Original Mafia Game Will Soon Be Free for a Limited Time
By
Trey Griffeth
The original version of the 2002 video game, Mafia from 2K Games will be available for gamers to play for free for a limited amount of time on Steam.
The Mafia series is one of those gaming franchises that many people seem to know about yet lacks the popularity of its peers. It isn’t as big as the Grand Theft Auto franchise and lacks Saints Row‘s unique sense of identity. Yet the Mafia franchise remains a valuable IP for publisher 2K and one that maintains a strong fan following.
Today marks the 20th anniversary of Mafia‘s release and 2K knows how to celebrate. Mafia: Definitive Edition was met with mostly positive reviews, but the publisher wants to take gamers even further back. In a recent post on 2K’s official Twitter account, it revealed that the original version of Mafia would be made available for free on Steam for a limited time. Gamers will be able to download the game from the digital platform from September 1-5.
RELATED: Mafia: Definitive Edition Update Adds Black and White Mode
As its title suggests, the Mafia games focus on the America Mob in Illinois, California, and Louisiana, with each game following a new protagonist. While certain aspects of the Mafia franchise are inaccurate, it has given gamers the chance to be a part of La Cosa Nostra without the legal ramifications. The first game primarily focuses on Tommy Angelo in Illinois. A poor taxi driver, Tommy is inadvertently dragged into a life of organized crime after saving the life of a pair of Salieri family members. He eventually finds that he is far better suited to it than he ever imagined which ultimately leads to his downfall. Now gamers will be able to experience the original version of this story once again for free for a limited time.
Since the first game was released, the Mafia franchise has released two additional full installments. Mafia 2 hit shelves in 2010 before Mafia 3 was released in 2016 which turned La Cosa Nostra into the main antagonist. A remastered version of Mafia 2, titled Mafia 2: Definitive Edition was released in 2020 as was Mafia: Definitive Edition. Recent layoffs at Mafia studio Hanger 13 have had fans worried that the franchise may be in trouble, but now it appears that 2K isn’t ready to let the franchise die.
Earlier today, it was officially announced that a new Mafia game was in development from Hanger 13. Past rumors have suggested that the game is a prequel set in Italy before La Cosa Nostra became a force to be reckoned with in the United States, but nothing definitive has been officially revealed. For the time being, fans will have to be content with the first three Mafia games and will soon be able to get the first installment for free.
Mafia: Definitive Edition is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
MORE: 6 Open World Games With Multiple Endings
Mafia II: Definitive Edition Reviews
2K Games, Hangar 13
May 19, 2020 — PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5
OpenCritic Rating
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Metro GameCentral
6 / 10
Destructoid
7 / 10
Game Revolution
4 / 5
IGN Spain
8 / 10
IGN Italy
7.5 / 10
Attack of the Fanboy
3 / 5
Game Rant
3 / 5
PlayStation Universe
5 / 10
View All 50 Critic Reviews
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Epic Games Store
Buy Now
Voidu
Buy Now
Fanatical
Buy Now
Mafia II: Definitive Edition Media
Mafia II: Definitive Edition — Official Launch Trailer
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Critic Reviews for Mafia II: Definitive Edition
Metro GameCentral
Unknown Author
6 / 10
A welcome tonic to overly large open worlds, Mafia 2’s story and missions remain worth experiencing if you haven’t already, but its age and intrinsic flaws are still obvious.
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Destructoid
Brett Makedonski
7 / 10.0
There’s so much about Mafia II that feels like a relic of a bygone era.
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Game Revolution
Jason Faulkner
4 / 5
Mafia 2 is still a game that’s worth playing, but if you own the original for PC, you’re better off just modding it. If you don’t own it, the Definitive Edition is only $20, and you get Mafia 2 Classic with it, so you don’t have anything to lose.
Read full review
IGN Spain
David Soriano
8 / 10.0
Mafia 2: Definitive Edition is Mafia 2 in its purest form, for better or worse, which means that we continue to have an incredible city like Empire Bay… certainly wasted. Thanks to the graphic tweaks, it still holds the type 10 years later, although some improvements in the control in the shootings would not have been left over either.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
IGN Italy
Davide Giulivi
7.5 / 10.0
A remastered old, single mission driven open world, with hi-res lights and textures on a basic fighting mechanic, helped by a well written mob story.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Attack of the Fanboy
Dean James
Mafia II: Definitive Edition may have definitive in its name, but the numerous glitches that plague it really hold back what is still a good game at its core from truly earning that title.
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Game Rant
Dalton Cooper
Hangar 13 releases Mafia 2: Definitive Edition, collecting all the game’s DLC and improving the graphics, but some aspects haven’t aged well.
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PlayStation Universe
Garri Bagdasarov
5 / 10. 0
What should have been a great return for the ten year old classic ends up being one of the worst remaster I’ve ever played, with almost no graphical updates and staggering framerate issues. A remaster should fix the issues of the original not make them worse.
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View All Critic Reviews (50)
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Mafia 2 / Mafia II: Director’s Cut 2K
Platform: PC
Publication type: RePack
Interface language: Russian
Voice language: Russian
Tablet: Not required (GOG DRM-Free)
Description: to earn a certain reputation on the streets of your city. Now he is known as a person who is always responsible for his own words. The main character of the game is entrusted with serious tasks without fear, knowing that he will definitely bring the matter to the end. Vito has an old friend named Joe. They spend almost all the time together. Both Joe and Vito work for the mobsters. Influential bosses give them tasks that their subordinates cannot handle. Heroes take up the work with pleasure, because they know that by doing this they deserve the trust of authoritative people.
The mafia bosses like the way Vito handles things. With each new case, he is getting closer and closer to the top. For the sake of such a rapid rise, the character has to break the law. Otherwise, he would not have achieved such a high position. Vito did not think about the consequences of his illegal actions. But there comes a time for a man to pay for his sins. The main character will understand how difficult and dangerous it is to be a real mafia. If Vito wants to save his own life, he needs to quickly break all ties with criminal authorities.
System requirements:
Operating system: Windows 7, 8, 10
Processor: Pentium D 3Ghz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ (Dual core) or higher
RAM: 4 GB RAM
Video card: Video Card: nVidia GeForce 8600 / ATI HD2600 Pro or better
Free hard drive space: 8 GB
Game features:
Dynamic and addictive gameplay: bloody gunfights, brutal hand-to-hand combat, dizzying chases — just what you will have to do in pursuit for authority.
An epic gangster story inspired by classic mafia movie aesthetics, complete with colorful ambiguous characters and cinematic visuals, will blow your mind.
Feel the zeitgeist by strolling the streets of Empire Bay: while World War II rages in Europe, the city lives its own life. Architecture, cars, music and outfits will make you feel like a part of the 40s era and witness the beginning of a new era of the 50s to the accompaniment of the best tunes of those years.
Players are free to explore the 10-square-mile, artfully crafted world of Empire Bay, powered by 2K Czech’s Illusion Engine™.
Atmospheric soundtrack, including songs from the best artists of the Golden Era, will make your immersion in the world of Mafia II completely unforgettable.
Repack features:
— Based on the release from GOG (Russian version)
— Nothing cut / Nothing recoded
— Game version: 1.0.0.1 | Update 5A (21272)
— Addons:
Mafia II: Made Man Pack
Mafia II: Renegade Pack
Mafia II: Vegas Pack
Mafia II: Greaser Pack
Mafia II: War Hero Pack
Mafia II: Jimmy’s Vendetta
Mafia II: The Betrayal of Jimmy
Mafia II: Joe’s Adventures
— Added Old Time Reality Mod (January 12 HotFix-1578795054)
Selected for installation in the install as an option
Patched startup file for 64-bit systems from crashes for the mod (Old Zabakapen)
— Installation time 3 minutes (Depends on the computer)
Repack from xatab
P|S Mod control in the game home button
But not only Elvis, «Cadillac» or «Stetson» imprinted this period in people’s memory. This was the time of the highest rise of organized crime in America, especially the famous «Godfather» of the famous Italian mafia. In principle, Coppola’s trilogy, which tells how she controlled Las Vegas, dictated terms to the Cuban government and invited congressmen and senators to her report — the pure truth! Neither before nor after the 50s did the mafiosi rise to such «managerial heights» and could not boast of such «achievements».
I suppose now, if you re-read the previous two paragraphs, it will become clear to you that the developers from 2K Czech could only choose these years to continue the famous Mafia game. In the first part — Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven — the Czechs paid tribute to the «romantic» time of American organized crime, i.e. the 30s, the period of the reign of «prohibition», and in the continuation, the turn of the «golden age of the mafia» has come .
From rags to riches
However, the storyline of Mafia II begins … at 1943! A simple Italian boy from a poor family (stamps, stamps!) Vito Scaletta agrees to help his bosom friend Joe rob a jewelry store … And what did you think, this is what it is, real male friendship! Joking aside, Vito ends up in the hands of justice. He is offered a choice of a prison or an army, especially since American troops are about to land in Sicily, where fighters with knowledge of Italian would come in handy. So Vito will take up arms for the first time to kill people, albeit for the time being dressed in enemy uniforms.
And then the carousel spun, spun! Return from the war, new “cases” with Joe, who grew up during Vito’s absence into a rather authoritative bandit, admission to the “family”, time in prison — yes, yes, after all, the protagonist cannot avoid being behind bars, because “who is hanged to be — he will not drown, ”as folk wisdom says. And then, again, hand in hand, elbow to elbow, he and Joe will begin to rise to the heights of the criminal world. Perhaps, by mentioning the heights, I exaggerated a little: there is no GTA IV or Godfather I / II here, so no one will allow you to build your own criminal mini-empire — it’s not supposed to, you haven’t matured yet!
The development and career growth of Vito take place strictly within the framework defined by the scriptwriters of the game and limited by the level of a high-class, but still the most ordinary mafia fighter. So if someone secretly cherished the dream of becoming a «godfather» at least in the game, he should forget about it, Mafia II will not please him with anything here. Initially, the developers from 2K Czech set themselves a completely different task — to create a gangster saga, tell a story, twist the plot in such a way that the player would be breathtaking. And, in my opinion, they coped with it quite well. Of course, people who are well acquainted with gangster-gangster movie classics will rightly note that plot twists shamelessly copy either The Godfather, or Goodfellas, or The Untouchables, or even Prison Break, it seems. not at all related to the Italian mafia … But, honestly, tell me, did you, reading this article, watch and remember at least the four films listed? Not? Then feel free to take Mafia II and do not be afraid that the scenario will seem familiar to you. And for those who are firmly etched in the memory of these tapes, we recommend the new game also because they will like it, thanks to the “effect of anticipation and recognition”.
I also note that the quotes from the movies are very skillfully woven into the fabric of the narrative — you won’t immediately guess that you have a borrowing in front of you, and besides, you won’t understand where it came from! Yes, you also need to be able to quote, otherwise instead of a masterpiece you will get the already mentioned Godfather or even worse, Scarface, in which only the ubiquitous four-letter English curse remains from the whole atmosphere of the prototype film … Thank God, skill, talent, a finely developed sense of style, finally , allowed the scriptwriters from 2K Czech to skillfully compose a coherent storyline, combining their own successful ideas with quotes from the «big movie».
As you may have guessed, the content part of Mafia II was a complete success. Actually, the developers can make only one claim: the epic game should end with a similar ending, causing the player a real catharsis. In the language of philologists, at the end of the «History with a capital letter» should be put a spectacular point, not a vague ellipsis. You don’t have to look far for examples, because that’s exactly how — tough, scary and not at all a happy ending — the first «Mafia» ended.
However, in this age of sequels and expansions, the death of a protagonist is an unaffordable luxury for developers and publishers. That is why the game ends somehow at the wrong time, or something, not at all then and not as you expect, but at the most interesting place, leaving questions and slight bewilderment after completion. Well, the open ending of Mafia II is a victory of marketing over artistic taste, a visible embodiment of the fact that games in our time are more of a commercial product than a work of art. It remains only to accept and rejoice that this turned out to be the only deviation from the «big style» of the developers, albeit a very noticeable one, unfortunately.
Cards, money, two barrels
From the point of view of the gameplay, we still have the same good old «Mafia», i.e. «shooter» from a third person (TPS) in urban scenery with elements of «fighting» where it is needed in the story, and auto-driving (almost constantly, as in the first part of the game). The only noticeable innovation (of course, you have already guessed about it!) Is that a cover system was screwed to the warhead, without which no modern TPS can do. So fans of the first part, accustomed in recent years to comfortably smash the enemy because of all sorts of barrels, garbage cans, fallen trees and other obstacles, do not have to worry and relearn, painfully restoring old skills. Here, as they say, everything is for the good of a person, and in this case you are it.
Of course, what matters is not what parts the game mechanism is made of — it’s just difficult to invent something truly revolutionary — but how successfully it all works together and how interesting the gameplay is in general for the player. Let’s give credit to the developers: the tested skill did not let them down this time either — they will not let the player get bored from too long a car ride, too long and tedious shootout, too long a fight. Everything here is very appropriate and timely.
Boring sluggish negotiations suddenly turn into a hurricane of fire, a “stealth” mission (yes, there is such a thing in Mafia II!) At once turns into an escape from the police through half the city, and a routine and not the most dangerous task ends up with arrest and imprisonment … The game sums up the pace, varies rhythms, juggles gameplay elements, and, interestingly, such a seemingly whirlwind does not harm the epic in the least, but, on the contrary, favorably sets off and complements it. In my opinion, the second «Mafia» in this respect turned out to be stronger than the first, where there were often clearly drawn-out episodes that knocked down the dynamics of the story. In general, the developers managed not only to maintain the high level set by the original game, but also to surpass it in some ways, which, of course, can only be welcomed.
Beauty and its victims
But the technical implementation of the new game causes … (how to put it mildly) ambiguous sensations. Yes, visually Mafia II is incredibly beautiful. Compiled from the most famous compositions of New York, San Francisco, Washington and other American cities, Empire Bay, where the action takes place, is magnificent. And this city has a life of its own: people stumbling about their business, police chasing criminals and reckless drivers, loaders in a corner store unloading bread. Driving along the embankment past the docks, you can see how dockers and port workers busily scurry about their business. All this, of course, is great, but …
… But the heroic scope of programmers, artists and level designers from 2K Czech, in the end, alas, goes sideways to them (and to us!) The game slows down on machines of an average gaming configuration and upsets even owners of very powerful hardware with sudden errors. So do not rejoice and the owners of the coveted «Intel seven» — they are also not immune from braking. It’s hard to judge what is more influential here — the scale of the product itself, the unfinished 3D engine, or all together, it’s hard to judge, let’s wait for the corrections. In the meantime, if you don’t feel like watching slideshows, set your graphics settings to Medium and turn off PhysX. Trust me, you shouldn’t chase the unattainable, the game looks very good even in this form.
And one more thing to think about: Mafia II uses Steam to activate and update. Therefore, those who have problems with the Network, as well as lovers of pirated copies, should think carefully so as not to bite their elbows later.
Long live Hollywood!
In general, Mafia II is rather not a game, but an interactive movie about mafiosi. And if we consider the novelty from this point of view, it will immediately become clear where all its apparent shortcomings come from. Not enough «sandbox», like in GTA? Excuse me, because nothing should distract from the development of the plot, you can not destroy the dynamics of the story! The player is not given any freedom, every minute directing him to the final? That’s right, the main thing in the cinema is the director, and the actors are obliged to obey him, otherwise the film will come apart at the seams, etc., etc.
As a result, all explanations come down to one thing: purposefully or completely by accident, but the Czechs from 2K turned out to be a game-movie or a movie-game — rearrange the words as you like, the meaning will not change. And it’s pointless to lament about what the game doesn’t have and shouldn’t have: it’s better to enjoy what it has, especially since everything — let’s forgive the developers for technical problems — is done at the highest level. Although, as usual, I repeat: you choose, there are no comrades for the taste and color.
Mafia II
System requirements: Pentium D-3000 (Quad Core-2400 recommended), 1.