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Mafia (Jewel Case) | 
 enlarge | From: Global Star Software
Category: Video Games
List Price: $9.99
Buy New: $4.64
You Save: $5.35 (54%)
New (16) Used (10) from $2.68
Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 12646
Format: Cd-rom
Platforms: Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows Xp
ESRB: Adults Only
Media: CD-ROM
Edition: Jewel Case
Operating System: Windows 2000
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5.1 x 0.6
Model: 2133571
UPC: 778399005035
EAN: 0778399005035
ASIN: B0001PK3WE
Release Date: March 3, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: ******BRAND NEW****** ** Over 1.5 million orders shipped worldwide and more than 500 000 items in stock, BUY FROM A TRUSTED SOURCE, ESTABLISHED SINCE 1998 - INETVIDEO ~~~
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Product Description
Immerse yourself in a dangerous world of high-speed car chases, bank heists, bootlegging, assassinations, and brutal gang warfare. A brutal gang warfare in a story of crime, romance, and betrayal.
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| Customer Reviews:
 An amazing experience, and a pretty good game February 19, 2007
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
Whatever you feel about playing Mafia (PC), its place in gaming history is concrete. The very first open-world game to represent gangster life of the 1930s (and do so with a high degree of historical accuracy), Mafia drops the player into an alternate reality New York city. "Lost Heaven" is teeming with criminals, immigrants, and upper crust debutantes, each making their way in a fully realized cityscape of the past. Shantytowns, elegant Victorian era hotels, rural city outskirts, even a fully functional A-Train fresh off the engineer's drawing pad are at your disposal. Add in amazingly appropriate music tracks, a massive selection of ersatz 30s era jalopies, sympathetic characters living in a believable storyline, and great voice acting, and youve got a fully immersive experience. And the gameplay itself is nearly as good.
The developers made a commendable effort to give the player as much control over his environment as possible, and largely succeeded. The on-foot engine has a similar feel to the GTA (PC) scheme, and suffers some of the same frailties. A stiff somewhat unresponsive movement mechanic can make some basic interactions (like opening doors or hand to hand combat) awkward, but is honestly no worse than the average 3rd person shooter. And considering the lack of fistfighting required to advance, it's really not a hurdle. Much of the game is spent in vehicles, which is a saving grace of the gameplay. Like the boys at Rockstar, Mafia's developers (Illusion Softworks) are clearly car enthusiasts who put painstaking efforts into their digital machines. While none are licensed, car buffs will instantly recognize shapes, sounds and other characteristics of classic cars in Mafia's invented models. A Model T clone sputters and grinds its gears, emitting a perfect "A-OOOOO-GAH" horn blast; another closely resembles a Stutz Bearcat with its sleek lines, rumbling exhaust and powerful pull. There's even a brilliant race level where a vintage open formula racer gurgles, smokes, and squeals its way around the city's racetrack, leaving the player stunned with the sensation of speed and danger.
Unlike the world of GTA, however, Lost Heaven exists within an alternate reality instead of an inconsequential pulp-fiction fantasy universe. Bad behavior bears retribution in Lost Heaven: cars are not easy to steal (initially), traffic infractions result in tickets, and violent behavior brings grave consequences. Players who have completed the game certainly get this. And along with the compelling storyline comes a much stricter path of advancement. While the city is lovingly crafted with the finest era-specific details laid out over many square miles, there is honestly very little to do besides the main story missions. Besides indulging your wanderlust, visiting remote areas of the town bear no rewards beyond the visual. And close examination reveals a city that doesnt want to be examined. Many building textures are dull and low-res, and there is little interactivity with NPCs or objects beside cars. Buildings are non-enterable and even certain areas (like the racetrack and the countryside) are sealed off after their part in the storyline is played. And the "side-missions" are silly and superflous; probably only included to give the illusion of depth. This, for me, was the biggest disappointment of the game: that waking-from-a-dream feeling when I was continually reminded that Lost Heaven and the game overall were rather superficial or "fake". And that criticism only results from the occasional taste of the fully realized explorable universe Mafia could have been, although that may have been an impossible job for a small independent east European developer. I'm sure the game was a Herculean task as it is.
The graphical detail of Mafia supports what I've suspected for a while: that game level designers are frustrated architects. There are a few levels in Mafia, including the hotel assasination and farmhouse raid, that are just breathtaking. While the actual gameplay never strays too far from the simple "kill all bad guys" formula, I had to occasionally put down the tommygun and soak in the stunning atmosphere. Creeping about a deserted farmhouse on a stormy fall night in upstate Lost Heaven, not knowing if the next barn door I open would be my last, was a chilling experience. Sneaking around an opulent 19th century hotel detailed in near photorealism was a sight I can't begin to describe. (Screenshots you've seen dont do the game justice). Even if the game itself were mediocre, it would deserve a play just to witness the amazing level architecture. Yeah, that good.
So if you're a PC gamer who enjoys a solid adventure or 3rd person shooter, find time for Mafia if you havent already. As a final note, this is like so many other modern era 3-D PC games that flat out lie about system requirements. You really can't do the game justice without a decent rig, at least 2-2.5 gig P4 with a an Nvidia 6xxx or higher card. It eats some resources, but put it on a system that can display in a high resolution with no frame drop and it's an amazing experience. And I had good success with a Logitech Dual Action controller (in the left hand) and mouse (right hand) setup. The analog sticks are a great assistance with driving, although it will take some effort to map all the buttons to your liking. The jewel case version only lacks the complete manual, which is a nice but non-essential addition if you can run across the boxed retail version of the game.
 BOREING April 16, 2006
1 out of 8 found this review helpful
I had this game over a year trying to get it to play on my pc.Tech Support was no help at all.Finally I found by lowering the resolution i got it to play.Dont know why because my resolution max is only 1050 x 768.Hope this will help others having problems.The game was not worth the effort.The game is 90% Driving puzzle and 10% action.Every mission requires you to drive long distances through crowded streets.No speeding and stopping at red lights.At the same time trying to find a route to take you to your destination.Example :You are told to go to a mechanic 2 islands over, only certain bridges will get you there.He tells you to steal a car another long drive through the maze.When you get there stealing the car is only getting out of your car and driving off in the one you are stealing.You are then told to drive the car back to where you started in the first place which is another long hall.(Exciting wasn't it).If you took out all the excess driving and the exceptionaly long cut sceans a person could finish this game in a couple of hours.
 Useless March 25, 2006
0 out of 7 found this review helpful
I have never been able to get this thing to play, and I have good equipment. Apparently many others are also experiencing considerable difficulty.
 Absolutely Amazing February 21, 2006
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
First and foremost I just want to make one thing crystal-clear: this game is amazing. There, I've said it. Now, since this is a review, I'll get on with actually reviewing this game. Ever since it [Mafia] came out, back in 2002, I was engrossed in it. This game does everything with great production and gaming value. And is, by far, one of the greatest games I have ever played. This game has an engrossing storyline, akin to The Godfather with a hint of Goodfellas, and is pretty to gaze at. However, what really takes this game to its amazing status is it's extremely accurate detail in rendering the landscapes one would've encountered during those time periods. It is, in every sense of the word, like entering a time portal, and exploring a world that was once a reality. And I musn't neglect to mention the wonderful and period-accurate music that follows you throughout your gaming experience. I cannot put into words how great the soundtrack is. As for negative aspects go, I have to say that the only thing I encountered that was somewhat disappointing was the character handling. It seems a little too stiff and could've been easily fixed. Besides this, I can't really say anymore about the negatives of this game. All-in-all, this is a very entertaining, and engrossing game that any self-respecting Organized Crime/Mafia fanatic must play/own as well as anyone wanting to play a very entertaining game.
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