Mafia is AMAZING! (1 Viewer)

[Chris Bardon]

I've been playing through this for a little while, and have noticed that it's a damn hard game. Took a bunch of tried to get sam out of the motel in the second mission (I think I got the hang of the strategy now though), but now I'm stuck on the race sequence. I'd like to see how the game unfolds, but can't make it by that stupid mission.

 

[James Zos]

It's a great mission! I love the race, even though I had to play through it mulitiple times. The trick for me was to establish an early lead. The race is realistic, in that the AI doesn't artificially help you out like so many other race games. If you fall far behind, you're in trouble.
As for overall difficulty, you have to know when to reload and which gun bests suits you. Some guns load more quickly and have less kick back, making targeting easier.

 

[Andy Sheets]

Of course, there's a nice cheat to get through the race mission.
When you get to that side road on the left, just drive down that until you get to the other side and hit the checkpoint. Then push the button that sets your car back on the track when you wipe out. It'll actually put you right there at the checkpoint you just passed. You can then drive past the race's starting point and it'll put you down for a lap, and you'll be way ahead of everyone else. Repeat until the race ends and you'll have a much better time than the next closest racer

 

[Frederic_A]

I've found that cars handle considerably better when using a joystick. Also, applying clutch while revving up before the race starts seems to put you in the lead pretty fast - the trick, of course, lies in maintaining it, but generally, you can drive faster than the other cars, so once you've got a good lead, you can even mess up big (like I did wrapping my car around a tree) and still win.

I'm a latecomer to this one, but I'm very impressed. Since this is HTF, let me just say how much the look they've achieved - especially when driving around the city - just keeps reminding me of classics like Chinatown, Godfather and the Untouchables. The attention to detail would make any production designer proud, and there's just something about that light...

But I have to contradict people claiming that this game has the best voice acting. Sure, overall, I like the voices, Tommy especially, but both he and the other actors keep putting the wrong emphasis on their words (like when the cop in the intro says: "I see where YOU'RE coming from". Huh? As opposed to whom?). The fault probably lies with the voice directing. It seems like the actors didn't get enough time to make sure they get their lines right, and that it wasn't made clear enough to them how they should sound. Another example would be Tommy and Sarah in her apartment after he's walked her home.
This is well below the cinema-like standard that the other elements in the game achieve. (GTA3, on the other hand, has a markedly higher standard of acting.)

The rest still more than makes up for it, though.

 

[Frederic_A]

I've moved this post (about modding the music) to its own thread, titled: "Making Mafia even more cinematic": http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...hreadid=103792

 

[BrianShort]

I'm resurrecting this thread since I found Mafia at Wal-Mart for $10. I haven't picked it up yet, but I think I will. How can you go wrong with an excellent game (from the sounds of it) for only $10? I will probably wait to play it until I get a new video card though... My GeForce 2 GTS 32 megger probably wont cut it at max detail and high resolution... or will it? I played the demo a long while back, and I seem to remember having to turn the texture detail down to get a good framerate... but I could be mistaken.

Brian

 

[Scott L]

Funny you should resurrect this, my friend just started playing it again while I was watching him. The music is really cool, puts you in the right atmosphere. $10 I'll definitely grab this and get some Fs in my classes!

 

[BrianShort]

I did pick this up today for $10 at Wal-Mart... it actually runs pretty decently with the detail up even on my Athlon XP 1700+, GeForce 2 GTS 32 meg, 256 meg ram, Windows XP system, though it could be a touch smoother probably.

It's quite fun and addicting so far... I'm only about 3 missions in, and it's kept me up past my bedtime just driving around the city.

A couple of questions...

Is there a way to increase the draw ahead distance? It seems pretty short as is and I haven't found an option to increase it.

It looks like some areas of the city are locked at the beginning? If so, how much extra stuff is there to unlock?

Thanks!

Brian

 

[TyC]

More stuff is unlocked as time goes on. Also there are lots of easter eggs and hidden sites in the game.

 

[BrianShort]

Thanks! I see there is actually quite a bit of countryside and a racetrack I'll be able to explore... I can't wait to try out the more powerful cars and the race cars... so far the best I can get without cheating is in free ride mode, jacking one of those small gangster cars.
I actually did find the draw ahead option, but it's all the way up... it still doesn't seem like it's that far ahead, especially if I get a more powerful video card and more ram.
I like how it's not a piece of cake to outrun the cops in this game, and they will actually stop you for traffic violations.
The one thing I found that I didnt like... in free ride, I managed to get a police car to pull over, and as the cops climbed out, I shot them before they could close the doors, but it still didn't let me jack the police car :frowning:
Brian:

 

[TyC]

You didn't know how to steal a cop car of that type. As time goes on, Ralph or Lucas will teach you how to steal a similar sedan. Then you can take cop cars for a joyride. (No, you can't pull other cars over.)
Also, if the police see you commit an offense and get to a phone booth or their car radio, they will notify all cops. Then they may organize a roadblock.

 

[Frank Grimes]

I just purchased a new computer (P4 2.6, 512MB Ram, ATI 9600Pro) to replace my worthless Gateway. I haven't been into the PC gaming scene since the original Deus Ex, so I hadn't heard of this game. I planned on spending $50 on this game to pop my new PC's cherry, so let's just say when I found out it's an older title going for $10 at Wally World, I was pretty happy. Let you know how I like it once I get my PC in...

 

[BrianShort]

Lemme know how that 9600 Pro is... I'm looking at getting one to replace my GeForce 2 heh...

Mafia runs just fine on my PC (except for some occational annoying pausing during driving)... but I only have 256 megs of ram on an XP system... otherwise it's just fine.

Brian