Mafia: The Old Country Releases on August 8 (linear, narrative-driven game priced at $49.99/€49.99/£44.99)

This will be a fantastic game, lot of OG Mafia devs are still working on it. Hopefully they manage to somehow extract good performance out of that accursed engine though.
 
Linear = hard pass

Non-Linear games are mostly a slog, theres very few that actually manage to fill their open worlds with meaningful things to do, or have any logical reason for the game being non-linear to begin with.
If it aint an RPG its very rare that a game benefits from being non-linear.

It'll sell like gangbusters..

- Good game
- Great graphics
- First player story
- No DEI
- Well priced

Very clear formula here, as proven by Astrobot and CO33.

I take it CO33 is Expedition 33?
You posit Expedition 33 doesnt have DEI?

Linear? Wasn't Mafia supposed to be open world? And they're charging Claire Obscura levels of money instead of $70? Some red flags for sure.

Mafia 1 and 2 were both linear.
Mafia 3 wasnt and its widely regarded as the weakest because of that.
Remember Mafia 3 would arbitrarily lock you from going forward in the story to do those neighborhood take downs or whatever they were called.
IDGAF about that nonsense, let me move forward in the story if I want to move forward in the story......imply the family took over the neighborhood through good story telling and mission design.

Hell one of the most popular Mafia 3 mods literally gets rid of all the open world fluff, I think that tells you what gamers actually want from a Mafia game.

Yeah fuck em as well and their overpriced games, but in this case, its priced right so no fucking,

Hahaha. You a werido mane.
Fuck all the companies that overprice their games.....except when they dont overprice their games, then we are good.
Wouldnt it be better to just say fuck overpriced games not the companies themselves cuz Take-Two, Microsoft, Ubisoft, EA all have games from like 40bucks all the way up to fuck you money.
 
Hahaha. You a werido mane.
Fuck all the companies that overprice their games.....except when they dont overprice their games, then we are good.
Wouldnt it be better to just say fuck overpriced games not the companies themselves cuz Take-Two, Microsoft, Ubisoft, EA all have games from like 40bucks all the way up to fuck you money.

As a general rule fuck all big triple A corporations, however I can't fully dismiss them when something good slips between their cracks, like with EA and Josef Fares. You gotta fuck them when they;re greedy and not fuck them when they're not, and just like that you train them to do more good than worse. Basically, vote with your wallet when it matters. Completely denying Ubisoft, EA, MS, etc. is extremist and we really don't need that shit anymore in real life, we already got them in politics.
 
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It's a good step in the right direction. It seems remaking the first game has reminded them of what a Mafia game should be.

Sicily looks absolutely beautiful too.

Vegas next please.
 
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Personally never been fussed with mafia open world in mafia 1 and mafia 2.

They mostly served as backdrops, and tbh i actually preferred it.

Mafia 3 is when they it started hurting the game, as it started to introduce your typical open world repetetive missions.
 
I'm surprised as to why this is 50. And this comes from Take2. Almost makes you wonder... what's the catch?

Might get this along with MindsEye.
 
There was a lot of "you" when Ubi dropped "Watch Dogs gameplay trailer".

I know that's how you think. I think you're mistaken. I don't see anyone agreeing with you or anyone besides you maintaining the gameplay trailer has no gameplay. I checked the original video, and I didn't see anyone there saying it, either. They're saying it's nice to see some gameplay.

Also, the points you made don't make much sense. For instance, Lack of UI doesn't mean it's a scripted cutscene. UI can be turned off for the sake of visual presentation in trailers. So, I don't find you persuasive. But as I said, you're certainly entitled to your opinion. Maybe you're right and everyone else is wrong. However, from my POV, the trailer is a mix of cinematics and gameplay.

Anyway, it's a trivial dispute, and I'm going to let it drop. Cheers.
 
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You've summed up today. I can't tell if its tiktok brain or trolling.
It just looks way too scripted. With forced stealth sections, going through the crack in the walls (hello modern gaming), the autoaim on the gun in the trailer. The horrible camera swerving when driving

It doesnt remind me of anything close to actual mafia.

This looks good. Just hope it's a meaty campaign. Kind of reminds me a bit of uncharted which is great.

Exactly, it looks super lineair and nothing new, it looks like some Uncharted shit.

People hating on Minds Eye while this game looks way more generic.
 
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No hud, no character movements from input, camera flying around for cinematic effect. See ya at the DF review with another good example of ue5 stutters.
Just like the GTAV trailer doesnt mean its not ingame just because its made with a dev cam.. jesus christ we gotta stop the retardedness
No hud doesnt mean jack shit
 
This is being made by the mafia 3 team so I dont know anyone would have faith in this
Well , its simple. The combat, shooting, executions, hand to hand stuff is great in Mafia 3. Story, presentation aswell. Other aspects dragged that game down to a halt. Which this game doesn't have.
 
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I was thoroughly impressed with everything they showed, and even more impressed by the price point. Day 1 for me, just need to decide iff this is a ps5pro or PC title.
 
Day 1 for me, just need to decide if this is a ps5pro or PC title.

Yeah, I wonder if it'll have a PS5 Pro upgrade of any sort. Hope so, although I wouldn't bet on it (2K released several games recently that didn't have Pro upgrades). I haven't seen any info one way or another yet.
 
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This is being made by the mafia 3 team so I dont know anyone would have faith in this

This has brought back a good number of the Mafia 1 and 2 teams.
And Haden isnt writing or directing this.

Alex Cox is lead.......Alex is the guy who lead the Mafia Definitive Edition......likely part of the reason the game is going back to the Mafia 1/2 style structure

Fun fact:
The director of photography from Mafia 1 who became the director of animations in Mafia 2 who then ended up being the director of cinematics in Mafia DE and is currently head of production and media.
Was the face of Mafia 1s boxart and also the gangster in between the IIs in Mafia 2.

m9MvXV0.png



kZaFBpC.png



No hud, no character movements from input, camera flying around for cinematic effect.

They have shown gameplay and it looks just like the trailer.
Post effects are probably pushed to max in the trailer but it is the gameplay cuz no one would actually play with that much motion blur.

See ya at the DF review with another good example of ue5 stutters.

This isnt UE5.2 anymore so yeah we'll be seeing ya.

TCVJypX.png
 
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Will wait for reviews, I think. A 10 hours campaign that's a 10/10, like an Uncharted 2, is worth the asking price, but a 10 hours 7/10 campaign I'd still wait for a sale on (or more likely just not play ever). Something tells me it's more the latter.
 
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Post effects are probably pushed to max
Nah, I'm not talking about graphics, it's on the level with other good looking games on UE5. I'm saying that it's not a raw gameplay capture which means the end result could be different. And usually it's not a good sign.

This isnt UE5.2 anymore
I'm sorry, the selected text is about Clair Obscure? If yes, why CO and not Oblivion Remastered? There was some "gameplay footage" in the OR trailer too.
 
Nah, I'm not talking about graphics, it's on the level with other good looking games on UE5. I'm saying that it's not a raw gameplay capture which means the end result could be different. And usually it's not a good sign.

ohh you wanted a 2 minutes trailer thats only uninterrupted direct feed gameplay?
Yet it was also supposed to show off different locales, combat, stealth, cars, horses.........
Okay whatever.

I'm sorry, the selected text is about Clair Obscure? If yes, why CO and not Oblivion Remastered? There was some "gameplay footage" in the OR trailer too.

Cuz its the only mass market game I know running on Unreal Engine 5.4.
Oblivion Remastered is running on Unreal Engine 5.3 and underpinned by Gamebryo.


Its fair to assume games coming out later will be using later versions of Unreal.
So im not expecting to see to many major titles shipping on 5.2 or 5.1 going forward.
 
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I'm surprised as to why this is 50. And this comes from Take2. Almost makes you wonder... what's the catch?

GTA6 raking in billions for them next year might've made them a bit relaxed on the price lol who knows

They'll more than make up for it if Mafia doesnt sell a bazillion copies (which it wont)
 
Mafia began its life as a sim. Original creators would not go for anything this sloppy. Trailer obviously cut by some chick fresh out of college who'd rathet be working on a streaming Marvel show.
I don't know man. I can at least understand if your issue was with the number of shots, even if that is a bit nitpicky imo. But now it is about a reload animation not being shown in a brief snippet. And then it's "obviously cut by some chick fresh out of college". Your posts are getting more and more unreasonable as you dig your heels in, when you could just as easily give them the benefit of the doubt. If the actual game has inconsistent shots, then by all means raise it. Currently, I think there is room for a more charitable interpretation.
 
Non-Linear games are mostly a slog, theres very few that actually manage to fill their open worlds with meaningful things to do, or have any logical reason for the game being non-linear to begin with.
If it aint an RPG its very rare that a game benefits from being non-linear.
Regardless, if I'm playing a game, I want to get lost in the simulated world and progress the story on my own terms. I'd rather relax and watch a movie versus playing a linear game.
 
Mafia I remake is really nice and I suggest who love the series to play it because it deserves if you missed it.
The price is a also a bonus surprise and imo it proves that industry not needs to charge 80 bucks to provide an excellent game.
 
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When he says linear rather than open-world, I believe he's talking about something akin to what you saw in the first two games. Although there were some "open world" elements - more in 2 than 1 - they were awfully limited. There wasn't much interactivity in the world, apart from the driving itself. You could stop at a gun shop, a gas station, a body shop, and a few other places, but that's about it (even less in the first game). It wasn't "open world" except in the sense that you could drive around and do a few minor activities. Almost all of the game was focused on progressing the storyline. No real side content (some via DLC).

I didn't play the third game - I tried, but it didn't interest me - but I believe it was more open-world than the earlier ones. That game did not do so well, so I imagine they are pulling back from that approach and returning to the structure of the first two games. That's how I'm interpreting it, anyhow.

This is good news to me. I am tired of how modern games throw so much "content" at you, as if more was better. I prefer a shorter, more focused, story-driven experience. Appreciate the price point, too.

Doesn't sound like they're saying that at all, they're explicitly saying the game doesn't have an open world. All the previous games, including the original, definitely did, there just weren't a lot of side activities etc. It was a linear story set in an open world. This seems like the game itself is fully linear, including the environments.
 
Regardless, if I'm playing a game, I want to get lost in the simulated world and progress the story on my own terms. I'd rather relax and watch a movie versus playing a linear game.

Weird flex but okay.
 
Doesn't sound like they're saying that at all, they're explicitly saying the game doesn't have an open world. All the previous games, including the original, definitely did, there just weren't a lot of side activities etc. It was a linear story set in an open world. This seems like the game itself is fully linear, including the environments.

NO.
Mafia was linear, you were never NOT on a mission unless you selected the free roam mode(which was as the name suggest a different game mode).
Even if the mission was just go home.
Of course there was no time limit on certain missions to do whatever so you could just explore the city........

So unlike traditional open world games where you can finish a mission and actually be free to do whatever you want next as there is no explicit next objective, you can then decide I want to go visit Maria or Peter or Bruce or do some other side content or whatever
With Mafia games they always told you what to do next, you couldnt decide what happened next, the next story mission was always next.


This game is the same.

If the next story mission starts at a certain bar, youll have to ride/drive to that bar, that is the objective, you have no time limit so you can go wherever you want before you actually reach the bar.
 
Doesn't sound like they're saying that at all, they're explicitly saying the game doesn't have an open world. All the previous games, including the original, definitely did, there just weren't a lot of side activities etc. It was a linear story set in an open world. This seems like the game itself is fully linear, including the environments.

The messaging is a bit confusing, and it also depends what is meant when we say "open world." If we mean "open world" in the modern sense (GTA, etc), no, absolutely not. But "open" in the Mafia 1 or 2 sense, yeah, I think that's likely.

Here are the dev's words:

"I think the way that we would describe Mafia 1 and 2, and I think a lot of fans would, is it's a linear adventure that's set in a world around you that you can go off the beaten path and explore, but really the game's taking you down that path of the story. So I think if you use Mafia 1 or 2 as touch points of what it's like, that's certainly closer than Mafia 3."

And yes, that means it's not quite an open-world title, at least not in the "strictest sense", per Cox. Baynes added, "The way I describe it is you're not going to be playing Mafia: The Old Country and going off and doing endless side quests and doing activities in the world.

"We want players to go through and experience a story, but set in this beautiful world. And if you are going along a path and want to go over here and explore, in many cases, you can do that because the world exists around you. But we're encouraging you to go through the story."


Sounds a lot like Mafia 1 and 2.
 
This has brought back a good number of the Mafia 1 and 2 teams.
And Haden isnt writing or directing this.

Alex Cox is lead.......Alex is the guy who lead the Mafia Definitive Edition......likely part of the reason the game is going back to the Mafia 1/2 style structure

Fun fact:
The director of photography from Mafia 1 who became the director of animations in Mafia 2 who then ended up being the director of cinematics in Mafia DE and is currently head of production and media.
Was the face of Mafia 1s boxart and also the gangster in between the IIs in Mafia 2.

m9MvXV0.png



kZaFBpC.png

Very cool piece of trivia. I remember seeing the game (first one) for the first time at my cousins' house -- the logo/name combined with the stylized box art looked like the most hardcore thing ever to a twelve year-old.
 
I really hope that this is a sign the open world bubble is bursting.

I refer back to my previous post on the subject of how to fix development cycles in videogames:

voHoVWZ.jpeg


I'd need to see some deep dive into whether or not games are getting shorter (I doubt it, they seem as content rich as ever).
We've seen examples of games which got severely shit on for not looking better than the previous game (see WRC vs Dirt Rally 2).
And we've seen a lot of complaining about game costs...

But now Mafia is directly doing the second point in my post, by not just making its world smaller but even going so far as to change it to a linear game, and yet the response seems to be... indifference and even reasonable justifications for doing so.

I think the games industry may have just found the answer to its woes, both in terms of lengthy development cycles and management of costs: just make the game smaller in scope, because clearly I was wrong and gamers actually do not give a shit. So long as it looks good, plays good and still costs $50.

If we want massive open world spectacle, we have GTA for that.
 
MindsEye, Mafia and PS5 Gears this Summer, all in the span of three months😃

That's a hell of a nice trifecta of good ol days 7th gen cover shooters

All over my face por favor

*Seriously, with the wave of throwback masterpieces like Oblivion and reminders of what good once was with Clair Obscur coming through, I'm really digging this part of this gens timeline. Big time.
 
MindsEye, Mafia and PS5 Gears this Summer, all in the span of three months😃

That's a hell of a nice trifecta of good ol days 7th gen cover shooters

All over my face por favor

*Seriously, with the wave of throwback masterpieces like Oblivion and reminders of what good once was with Clair Obscur coming through, I'm really digging this part of this gens timeline. Big time.

The "gaming is dead" people are in shambles right now.

Many of them need Zoloft anyway, not more games.
 
NO.
Mafia was linear, you were never NOT on a mission unless you selected the free roam mode(which was as the name suggest a different game mode).
Even if the mission was just go home.
Of course there was no time limit on certain missions to do whatever so you could just explore the city........

So unlike traditional open world games where you can finish a mission and actually be free to do whatever you want next as there is no explicit next objective, you can then decide I want to go visit Maria or Peter or Bruce or do some other side content or whatever
With Mafia games they always told you what to do next, you couldnt decide what happened next, the next story mission was always next.


This game is the same.

If the next story mission starts at a certain bar, youll have to ride/drive to that bar, that is the objective, you have no time limit so you can go wherever you want before you actually reach the bar.

That's exactly what I'm saying. It was an open world, and you were pretty much free to go wherever in that world, but the there wasn't much reason to do so.
 
The messaging is a bit confusing, and it also depends what is meant when we say "open world." If we mean "open world" in the modern sense (GTA, etc), no, absolutely not. But "open" in the Mafia 1 or 2 sense, yeah, I think that's likely.

Here are the dev's words:

"I think the way that we would describe Mafia 1 and 2, and I think a lot of fans would, is it's a linear adventure that's set in a world around you that you can go off the beaten path and explore, but really the game's taking you down that path of the story. So I think if you use Mafia 1 or 2 as touch points of what it's like, that's certainly closer than Mafia 3."

And yes, that means it's not quite an open-world title, at least not in the "strictest sense", per Cox. Baynes added, "The way I describe it is you're not going to be playing Mafia: The Old Country and going off and doing endless side quests and doing activities in the world.

"We want players to go through and experience a story, but set in this beautiful world. And if you are going along a path and want to go over here and explore, in many cases, you can do that because the world exists around you. But we're encouraging you to go through the story."


Sounds a lot like Mafia 1 and 2.

I don't know, the official FAQ on their site has this question:

Does Mafia: The Old Country feature an open world?
No. Mafia: The Old Country is a linear, narrative-driven game.

That seems pretty clear to me. The answer isn't "yes, but the story is linear and there are no side activities", they're straight up saying that there is no open world.

Sounds to me like you will be going through different "wide linear" areas in order, and you're free to branch off a bit from the main path there, but there is no open, connected world. That also matches your developer quote.
 
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That's exactly what I'm saying. It was an open world, and you were pretty much free to go wherever in that world, but the there wasn't much reason to do so.

I don't know, the official FAQ on their site has this question:

That seems pretty clear to me. The answer isn't "yes, but the story is linear and there are no side activities", they're straight up saying that there is no open world.

Sounds to me like you will be going through different "wide linear" areas in order, and you're free to branch off a bit from the main path there, but there is no open, connected world. That also matches your developer quote.


This game is the same as Mafia 1.
There is an over world (or multiple) Mafia 1 spanned what 5 time periods?, but during the campaign you are on mission in said overworld.

They did a developer deep dive for PAX and explained that its very similar to 1.

You are directed to continue the story but as long as there is no time limit you are free to go wherever you want, and spend as much time enjoying the world they have modelled.

If they called this game open world then people go it in their hands and realized yes its an open map but in effect you are constantly on mission and there isnt an open world so to speak they would feel misled.
So saying it isnt open world but you can go wherever you want when the game lets you, keeps peoples expectations in check.

The term open world game and the term sandbox game have become interchangeable but alot of older game design where there is a large map wouldnt actually constitute open world by todays standards, because what people actually expect when you say open world game, is a sandbox game.
So better to nip it in the bud and NOT call it an open world game.
 
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