Everything You Need To Know About Mafia: Definitive Edition
2K Games is making us an offer we can't refuse as Mafia: Definitive Edition is ready to riddle the competition with bullets, and take its seat at the top of mob gaming. It sounds like crime pays in 2020, because Mafia: Definitive Edition is just one of a whole line of releases from the Mafia family. Going back to where it all started, Hangar 13 has remastered the 2002 original for a new generation.
Just like Mafia, the story follows Tommy Angelo as he tries to climb the ranks of the Salieri Crime Family in the 1930s. The streets of the fictional Lost Heaven are just as soaked with blood and bullets, as they were some 18 years ago, but what else do you need to know about Mafia: Definitive Edition?
Click to enlargeMafia: Definitive Edition Release Date
If you want to play rough (and say hello to my little friend), Mafia: Definitive Edition is officially out on September 25. Coming to Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Microsoft Windows, there are all the usual ways to play.
Before you part with your cash, it's important to take note that Mafia: Trilogy includes a remastered version of Mafia II (2010) and Mafia III (2016). Definitive Edition versions of the second and third games are already out, meaning the release of Mafia: Definitive Edition will round off the trilogy in style.
Hangar 13 has promised that all your favourite missions from the Grand Theft Auto-inspired game have been carried over, but alongside an expanded story and new mechanics based on Mafia III, there's a "Classic Difficulty" that will hark back to the hardest setting of the original game with limited ammunition and faster police response times. If you fancy yourself as the next Don Corleone, you'll have to try this one out.
Given that you don't need to play the games in a particular order - with each focussing on a different protagonist in a different time period - it makes sense that 2K wanted to save the jewel in the Mafia crown to last.
Click to enlargeMafia: Definitive Edition Achievements
With Lost Heaven's seedy underbelly holding host to a whole crop of corrupt cops and wannabe mobsters, it's your job to be the best of the worst. With this in mind, there are plenty of achievements you'll be able to unlock as the body count continues to rise, and Tommy makes his mark on the crime scene.
At the moment, it looks like Mafia: Definitive Edition is remaining tight-lipped on its achievements list. There are no rats here, meaning we'll have to wait just a little longer to find out what you can do. Based on previous games, achievements will be earned from completing chapters in the standard story mode.
More obscure achievements will presumably be chalked up to more obscure tasks like destroying key pieces of property, making a kill with a specific weapon, and surviving a certain amount of time without being gunned down by the cops. Given the vehicular aspect of Mafia: Definitive Edition and the new addition of motorcycles, expect your new mode of transport to also feature in the achievements list.
Click to enlargeMafia: Definitive Edition Soundtrack
As well as motorcycles spinning their way into Lost Heaven, another big change will be Mafia: Definitive Edition's soundtrack. The glossy and gritty remastering has brought Mafia III's Jesse Harlin on board for something a little different. Although Harlin headed up Mafia III's blues soundtrack, he's gone with an operatic theme for Mafia: Definitive Edition. Speaking to Game Rant, Harlin described Mafia: Definitive Edition's in-game soundtrack as a "Bullet Opera".
Discussing what's new, Harlin explained, "I like to start by getting into the heads of the characters, to the point of overthinking it. As in where the characters come from, reading the game's script, getting to know the characters well. In Mafia's story, a lot of the characters come from Italy, Sicily, and were born at the end of the 19th century".
"So the soundtrack became mostly orchestral, since Mafia was more of a Shakespearean Tragedy of a story. This literary, tragic arc in a classic setting, the orchestra made perfect sense. Having to figure out what the right orchestral tone is for the game, the very first piece of in-game music I was working on, I found it after about 30 seconds of written down music.
"This little melodic phrase, a little rhythmic motif popped out that sounds like a classical ballet, and so I thought what if I wrote a ballet for a shooter? Elegance against the super violent, more like an opera than ballet, so that's where "Bullet Opera" came from".
Elsewhere, 2K has revealed the full Mafia: Definitive Edition soundtrack. It comes with 35 songs that include jazz tunes from legends including Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Django Reinhardt, and Lionel Hampton. The description explains, "Ranging from lilting, mournful melodies to up-tempo, airy rhythms, the game's classic tracks will transport players to the unique time and place of Lost Heaven".
All these years later, the sound on Mafia: Definitive Edition sings with colourful language, rattling Tommy Guns, and a perfectly cinematic soundtrack that sounds like it's been pulled from The Departed.
Click to enlargeMafia: Trilogy/Mafia: Definitive Edition Pre-Order Bonuses
Of course, 2K wants you to part with your cash early. If you're a big Mafia fan, there are some great perks you can pick up with pre-orders. Starting with Mafia: Definitive Edition, you'll be able to showcase the shiny Chicago Outfit bonus pack that comes with:
- Smith V12 limousine
- Gold semi-automatic pistol weapon skin
- The Don outfit
Definitive Edition pre-orders also reward players with the following (depending on which titles you own):
- Mafia: Definitive Edition Tommy Angelo's suit and cab
- Mafia II: Definitive Edition Vito Scaletta's leather jacket and sports car
- Mafia III: Definitive Edition: Lincoln Clay's army jacket and muscle car
Finally, linking your 2K account to whichever platform you play on unlocks:
- Mafia: Definitive Edition Black Cats Motorcycle Pack
- Mafia II: Definitive Edition Made Man Pack
- Mafia III: Definitive Edition Classico three-piece suit & IL Duca revolver
If you're confused about what's going on with the Mafia games, Mafia: Definitive Edition isn't the end of the road. Anyone who already owns Mafia II on Steam can upgrade to the Definitive Edition for free. The same goes for those who have Mafia III on PS4, Xbox One, and Steam, while gamers that own Mafia II and Mafia III can nab Mafia: Trilogy for a reduced price.
If you can't wait to relive the life and times of Tommy Angelo, Mafia: Definitive Edition is available to buy for $39.99/£35.99, or if you fancy splashing out, Mafia Trilogy will cost $59.99/£49.99. Basically, there's a tonne of crime content for you to sink your teeth into - just like mamma used to make. Let's hope you won't be sleeping with the fishes when Mafia: Definitive Edition shoots up the party.
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