Mafia

3DAvenue

It hasn't lost much of its charm from the 2002 PC edition and they seem to have used the PS2 hardware in the best way possible.

Game Informer

While the plot and Depression-era ambience still held me rapt, the gameplay itself was, quite frankly, pretty dull at times. [Mar 2004, p.104]

Worth Playing

One of the best storylines I've seen for a while, but to my surprise it also had poor game play. It's probably one of the first times I've seen such reverse psychology.

Gamer's Hell

A strong story line and graphics that are merely ok for the most part will have you seeing everything in Tommy’s eyes.

Game Over Online

Of course, you’ll miss out on a lot of the wonderful visuals and spot-on gameplay elements if you go the PS2 route, but if that’s your only option then take comfort in the fact that Mafia’s excellent storyline, which is arguably its best quality, hasn’t suffered a bit in the transition.

PGNx Media

A big part of what made the PC version be so great was the whole atmosphere; you felt like you were in Chicago in the 1930s. Unfortunately, the visual inedibility of the PS2 version takes a good chunk of this feeling.

Official U.S. Playstation Magazine

It's somewhat frustrating that what was a pretty great PC game is now a great game buried underneath vast technological annoyances. [Apr 2004, p.98]

Cheat Code Central

If you are familiar with the PC Mafia there isn't a lot here for you except a drop in graphics, resolution, frequent gameplay interruptions and longer load times. WIth that out of the way, PS2 owners who haven't already got a taste of the Cosa Nostra way of life might certainly enjoy this.

GMR Magazine

When all is said and done, Mafia still has a lot to offer: The competent graphics, incredible music and dialogue, top-notch story, cinemas, and ambience all work to create a virtual time machine.

GameSpot

Because the PS2 version of Mafia unavoidably compromises the PC version's graphical presentation--while also introducing longer loading times and injecting more interruptions into the gameplay--it comes off like a mere shadow of the original.

PSM Magazine

On the plus side, there are some console-only extras, like a racing mode that lets you hit the asphault with old-fashioned hot rots. [Apr 2004, p.36]

GameZone

The sense of atmosphere and ambience from the excellent PC version is all but gone from the PS2 version, with stiff controls, dumb AI, long loading times and tons of strange bugs. Overall, the gameplay is a shell of the PC version.

Armchair Empire

This late in the PS2 life cycle, there really isn't any excuse for a port that is so shoddy, especially when it is coming a year and a half later than the original release.

IGN

Given the amount of time the team had between August 2002 and today, the development team's inability to bring the PC code into line on the hard-to-develop-for PS2 is just short of a disaster...What makes this game worth owning, or at the very least, is the story.

Gamer's Pulse

While the game provides an accurate depiction of the family business through a beautifully crafter story, its visual presentation is decidedly lacking due to lengthy loading times and poor textures throughout the game.

Computer Games Magazine

The most satisfying aspects of the game are the fantastic plot, excellent voice acting, and distinct score. [May 2004, p.11]

Into Liquid Sky

While I get the feeling that this game proves to be a sloppy port, it is still a good game at heart and has a wonderful timepiece story that fans of the genre will enjoy.

GameShark

If Illusion Softworks can solve the load-time issues and bump up the graphics a little for the Xbox version, they may have a winner on consoles as big as the one they had on PC.

TotalGames.net

Enemy AI is minimal, weapon effects lack impact and, best of all, once you're in a fire fight all the beauty of the slickness drops to just enough to make aiming more annoying than fun and that can't be good.

1UP

Since aiming and movement is too difficult to track enemies as they appear, a typical mission will have you die on the first enemy, learn his location and kill him before he can strike back, only to be felled by a second enemy, and so on.

Electronic Gaming Monthly

Highly frustrating missions pepper the game, usually filled with cheap enemies who have impeccable aim and a superhuman ability to absorb multiple shotgun blasts at point-blank range. [Apr 2004, p.116]

Eurogamer

When it's good it's fantastic, but when it's not it's a spirit sapping experience. That's Mafia in a nutshell - a flawed classic that'll certainly provide good rental value if nothing else.

Game Chronicles

Mafia manages to keep its engrossing story and wonderful audio package but loses everything else. The graphics are laughable by PS1 standards and the clunky controls and frequent load screens make Mafia an excercise in frustration.

G4 TV

During gameplay, be prepared to suffer through countless glitches, blurry textures, and clunky animation.

GamePro

Mafia's solid script, impeccable voice acting, and overall mood makes it worth a rental, though you're better off playing the PC version if you get the chance. [Apr 2004, p.65]

Game Revolution

A victim of its own ambition. The good core elements are still here, but are lost underneath a gray cloud of control and graphical issues.

Edge Magazine

A frustrating port of an above-average game. Rather than attempting to significantly tweak Mafia's structure and narrative … the developer has attempted to replicate the PC experience to the letter. It has been only partially successful. [Mar 2004, p.109]

PSX Nation

Buggy, clunky, littered with minute-long loading pauses (the tell-tale sign of a PC-to-console port gone bad) and framey as hell, this action title at least has a pretty cool premise that is enhanced by a well-told story and very good sound.

Times Online

Mafia on the PS2 is a very pale imitation, especially with regard to the graphics, which were resplendent on the PC, and the handling, which I’ve mentioned already. And the load times? Don’t get me started, buster.

Maxim Online

The play and story will ring familiar to anyone who’s played the "Grand Theft Auto" series—which is good—but the guy responsible for the crummy graphics should slip on a pair of cement galoshes and take a long walk off a short pier.