So far in August we've had a fairly light month for Xbox Game Pass — Crash Bandicoot aside — but tomorrow marks a major addition to the library in the form of Mafia: Definitive Edition - and I say it's a must play on the service, especially for fans of GTA.
For those of you who aren't aware, this is a modern remake of the original Mafia game; a prohibition era thriller that turns a lowly cab driver into an organised crime maestro. Set in the fictional city of Lost Heaven (which is heavily based on Chicago), Mafia: Definitive Edition has you completing jobs for questionable characters in an open-world environment as you work your way into the Salieri family. Sound familiar?
Part New York-based GTA, part The Godfather, Mafia tells a really gripping and engaging story over its roughly 10-15 hour runtime, and honestly, we can't recommend it enough. Sure, it's not as epic as your average Grand Theft Auto game — most of Mafia's open world is mere set-dressing — but you're getting everything you'd want from a GTA-like title condensed into a more linear format. And it's absolutely gorgeous as well!
To be fair, that open world remark is quite excusable - the original 2002 title wasn't open world at all, this Definitive Edition simply adapts the OG game into a more modern open world style. So, you can cruise around in a plethora of 1930s transport, and the game even has a free roam mode completely separate to the main story, but don't be expecting to go off and do a million side quests here in this Mafia remake.
You know what though, we actually quite like this approach. It does remove a bit of depth from the world, but the game's tight and twisty narrative pulls you in very quickly - and I just wanted to see the storyline through to its conclusion anyway. Also, these days there's just so much to play that it's nice to get a big open playground without loads of additional bloat!
At this point in the series' life this is the best-looking Mafia game as well, just about pipping 2016's Mafia 3. It's amazing to see this era in such minute detail — especially the vehicles and weapons — and four years since its Xbox One launch, it's hardly aged at all. The only real sore spot is 30FPS (come on guys, where's that current-gen patch?) but performance is consistent and manageable here in Mafia: Definitive Edition.
Anyway, this fantastic Mafia title hits Xbox Game Pass on Tuesday, August 13, and if you haven't played it yet I highly recommend it. It'll be a part of your subscription anyway, so what do you have to lose?!