May 15, 2003 - At the Gotham Games' booth today, IGN got a hands-on with the PlayStation 2 version of Mafia. The mob-based stealth game that struck a chord with PC gamers just a few years ago is finding a home on PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube at year's end 2003.
In development with Illusion, Mafia is a relatively unaltered port from the original. Developer Illusion plans to deliver the game as accurately as possible from the original PC code, so all of the gameplay, cutscenes, story, etc., will all arrive and play just like on the PC. The on-hand GOD Games producer explained that minor tweaks will be made to fit or correct the game according to the console.
Mafia is a third-person stealth shooter that takes place over a rough seven-year period and which follows the story of a mob member who admits his entire life story to a Federal Government Agent. During that time, players are placed into a 20-mission set of scenarios emphasizing stealth aspects and smart cover-based street combat.
Actually, that's only about 50% of the game; the other 50% is driving. The player finds himself acquiring lock-picks to specific vehicles and ventures on missions. For example, in the first mission, you are a taxi driver helping a guy get away from the cops; in another mission he takes a mafia member to beat someone with a bat, and in another situation you must torch a restaurant or a hotel. The cars drive more realistically that Grand Theft Auto III, and several elements illustrate this perfectly. Car tires are shot out, headlights are blown, and players can even run out of fuel. For the console version, the cars will drive faster and easier, IGN learned today.
Since the game is called Mafia, incorporates several of the more classic mob-like weapons. Players get their hands on shotguns, Luparas (Italian sawed-off shotguns), Tommy Guns, sniper rifles (it's actually a modified rifle: a Springfield with a scope).
The level we played features your character dropping down into a church from the rooftop. The third-person camera is stiff and follows him like the camera in Hitman, it's functional but often times awkward. At this point, the framerate is average in speed, and is surely going to pick up, probably to a steady 30 FPS in the final version. You find a shotgun in the upper loft and after descending into the stairs a cutscene portrays a small ceremony in progress. As soon as you reach the floor, however, all hell breaks loose. You can walk, run, dive, roll, jump, crouch and climb.
In this scenario, enemies duck underneath pews and try to mix in with civilians, popping up every few seconds to shoot at you. Sneak behind the main wall to hide and re-group, backtracking to the loft to get health if needed. This is by no means a stealth mission; instead, it's a hide and shoot, step-by-step mission that requires players to move slowly and eliminate the enemies one by one. As you reach the exit door, three hidden mobsters come out to blast you with shotguns, and a single shot will kill you dead at medium to close range.
In the end, Mafia is going to give console players an older but nonetheless good stealth game that blends solid stealth and third-person shooting with a varied set of driving missions. If Illusion can port the game with skill and efficiency, rather than crunching out a rush job, console gamers will indeed dig it.
Mafia is confirmed for Xbox
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