Mafia
Mafia is a PC fighting game developed by 2K Games. It centers on move inputs, offense-defense reads, and character matchups, with controls and information arranged around keyboard or controller input, with a wheel or another peripheral where supported.
- AI score · out of 10
- 7.8 / 10
About this game
Mafia is a PC fighting game centered on move inputs, offense-defense reads, and character matchups. Short bouts use character differences and rising difficulty for variety, with progress divided into stages, tasks, matches, or growth milestones that make immediate goals understandable. Its value depends on whether these rules continue to create judgment and room for mastery rather than on length, sales, or series recognition. Short campaigns are judged by repeat-challenge value, while longer ones are judged by variety, pacing, and recovery after failure. Animation, hit feedback, and readable arenas create match tension, while resolution, graphics settings, frame rate, aspect ratio, audio, text scaling, and hardware performance need to preserve action, state, and text readability together. The genre-specific limitation is that button mapping, move recognition, multiplayer accessories, and cpu behavior can affect balance. Platform conditions also include OS and hardware requirements, installation media, patches, drivers, DRM and launchers, key binding and controller support, save locations, mod compatibility, servers, and era-specific OS compatibility affect the current release. This description covers only this platform release and does not import features or conveniences from remasters, emulators, or other console editions.
Collected in series
Mafia is a crime-action series built around ambition, loyalty and the costs of belonging to a criminal family. You drive period cars, fight through shootouts and carry out dangerous jobs, while carefully staged settings give each story its own time and place.
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Windows PC
AI review
AI reviews are subjective assessments, not player ratings. See each review for its evidence and limitations.Published date:
A vivid gangster story with old-fashioned friction.
The original PC Mafia follows taxi driver Tommy Angelo into a crime family and uses driving, shooting and long in-engine scenes to stage his rise. A direct 2002 PC review praises the coherent cinematic missions and the sense of 1930s Lost Heaven, strengthened by character performances and swing-jazz radio music. This is not simply a sandbox for causing trouble. Old cars move deliberately, traffic enforcement changes how a trip is driven, and journeys between assignments can slow the story. Restricted saving is the more serious obstacle: failing a difficult mission can mean repeating a substantial stretch. The action and place remain compelling, but their rigid structure asks for patience. This score concerns the original Windows game, not the later console ports or Definitive Edition remake. More forgiving checkpoints or revised controls in those releases cannot be credited to the 2002 product. Players who prize a carefully staged crime drama over frictionless open-world freedom are most likely to enjoy it.
Strengths
- Missions, acting and music give Lost Heaven life.
Weaknesses
- Driving stretches and sparse saves can stall progress.
Who it is for: Crime-story fans tolerant of rigid original-game pacing.
Play notes: Original 2002 PC release; remake and console changes excluded.
View scoring basis
| Dimension | Review state | Score | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dimension The long story sometimes demands patience. | Reviewed | 7.4 / 10 | Not provided |
| Dimension Story staging gives familiar action its purpose. | Reviewed | 8.0 / 10 | Not provided |
| Dimension A strong sense of place elevates the game. | Reviewed | 8.8 / 10 | Not provided |
| Dimension Limited saving magnifies the cost of failure. | Reviewed | 6.6 / 10 | Not provided |
Review sources
Not provided
Core information
- Developer
- 2K
- Publisher
- Take-Two Interactive
- Release date
- 2002
- Platforms
- Windows PC
- Content kind
- Game
- Release state
- Released
- Region
- Worldwide
- Official website
- Not provided
- Offline minimum players
- Not provided
- Offline maximum players
- Not provided
- Online minimum players
- Not provided
- Online maximum players
- Not provided
- Categories
- Shooter · Primary genre
- Tags
- ShootingHistoricalCrimeThird Person3D GraphicsSemi-open WorldDriving and RacingStory-driven
- Supported game languages
- Not provided
- Requires base game
- Not provided
- Standalone
- Not provided
- Age ratings
- Not provided
- Play modes
- Not provided
- Perspectives
- Not provided
Release editions
- Windows PCWorldwide2002
- Original XboxWorldwide2004
Game gallery
Sources
Not provided