27 Aug 2024 7:28 PM +00:00 UTC

The Evolution of Mafia: Ranking Every Game Before Mafia 4 Hits

Taking the series to Sicily, Mafia 4: The Old Country is set to take on the limelight next year, as Take-Two Interactive and Hangar 13 announced the latest installment to the Mafia series during the Gamescom Opening Night Live 2024.

Set in a different country this time, with the initial three happening in fictional U.S cities, Mafia 4: The Old Country returns to its roots with a linear narrative and stunning new setting, pushing the franchise forward. Now that a new Mafia title is in the works let’s turn up the nostalgia and prepare for the upcoming game by revisiting and ranking the Mafia: Trilogy from worst to best.

3. Mafia III: Definitive Edition

Despite having more content and features in terms of DLC, Mafia III just couldn’t keep up with the rest of the franchise. Mafia III has a set of interesting characters and nice visuals, but the technical roadblocks that plagued the game didn’t help its potential and popularity. Mafia III is ambitious, with Hangar 13 wanting to move away from the stereotypical Italian mafia while rebuilding New Orleans from the ground up. The repetitive gameplay and bare-bones open-world interactions are part of what dragged the title down.

Mafia III still sold like hotcakes, breaking sales records compared to its predecessors. Sometimes, having the perfect formula of great characters and superb writing does not necessarily equate to a great game if the gameplay itself is the weakest factor, which is the case of Mafia III.

2. Mafia: Definitive Edition

The Mafia: Definitive Edition is not simply a remake of the original; it overhauls several game factors, such as visuals and controls, and expands the original story. It also added motorcycles to the game, a vehicle not present in Mafia III. While the game mechanics of Mafia III largely influenced the remake, it was able to continue being a fantastic Mafia game by adding different modes. One is Free Ride mode, which allows players to set their own pace and leisurely explore the city of Lost Heaven, Illinois.

Set in the 1930s, Mafia: Definitive Edition and the original game captured the amazing mafia genre that audiences love. Doing so in a remake made Mafia: Definitive Edition a tad better than Mafia III.

Mafia: Definitive Edition’s replayability is something fans also adored in the remake. The game added several hidden collectibles in the form of comics and cigarette cards that feature the great cast of the Mafia series.

1. Mafia II: Definitive Edition

While Mafia II: Definite Edition is a remaster of the second title of the series compared to a full-on remake of Mafia: Definitive Edition, Mafia II was still able to deliver a peak gameplay experience by creating a story that is captivating and unique. Mafia II showed its audiences a mob world that was far from boring and made its mark as the best game in the franchise.

Spanning two different time periods, Mafia II made its gameplay and narrative so enjoyable that fans of the franchise fell in love with the mafia families it introduced in the game. Mafia II became so popular that it even spawned several editions, including a mobile version, which told the story of what happened between the two time periods in the original version of the game.

Mafia II had a significant amount of game content removed from the game's final version. Controversies surrounded the game’s depiction of the mafia; Take-Two Interactive said that Mafia II is no different from other mafia depictions such as movies like The Godfather.

Mafia: Trilogy collection includes all three definitive games in one package. With Mafia: The Old Country just waiting on the horizon, there's no better time to dive in and get ready for more mafia goodness by playing these three games.

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