I'm a bit split on this game. I do think the story and atmosphere are incredibly captivating and great, but the gameplay often frustrates to the point of anger. The required usage of the map to navigate is a pretty cool idea, but a lot of missions have incredibly cheap shootouts, with the second half especially boasting insta-kill shotgun/Thompson enemies placed in corners you'd never know about unless you died to them. The very awkward shooting doesn't help matters at all and you can easily get stunlocked if one of them even takes out as much as 3 HP while you're trying to aim at the guy and going out of cover, because Tommy really likes to shoot the wall unless you're fully in the open. The checkpoints also don't help matters, as they're spaced out enough that if you die almost at the end of a shootout or make a mistake, you go all the way back to the beginning.

What also doesn't help is how vague the objectives are. In the second half I had to straight up look up how to beat some of them, because there is absolutely nothing to tell you exactly how to do a mission in some parts. The game requires you to do each mission exactly how it wants and if you deviate in the slightest, you either fail or get killed. I understand this game was in development well before GTA III and has a different structure in mission progression, but even that game has a lot more freedom in mission approaches than this game does. I usually give old games leeway because of their age, but a lot of what Mafia does wrong is placed more in the design aspect than mechanics.

Overall, I still think the game has appeal in its great atmosphere and story, but the gameplay leaves me with a sour taste and very hesitant on ever revisting it. I would not recommend it to newcomers of the series. If you want to be captivated by the 1930s Americana atmosphere of the game and its compelling story, I would suggest opting towards the Definitive Edition instead.