The scenario of Mafia Definitive Edition is identical to that of its ancestor and therefore propels us into the 30s, in a context of prohibition and financial crisis. The missions stretch from 1930 to 1938, over the testimony of Tommy Angelo. This former taxi driver, who by chance became a member of organized crime, confesses all his misdeeds to Detective Norman in the hope of police protection. Very largely inspired by films like the Godfather, the Goodfellas or even Scarface, the adventure increases in power over the missions, until its famous and brutal finale, which retrospectively makes the link with Mafia 2. Both mafia and cinematographic, the atmosphere has lost none of its strength while the story is still just as interesting. It must be said that this remake follows the twenty original missions quite scrupulously, and even takes up the titles. Admittedly, some passages have been touched up here and there, but these modifications generally work for a good cause. Either to make the gameplay more fluid by improving and modernizing the level design, or to reinforce the characterization of the characters by redesigning certain cinematic scenes. Thus, the appearances of Sarah, Sam or even Paulie are more numerous. Paulie's evolution is certainly the most interesting, Tommy's sidekick being funnier, touching and disturbing than ever. The cigars and diamonds mission has meanwhile been revamped in a way that even connoisseurs of the original Mafia will be surprised. And the remake even allows itself to add small entire game areas, just to extend certain missions (relaxation sequence after the car race, Big Biff store in Chinatown, etc.). Some of its additions are even subtle enough for most players to miss. A word of advice on this subject: when you drive Paulie home, don't rush stupidly towards the objective indicator. Instead, pay attention to what he says and follow his alcoholic and deliberately vague vocal prompts. You will then finish the mission in a completely different district.
FAMOUS MAFIOUS
Details of this kind, the game does not lack. For example, if you drive on the wrong side of the road during the first taxi missions, the cantankerous old woman will not fail to point this out to you. She will even end up leaving your vehicle if you are too careless. The dialogues during the trips are always well managed, your interlocutors not hesitating to resume their conversation where it was interrupted (if you momentarily leave your car for example). Since we are talking about vehicles, know that you can drive about fifty of them, ranging from the old jew's harp to the sports car, passing by the ice cream truck or the postal van. Icing on the cake, it is now possible to ride motorcycles. Considered by the Illusion Softworks studio twenty years ago, this option was finally abandoned during development. The Hangar 13 studio, which is at the controls of this remake, gratifies us with some good additional ideas, such as this "augmented" guidance system taken from Mafia III (sober indicator panels appear in the sets to let you know if you must go straight, left or right at each road fork). And when a mission asks you to go to a specific location, a discreet parking space painted on the ground encourages you to stop in the right place. If the modernizations of this type pleasantly simplify the life of the players, Mafia Definitive Edition has all the same thought of the demanding nostalgics. It is thus possible to choose between "standard" or "simulation" driving, an automatic or manual transmission, and a moderately reactive police (which only reacts to crimes) or intransigent (which will pursue you for simple speeding or failure to obey traffic lights). The maximum difficulty mode allows you to find a realistic reloading of weapons, which causes the ammunition that was still present in the magazine to be lost.
A GOLD FAMILY
Despite their 30s engines, the vehicles are quite pleasant to drive, in addition to being quite widely customizable. As for the fights, they have been modernized and are modeled on classic third-person confrontations, with plating against various cover elements (door frames, crates, etc.). Nothing great or extraordinary, but it does the job. After all, the stark shootouts of 2002 were also far from flawless. As for the graphics, they are simply out of all proportion to the angular models and runny textures of yesteryear. The game is unquestionably beautiful, and even very beautiful at times. It turns out to be even more pleasing to the eye than the remaster of Mafia II. From a technical point of view as well as from that of the artistic direction, there is really nothing to complain about. Special mention for Don Salieri's facial expressions, which manage to be both fine and very expressive, thanks to a perfect combination of precise motion capture and subtle acting.
The sound aspect is not left out since the original version is absolutely perfect, while the version dubbed in French is clearly at the top of the basket. As for the soundtrack, it combines a striking main theme and radio stations dedicated to nice jazzy music. We are even entitled to news bulletins referring not only to past or future missions, but also to the current weather or to the city of Empire Bay, thus reinforcing the link between Mafia and Mafia II. However, not everything is perfect in this remake since we still deplore some shortcomings compared to the original game: the secondary missions given by Lucas Bertone seem to have disappeared, and the Freeride Extreme mode is not there. . We just have the right to free circulation mode, just to be able to enjoy a little more of the open-world. Moreover, the relentless of gta-like who would still not have understood that Mafia is above all a succession of "linear" missions located in an open world may find that all this lacks secondary activities. For our part, we greatly prefer a catchy and well-crafted scenario to a sandbox that overflows everywhere... Finally, a few rare bugs still need to be corrected, such as this badly "timed" foot chase, these problems with collisions during hand-to-hand combat, or even this very specific problem which makes the interior of cars disappear for a frame or two. Not enough to sulk our pleasure!
