Mafia: Definitive Edition - remake of Mafia from Hangar 13

[Jack Of Owls]

I remember trying to play the original when it was first released and finding the combat so clunky and annoying that it was just one big "Fuck this." Did like the premise and open world however, but even there I felt like I was trapped in some bad and surreal video game world/movie with the characters outside of cutscenes and main quest dialogue speaking the same thing over and over in a nightmarish Dickian loop. This is not good if you're going for the immershon thing. Uninstalled not too soon after. Hopefully the remake is better.

 

[cvv]

Seems the Internet agrees, though I sure don't. I wasn't merely attracted to the setting of the original Mafia, but the hardcore sim-like design. Take the setting out of the equation and this remake looks like every other big budget title on the market - cover shooting, GPS, skippable driving segments. The first mission sums it up. In the original you're given free rein to avoid a chasing car. In the remake you're chased by multiple cars, and required to drive through several pre-arranged construction sites which activate a brief cutscene to crash the chasing cars one at a time.

Last time I played the OG was 15 years ago so I don't remember it too clearly but people are edgelording the streamlining way too much. It's not like the OG was a hardcore sim while the remake is Assassin's Creed. Outside the cover system all the changes are p. slight.

I actually like the barrier system a lot. It's not "press X to win", like some nostalgiafags make it out to be. When you're chased by the cops, you can look at the map, find the nearest spot (there aren't too many), navigate to it, while being constantly rammed and shot at and then hit a small opening at high speed. Plus that won't shake the cops automatically (the Prologue are an exception, it's not how the system works in the rest of the game), it'll only give you some time to lose the cops for real.

And dumping on the cover system is just pure nostalgiafaggotry, I hate this stupid mindset so much. Just shitting on something because it's new. It's like saying CGA was better than EGA and EGA better than VGA. Mafia OG didn't have a cover system because it didn't exist yet. Afaik the first example of a cover system in this type of game (3rd person, camera over the shoulder) was introduced in the first Uncharted and that was 5 years later. I'm p. sure if it existed earlier and Illusion Softworks saw it they'd definitely put it in the game. After all Mafia 2 already has a cover system.

But I do have a beef with the combat. The cover system is definitely a plus, unfortunately it's way worse than Mafia 2 for some reason. It's kindda....janky? Oh and the crosshair is probably the worst one I've ever seen. It's an absolute joke. Plus the movement during combat is a bit janky too, sometimes your dude gets stuck and can't move or turn properly. Dunno, people say it's a bad M&K implementation, apparently it's fine with a controller so take it as you will. Overall combat was my least favourite thing about the remake - not terrible, not great - but not because of the cover system. Everything else is stellar and I had a blast playing this.

EDIT: Oh and GPS is bad, I'll give you that. I was p. shocked when I realized it's there even on Classic and you can't turn it of. That's a big WTF, no way around it.

 

[Ol' Willy]

And dumping on the cover system is just pure nostalgiafaggotry, I hate this stupid mindset so much. Just shitting on something because it's new. It's like saying CGA was better than EGA and EGA better than VGA. Mafia OG didn't have a cover system because it didn't exist yet. Afaik the first example of a cover system in this type of game (3rd person, camera over the shoulder) was introduced in the first Uncharted and that was 5 years later. I'm p. sure if it existed earlier and Illusion Softworks saw it they'd definitely put it in the game. After all Mafia 2 already has a cover system.

Cover system as we know it was first seen in 1999 Winback (and once again, it's fucking Japs who invent all the shit and decline). It was shit back then, it's shit now.

 

[Dedicated_Dark]

The ending is some melodramatic crap.
The dude gets shot then is surrounded by his family and he dies spouting some bullshit about family. Completely ruined the cynicism of the original. Fckn garbage!

 

[J_C]

The ending is some melodramatic crap.
The dude gets shot then is surrounded by his family and he dies spouting some bullshit about family. Completely ruined the cynicism of the original. Fckn garbage!

Welp, they really fucked it up, it this is true.

 

[cvv]

The ending is some melodramatic crap.
The dude gets shot then is surrounded by his family and he dies spouting some bullshit about family. Completely ruined the cynicism of the original. Fckn garbage!

In the original Tommy gets shot and muses about strong values, in marriage and war, and balance in life. In DE he says pals come and go but family is forever. He is surrounded by his family because they heard the shot and ran over to him.

Terrible, totally not like original!

The autism ITT could power a carrier.

 

[JDR13]

Are all you fucking misanthropes too stupid to use spolier tags?

 

[ADL]

Welp, they really fucked it up, it this is true.

It is. I wish I never bought this and played the original instead.

Are all you fucking misanthropes too stupid to use spolier tags?

It's been almost twenty years and anyone who played Mafia 2 had Mafia 1 spoiled. Want people to spoil tag that Darth Vader is Luke's father too while I'm at it?

 

[Dedicated_Dark]

Are all you fucking misanthropes too stupid to use spolier tags?

My statement starts with

The ending is some melodramatic crap.

Wtf did you think the rest of it was going to be!? Use your brain first.

 

[JDR13]

Want people to spoil tag that Darth Vader is Luke's father too while I'm at it?

Wait...what? I thought Anakin was Luke's father!

 

[thesecret1]

Seems I better avoid this like the plague and simply play OG Mafia (for the 15th time)

 

[aweigh]

I don't understand... why did they change story scenes and dialog?

 

[ADL]

I don't understand... why did they change story scenes and dialog?

So they wouldn't have to give the bad alt-right man a writing credit.

 

[Multidirectional]

So they wouldn't have to give the bad alt-right man a writing credit.

Yeah the fact that they didn't even bother consulting with him about this "Definitive Edition" says a lot.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Want people to spoil tag that Darth Vader is Luke's father too while I'm at it?

Wait...what? I thought Anakin was Luke's father!

He is.

 

[d1r]

I don't understand... why did they change story scenes and dialog?

Because we live in the year 2020, and everything that the white man has created must be turned into shit.

 

[J_C]

The autism ITT could power a carrier.

I LOL'ed at this. XD

 

[Ol' Willy]

Dan Vavra did nothing wrong

 

[Paul_cz]

I was enjoying the remake despite its issues (lot of cut city rides resulting in too fast a pacing that does not let events have proper impact, stupid whack-a-mole cover combat, idiotic UI markers, overly scripted linearity..) and then the final cutscene comes that just....made me really sad at how badly Haden Blackman rewrote and mangled the ending. Instead of the impactful ending we get cringefest about FAMILY DUH.

A true shame, because it soured my opinion of the overall game. Still, apart from the ending it was a flawed, but good effort.

Dan Vávra did a charity stream yesterday of playing the remake (a bit) and talking about all kinds of stuff. 6 hours but it was super fun, I managed the whole thing until 1:15AM when they ended it.
Obviously in cz
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/753813...5NtIdmHg1z_UKBiEdxXjkrTye3cOHqAErjc&sr=a&t=0s

The streamer guy showed him the ending too and his reaction exactly mirrored my own...his first words upon seeing it were "what's the time limit for getting a refund on steam?" :D

 

[cvv]

and then the final cutscene comes that just....made me really sad at how badly Haden Blackman rewrote and mangled the ending.

Ok now seriously, what was the original ending about, in your own words, and why it was great whereas the DE ending is terrible. No emotes, no ediness, just proper, prestigious Codex explanation.

Btw that stream yesterday was an absolute blast, watched it all, drank alongside the guys my 16 years old Lagavulin. It was a treasure trove of behind-the-scenes Mafia lore. Too bad most fellow Codex aspies can't into Czech.

 

[J_C]

and then the final cutscene comes that just....made me really sad at how badly Haden Blackman rewrote and mangled the ending.

Ok now seriously, what was the original ending about, in your own words, and why it was great whereas the DE ending is terrible. No emotes, no ediness, just proper, prestigious Codex explanation.

Btw that stream yesterday was an absolute blast, watched it all, drank alongside the guys my 16 years old Lagavulin. It was a treasure trove of behind-the-scenes Mafia lore. Too bad most fellow Codex aspies can't into Czech.

New one (start at 20:41):


Original (start at 5:53):


If you can't see how cliched, watered down the new one is after watching them side by side, I can't say anything to convince you.

Also, why the fuck is he smiling when he realizes that they will shoot him? Why is the text cropped to 1 sentence, when he talks a lot more about life in the original? Fuck this shit!

 

[cvv]

If you can't see how cliched, watered down the new one is after watching them side by side, I can't say anything to you.

Yeah, it's clear you can't say anything, except "it's bad".

 

[Paul_cz]

Ok now seriously, what was the original ending about, in your own words, and why it was great whereas the DE ending is terrible. No emotes, no ediness, just proper, prestigious Codex explanation.

I am not going to be explaining the endings when they are selfexplanatory. Hell even Vávra explained it to you on the stream. But hey, you are welcome to like the change.

You know, the world isn't run by the law written on paper. It's run by people, some according to laws, others not. It depends on each individual how his world would be, how he makes it. And you also need a whole lot of luck, so that somebody else doesn't make your life hell. And it ain't as simple as they tell you in grade school. But it is good to have strong values and to maintain them, in marriage, in crime, in war, always and everywhere. I messed up, so did Paulie and Sam. We wanted a better life but, in the end, we were a lot worse off than most other people. You know, I think it's important to keep a balance in things. Yeah balance, that's the right word. Because the guy who wants too much risks losing absolutely everything. Of course the guy who wants too little from life, might not get anything at all.

vs

Remember that money, jobs, even the best pals come and go. But family? Family is forever.

Everyone is welcome to make their own conclusions about what ending is more interesting.

 

[J_C]

If you can't see how cliched, watered down the new one is after watching them side by side, I can't say anything to you.

Yeah, it's clear you can't say anything, except "it's bad".

Alright. The original is better it talks more about life. How things are not black and white, who you shouldn't want too much, because you might lose everything, but if you strive for too little, you might not get anything. That's why you have to keep the balance. He talks about how they messed up with Sam and Paulie. This gives a lot more closure to the character.

In the new one: Family, you are safe now. You are safe now. Keep balance in your life. END.

The whole new one is cut for short attention span retards. Happy?

 

[cvv]

Everyone is welcome to make their own conclusions about what ending is more interesting.

Both final monologues are banal, Hollywood-grade pseudo-philosophising, that's my whole point. The original soliloquy isn't some Scorsese-grade deep wisdom about life, it was written by a 21 year old dude who just saw Goodfellas. So sorry, the idea that DE somehow destroyed the meaningfulness of the original is very entertaining to me. Just another example of blind nostalgia at works.

DE does a few things worse - i.e. it's a bit less realistic than OG, Vavra said so yesterday and I agree - but the writing is not one of them.