was no GTA.

I liked the airport mission most I think.

[JudgeDredd]

ORIGINAL: ORANGE

ORIGINAL: JudgeDredd

Probably one of the best endings to a game ever...and you missed it unfortunately.

How would you know?

I know...fair point. All I can say is, the ending was so good, I find it hard to believe there are many out there that would match it, let alone beat it.

I like unexpected endings...in films as well as games.

[ORANGE]

ORIGINAL: JudgeDredd

I know...fair point. All I can say is, the ending was so good, I find it hard to believe there are many out there that would match it, let alone beat it.

I like unexpected endings...in films as well as games.

The ending was great. A lot of the story was great. But it did no make up for the clunky game play in my opinion. I actually would have enjoyed it more if I just watched the cinematics. I found the cars to be very similar amongst class of car. It did have some good dialogue on the missions if you took time to listen.

[Grell]

You can say that again JD!

Regards,

Greg

[Zakhal]

ORIGINAL: ORANGE

I have to say I played it on XBOX and it dragged. I finished it and loved the ending but it was no GTA.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. [:-] Perhaps you should read reviews before buying crappy console versions of superb pc games. The xbox version of mafia is inferior to pc one in all ways:

If you only played the Xbox version of Mafia, you'd still get a sense of the game's ambitious nature, but you'd also miss out on the original PC version's outstandingly good presentation.

Unfortunately, despite the relatively high power of Microsoft's system, this version is closer in quality to the recently released PlayStation 2 version than to the impressive PC original. It's still a pretty good Xbox game here and now, but you should be able to find a far superior version of it in your local game shop's PC bargain bin.

In the PC version of the game, the story unfolded via lengthy cutscenes rendered with the game's impressive 3D engine. On the Xbox, these cutscenes have been rendered into videos, and they don't look quite as good today as they used to.

On the PC, the strikingly authentic presentation of the city of Lost Heaven made these driving sequences wonderful to behold, even though they were naturally slow-paced. On the Xbox, the city itself looks quite bland. Flat, blurry textures are everywhere, buildings noticeably just pop up on the horizon as you approach them, the power lines running between buildings look ugly, and more.

What's particularly annoying is that you'll end up having to frequently drive from one side of Lost Heaven to the other, but just as you cross the midpoint of the city, a loading screen jarringly appears, though at least the loading period here is faster than on the PlayStation 2. The driving sequences in the PC version of Mafia were all about atmosphere, but on the Xbox, this is largely missing

The PC version of Mafia presented a surprisingly detailed simulation of what it might be like to drive around on old streets in old cars. You needed to obey traffic laws by stopping at red lights, not exceeding the speed limit, and things like that, or else cops in the vicinity would pull you over and give you a citation. Of course, the mob foots the bill, so a citation is just an inconvenience. On the Xbox, since the driving often just feels like a chore, at least you don't have to worry about this stuff quite as much. The speed limit has been increased, as if to acknowledge that the best thing about the driving sequences is getting them out of the way as quickly as possible.

The shooting sequences also suffer somewhat in translation to the Xbox, partly due to the decline in graphics and partly due to the controls, which were originally designed with a keyboard-and-mouse control scheme in mind.

And, for some strange reason, in spite of the game's M rating and the ample presence of blood effects in the original PC version, there's no blood to be seen in the Xbox version's shoot-outs, which detracts from the game's visceral punch.

The Xbox version of Mafia doesn't hold up to the PC original, so if you have the means of playing the latter version instead, you should.

Xbox review averige (40 reviews): 68%

Fact is you never played the REAL mafia so theres no way you can know how good it really is! GTA better than mafia? In your dreams perhaps! [:D]

[JudgeDredd]

What say you, Orange? Only £4.99! [:'(]

[Erik Rutins]

Judge,

You've only "completed" three games? I guess my question is what counts as completion - can a non-story game like a wargame actually be "completed" by your definition. With all your wargames, have you never played through a scenario or campaign all the way?

Regards,

- Erik

[ORANGE]

ORIGINAL: Zakhal

Wrong, wrong, wrong. [:-] Perhaps you should read reviews before buying crappy console versions of superb pc games. The xbox version of mafia is inferior to pc one in all ways:

Fact is you never played the REAL mafia so theres no way you can know how good it really is! GTA better than mafia? In your dreams perhaps! [:D]

Zakhal,

This is good information and I am glad to hear it. The criticisms of the game mimicked my feelings when I played it on the XBOX. I may go get it for the PC now.

But I will stick with my assertion that it is no GTA. GTA is a phenomenal game.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/254416

[ORANGE]

I'll look into it. I certainly will look at the reviews of the different versions before I buy Mafia II. [:)]

[Grell]

Hi Orange,

The xbox version is probably sub-par. If you can get the PC version you may like it!

Regards,

Greg

[JudgeDredd]

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins

Judge,

You've only "completed" three games? I guess my question is what counts as completion - can a non-story game like a wargame actually be "completed" by your definition. With all your wargames, have you never played through a scenario or campaign all the way?

Regards,

- Erik

Well, there's the thing. Some (quite a few I have) can't be completed really. And even if you do, you can play another and have different results (Falcon 4:Allied Force, GTR2).

I should've thrown in there COTA...I completed all the missions, ergo it has been completed. Combat Mission (1,2,3 and Shock Force) nope...

But that was the point of my post I think. I pretty much "need" a good story to keep me in there.

Kharkov, as a recent example, like CM, keeps getting picked up and advanced...maybe a few turns, maybe a mission. Now, I would say Kharkov has some of the best written briefings (that I've seen so far...even the tutorial briefings were interesting)...but they are still textual, and therefore of limited appeal to me. These "types" of games fail, quite often, to hook me in. And that is in no way restricted to wargames, but most of the genre suffers from that "hook" factor.

As I said in the original post, it appears, from the games I completed, that a good story is what keeps me playing to the end.

I yearn for the day when I fire up one of your games, Erik, and I'm presented with a map with moving arrows showing axis of advance, defensive positions and a wee video showing a briefing to troops and a "verbal" briefing...given with punch and enthusiasm.

'course, all the hard liners will get out there cot because the time required for such features should be allocated to gaming...so I'll leave it as my wish. [:'(]

[Mac67]

Finally got around to picking this up! What a cracking game. Played through it yesterday and got as far as the racetrack bit, had to give up on it though when I realised it was 2.30 am [X(] Talk about suck you in!

Did a fair bit of cursing when I first installed it and it wouldn't run on my Vista machine, but using my google-fu I came up with the solution -

windows vista service pack 1
Mafia patch 1.2/1.3 eng (more commonly found as 1.2 even though it's 1.3)
on the setup options, in the auto run option click the follwing:
Triple Buffering
Vertical synch
Refresh rate 60hz
Bit depth 32
Truecolour
Compressed
(open expert settings)
hardware transform/lighting
Clip always

After doing that it runs like a charm.

I'm off to have another crack at that racetrack [:D]

[JudgeDredd]

The race track will get done...it is difficult and I was close to giving up several times...but the game just goes from great to fantastic. One of THE best games I ever had the pleasure to play. Mainly, I think, because of th story. And you just do not get bored driving round that city!