Mafia: Trilogy

Mafia: Trilogy — a re-release of three parts of the popular Mafia series, which includes enhanced versions of the original games: Mafia: Definitive Edition, Mafia 2: Definitive Edition and Mafia 3: Definitive Edition.

Each game in the Mafia Trilogy collection is a story-driven single-player crime action game set in an open world, a third-person shooter with elements of arcade racing. It uses an updated version of the Illusion engine since Mafia 3 , further enhanced with graphical improvements.

The games offer a set of extended linear missions, where engine cutscenes featuring constantly chatting characters are interspersed with regular shootouts against other mobsters and frequent chases with or from gangsters, or from the police. In free play mode, players can explore the open world, complete various tasks, but the content is somewhat limited — the main focus is on high-quality storytelling.

The Mafia Trilogy collection unfolds in a single universe, but its games are not globally connected: they are scattered across different eras and locations, featuring various main characters, antagonists, and supporting characters. However, there are occasional small references between the games.

The series is set in America during the 20th century, in fictional cities modeled after real American metropolises. For example, Lost Heaven from the first part is a composite image of New York, Chicago, and San Francisco in the 1930s. Empire Bay — from the second part — is a mix of New York and San Francisco in the post-World War II period. The New Bordeaux region is modeled after the state of Louisiana, and its center closely resembles New Orleans during the Vietnam War.

The series has always focused on immersing the player in the historical era, for which the developers maximally utilize archival materials. The architecture of buildings, interior decorations, car designs, even clothing, furniture, and character dialects — all reflect the required time period.

In their narratives, the Mafia games are quite similar. The main character is an ordinary guy who, by fate or due to low social status, encounters the criminal world. He is drawn into the mafia by an influential patron or an old friend, after which he quickly becomes a hardened thug: beatings, racketeering, kidnappings, and murders are just a small part of the crimes committed. The antagonists are stereotypical: they obstruct the plans and advancement of the main character, compete for power in the criminal world, or turn out to be long-standing traitors.

Eighteen years after the original's release, a full remake developed by Hangar 13 has seen the light of day, created "from scratch". The developers replaced and improved a number of aspects but carefully preserved the most important element — the story.

Thus, the remake retained the structure of the original, where the story is presented in chapters, in which the open world acts as a large nonlinear level, but has no active influence, and secondary quests are hidden. After completing one chapter, the player can immediately start the next one.

The classic plot has not changed, Hangar 13 has faithfully transferred key missions and important moments from the original, such as the mood, music, and atmosphere of the Great Depression. However, the staging of almost all scenes in the game has changed: they are much more cinematic and action-packed than before, and closer to reality.

For example, Morello kills one of the characters with a wrench at a certain moment, whereas in the original, he smashed his head against the hood of a car. In another scene, the player's truck is chased by a dozen police cars, not 3 policemen and a dog.

The heroes are perceived… somewhat alien. Hangar 13 attracted new actors for motion capture, so the characters move differently, speak in a new way, and thanks to improvements in appearance and new facial animation, they look different as well. The game features Russian voice acting and the ability to combine the type of voice acting with subtitles.

As for the open world, after completing the first chapter of the story, an option "Walk around the city" appears in the game menu. Entering this mode, players can freely move on foot or by vehicle, collect collectibles, Playboy magazines, or complete side missions. All events in it formally progress until the epilogue.

There are no additional activities in the spirit of GTA, but players are offered many secondary missions, some of which have a slight connection to the plot, while others are completely side quests. The developers had a free hand here.

The game world has been redesigned to modern standards; it is now a seamless location, significantly better developed and filled with diverse content. Familiar areas from the original feel wider. Authentic facades of buildings and cars from the 1930s have been recreated, the range of vehicles has been expanded, and motorcycles have been added.

However, the game lacks an advanced life simulation system; the city feels static, with nothing happening except for NPCs wandering on the sidewalks and passing cars.

Since the Definitive Edition uses a new engine, most of the old gameplay mechanics have been replaced with new ones, similar to those in Mafia 3. For example, there are few differences in shooting — in the remake, Hangar 13 made a classic shooter with cover and rolls, as there are now more enemies and players will have to shoot a lot.

An arcade vehicle control mode has been added to the game, and the use of a modern physics engine has resolved any issues with the car's behavior on the road.

The Definitive Edition features modern graphics for 2020 graphics, with realistic shadows and lighting, dynamic day and night cycles, as well as beautiful effects, such as surfaces getting wet during rain or vibrant, colorful explosions. At the same time, the game is well optimized for PC.

The plot of the original game has been fully transferred, with minor changes in the staging of some scenes. All additional content previously sold separately is available immediately. The game world and gameplay did not receive any improvements compared to the original; you can still find Playboy magazines. The physics of cars has not changed.

The main updates concern the visual aspect: high-resolution textures and modern effects have been added, and the lighting has been reworked towards a more realistic play of light and shadow. Character models received new textures and an improved animation system (not for melee combat). Due to the removal of PhysX, there is no longer realistic clothing physics in the game.

The storyline of the original game has been transferred unchanged, but all additional content previously sold separately has been integrated. If you have the re-release of Mafia 2, you can try on Vito's leather jacket and sports car. There are no hints of a reboot or a fourth installment in the ending.

The graphic changes are not particularly noticeable, but they allowed for improved performance (FPS does not drop below 60), increased draw distance, and the removal of the annoying blur filter up close. The quality of effects has been improved, and the colors have become more vibrant. The physics of cars has not changed, and there are no gameplay improvements. New songs have been added.