The next meeting will take place on August 16th at Vocari Hub. The featured game is Mafia The Old Country which is a single player stealth third person shooter. I’ll have the game setup on at least two Xboxs and two PlayStation 5 systems, but if you prefer it’s ok to play any other game I have installed during the party. I will provide four pizzas, bottled water, and cola for guests to eat during the party. Take note that there will be another meeting on August 30 also at Vocari Hub.
This is sort of the fourth game in the Mafia series. There was a remake of Mafia 1 released a few years ago and this game Mafia The Old Country takes place before the events of Mafia 1, 2, and 3, sometime around the year 1900, so you don’t really have to play those to understand what’s happening. The game is also a departure from the other Mafia games since it doesn’t take place in the big city and isn’t open world like Mafia 3. Instead the game takes place in the Sicilian countryside and spans scenic mountains, vineyards and villages. You can still drive cars, but you can also travel on horseback.
The main character is Enzo Favara is a former sulfur miner who joins the crime family of Don Torrisi. Once he’s in, Enzo is shown the ropes by the Don’s top men Luca and Cassarie. There also seems to be a romance option with Don Torrisi’s daughter Isabella, which honestly seems like an unnecessary risk to take.
It’s not open world like Mafia 3 even though Hanger 13 made both games. You can explore the countryside a little bit during the levels and there are multiple ways to complete objectives. You can sneak around, hide in shadows, flip coins, backstab, and play strangle quick time events to slowly infiltrate a rival gang’s base. Conversely you could storm the villa armed only with a pre World War 1 shotgun and revolver and completely ignore the stealth aspect of the game.
A big feature is the knife fights, which sort of reminds me of the Resident Evil 4 remake. Occasionally there will be a boss fight or knife duel that seems a bit like a fencing match with parry, thrust, or block moves. You can collect various knifes in the game and also throw then as a projectile.
