[Mafia: The Old Country] Part 2
Aug. 7th, 2025 05:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
classicswim 1905 Sicily.
By the time you get to Manuele at the quarry, that’s when the knife combat starts to become repetitive.
Some might’ve thought the same about throwing punches in Mafia II, but it felt more like a fun mechanic there instead of a downright necessity for boss combat.
”Galante? Like the tuna?”
”Sure. Like the tuna.”
Leo Galante young looks unbelievable. Can still see the resemblance. I just remember him shorter.
It hit me that I’m listening to an English dub of this game, and that’s why Leo’s accent sounds jarring. The dub doesn’t take into account what he’s like in America in Empire Bay. I should hear his Italian.
Takes over two hours before you’re able to start using the guns. The music gets you in a real good mood. The gunplay looks rough, but I’m also not the one using the controller.
If anything, the shooting looks better riding horseback as opposed to being on foot. Looks a lot less sloppy.
For one part of the chapter, I like the realism in them wanting to hide bodies down a well. The other Mafia games couldn’t give less of a shit what happens to the henchmen after they’re shot dead.
The marketing campaign’s put out newspapers, just like they used to! This time they made them all in Italian, and then added the English translations.
2K’s promotional news prints show you hints of events that occur, and one of them describes the act of stacking eight corpses into a cave.
Mafia III had the same corpse moving mechanic and it was no big deal, but Old Country’s ad made it eerie under the context that Sicily hadn’t known of the syndicate’s existence at this point beyond rumors.
There’s a news print that describes a Saint’s Day parade massacre that they choose to signal as their true reveal to the mob’s presence. The description of cobblestones sprayed with blood...
Nothing I’m new to. Mafia II, Empire Bay had different radio personalities. With one, you had that bombarding, patriotic 40s-50s type figure to really point out the violence as a disruption to America and their great yadda yadda city. But it felt like just that, a personality. One of the radio jockeys switched from being the cordial Richard Foxberry of the jazz scene... to Rockin’ Ricky Fox wanting to entertain the punk kids.
There’s less comedic emphasis here. But even so, I like the idea of Sicily not being as superficial with the handlings as Empire Bay. I like the thought of you seeing a side of this country that truthfully doesn’t want what’s inflicted on them.
You see it well in one chapter. Farmers are pissed they have to pay these guys for protection each month. Their stuff gets fucked, and they’re still forced to pay contribute.
I like that there’s even a newspaper story that details a smuggling bust of contraband from Empire Bay. You’re so used to hearing the American side of the story that it’s usually the other way around.
One paper reveals “Bandit King” Paolo Messina. The news print gives varied opinions on him from fearful nuisance to cunning robinhood, and he’s a real mean son of a bitch when you actually see him in the game.
I like that because I don’t think it was really done for the purpose of being funny.
In 2001, Rockstar had their promotional Liberty Tree newspapers on their web page, dealing everything in GTA III’s Liberty City. When you got to Salvatore Leone, from Sicily... his story on the paper was meant to make you laugh and go “oh yeah. This guy’s nefarious.” Because that was the tone. But reading Messina’s background was fun because they got into it and took the proper care in adding mystique to his name and legend.
I really miss when games would do this in general. I like that this title brought back that style of marketing that’s made to make you care about their world and their build rather than just a simple sell. I can stand by it when it’s made to genuinely appreciate the art.
By the time you get to Manuele at the quarry, that’s when the knife combat starts to become repetitive.
Some might’ve thought the same about throwing punches in Mafia II, but it felt more like a fun mechanic there instead of a downright necessity for boss combat.
”Galante? Like the tuna?”
”Sure. Like the tuna.”
Leo Galante young looks unbelievable. Can still see the resemblance. I just remember him shorter.
It hit me that I’m listening to an English dub of this game, and that’s why Leo’s accent sounds jarring. The dub doesn’t take into account what he’s like in America in Empire Bay. I should hear his Italian.
Takes over two hours before you’re able to start using the guns. The music gets you in a real good mood. The gunplay looks rough, but I’m also not the one using the controller.
If anything, the shooting looks better riding horseback as opposed to being on foot. Looks a lot less sloppy.
For one part of the chapter, I like the realism in them wanting to hide bodies down a well. The other Mafia games couldn’t give less of a shit what happens to the henchmen after they’re shot dead.
The marketing campaign’s put out newspapers, just like they used to! This time they made them all in Italian, and then added the English translations.
2K’s promotional news prints show you hints of events that occur, and one of them describes the act of stacking eight corpses into a cave.
Mafia III had the same corpse moving mechanic and it was no big deal, but Old Country’s ad made it eerie under the context that Sicily hadn’t known of the syndicate’s existence at this point beyond rumors.
There’s a news print that describes a Saint’s Day parade massacre that they choose to signal as their true reveal to the mob’s presence. The description of cobblestones sprayed with blood...
Nothing I’m new to. Mafia II, Empire Bay had different radio personalities. With one, you had that bombarding, patriotic 40s-50s type figure to really point out the violence as a disruption to America and their great yadda yadda city. But it felt like just that, a personality. One of the radio jockeys switched from being the cordial Richard Foxberry of the jazz scene... to Rockin’ Ricky Fox wanting to entertain the punk kids.
There’s less comedic emphasis here. But even so, I like the idea of Sicily not being as superficial with the handlings as Empire Bay. I like the thought of you seeing a side of this country that truthfully doesn’t want what’s inflicted on them.
You see it well in one chapter. Farmers are pissed they have to pay these guys for protection each month. Their stuff gets fucked, and they’re still forced to pay contribute.
I like that there’s even a newspaper story that details a smuggling bust of contraband from Empire Bay. You’re so used to hearing the American side of the story that it’s usually the other way around.
One paper reveals “Bandit King” Paolo Messina. The news print gives varied opinions on him from fearful nuisance to cunning robinhood, and he’s a real mean son of a bitch when you actually see him in the game.
I like that because I don’t think it was really done for the purpose of being funny.
In 2001, Rockstar had their promotional Liberty Tree newspapers on their web page, dealing everything in GTA III’s Liberty City. When you got to Salvatore Leone, from Sicily... his story on the paper was meant to make you laugh and go “oh yeah. This guy’s nefarious.” Because that was the tone. But reading Messina’s background was fun because they got into it and took the proper care in adding mystique to his name and legend.
I really miss when games would do this in general. I like that this title brought back that style of marketing that’s made to make you care about their world and their build rather than just a simple sell. I can stand by it when it’s made to genuinely appreciate the art.
More to follow...
