'Mafia: The City Of Lost Heaven (2002)' is a third-person action game focused on a disillusioned ex-gangster who recounts his crimes in exchange for an entry into the witness protection program. The piece is clearly inspired by the likes of 'The Godfather (1972)' and 'Goodfellas (1990)', which isn't a bad thing. It tries to be as cinematic as possible, unafraid to tell its story with long and often back-to-back cut-scenes. This doesn't mean it is devoid of gameplay, though. Your two main tasks are driving and shooting, each as entertaining as the last. Though the game likes to take its time, it has distinct peaks of excitement. These are arguably enhanced by the thing's valleys of atmospheric busy-work, which often see you traversing the entire map multiple times a mission. For the most part, the game holds up to scrutiny remarkably well. It's fun and engaging throughout. It does have some issues, though. Firstly, some of the writing and voice-work is rather stiff. This doesn't damage the overall experience but it does make some moments feel less genuine than they ought to. Secondly, the gameplay is quite unrefined in some ways. The shooting mechanics, in particular, haven't aged too well; they're clunky, lack what are now considered basic features and often don't register certain pieces of geometry. The shootouts can still be enjoyable and tense, don't get me wrong. It's just that they're far more frustrating than they ought to be and have a generally slower pace than expected. Speaking of frustrating, the game can be hair-tearing hard at times. There are a number of missions I almost gave up on, to be honest. Little things like having to interact with a specific, unmarked portion of an object or blindly navigate your way around a bad-guy-infested maze add up to real annoyance over time. This is especially true if something the game does, or doesn't do, causes you to fail a mission (though, thankfully, the checkpoints are relatively generous). The final issue is the long and frequent load times. This is a minor problem in the scheme of things, but it still has an effect on your playing time. In the end, the game isn't destroyed by its issues. It's an entertaining and well-told gangster story. The narrative undeniably enhances the gameplay, too. Ultimately, it's worth a go if you haven't already played it. Also, if you don't own an old enough console and don't want to get it on PC, a remastered version is releasing later in 2020. 7/10
