The 2002 open-world classic crime-action game, Mafia, has made a return to digital distribution outlets. Specifically, the game is available right now from over on GOG.com for only $14.99.
The very first image on the GOG.com store page is classic badassery. You’ve got a group of trench coat-wearing mafioso soldiers standing outside their vehicles just lighting up the target with Tommy guns and shotguns. It’s a beautiful sight. It was also a prime money shot for the main image.
Basically this speaks in some ways to the graphical fidelity of the old-school game and how well it still holds up to this day.
The gameplay is also receiving some top tier praise from gamers who have commented about how well the on-foot shooting and combat still holds up to this very day, and how the handling on the cars is still fun, some 15 years later.
Where the stars start to drop from the review scores is with the licensed music… or rather, the lack thereof.
One of the main reasons why we haven’t seen the original Mafia being sold again on digital store shelves is because of the licensed music in the game, all themed around 1920’s tunes. Sadly, all the music had to be removed from Illusion Softworks and 2K Games’ highly lauded title.
In the press note GOG.com notes that the game is back and that the original soundtrack is intact, but none of the licensed music on the soundtrack is available.
Even Rockstar suffered through this issue with GTA Vice City, where the game was briefly pulled from digital distribution outlets until they could remove some of the licensed songs that belonged to Sony Music Entertainment.
If you’re okay with the lack of the licensed music but you still want to get in some game time with the classic Mafia, you can do so right now by picking up a digital copy from GOG.com for $14.99. And the best part about it is that it’s DRM-free.