There's nothing wrong with a B-movie. Once upon a time you'd look up the cinema listings, see what's on, and just pick something, reviews and online discourse be damned. These days it seems that everything needs to be a cultural touchstone or talking point, and Mafia: The Old Country is none of these. It's a true, three-out-of-five star summer movie delivered in video game form with a predictable storyline elevated by performances that range from decent to great.
Set in early 1900s Sicily, The Old Country follows the story of Enzo as he works his way up from being a lowly and abused miner to a member of one of the most prestigious families in the region. It's a classic rags-to-riches story as you watch Enzo slowly grow his hair out and put on nicer clothes as he climbs the ladder. Along the way he gets involved in all manner of dirty dealings and falls in love with the Don's daughter.
The rest of the story plays out in a way that will feel familiar to fans of the first two Mafia games. The world is massive with roads that stretch for miles, and you will drive down them in certain missions, but this is not an open world game, and the developers don't want you to explore it.
There might be miles of expanse, but there's nothing out there to see or do. You can't even cut across fields on your horse thanks to invisible walls restricting your freedom -- and if an invisible wall won't do that, then a timer forcing you to return to the mission area will.
You need to follow the script. Follow the target, listen to the conversation, drive to the location, participate in the race, pull the trigger. Enzo's destiny is to follow orders, either from his mafioso bosses, or from the game's on-screen objective reminder. You can cheekily disobey at one point, and the game rewards you with an achievement, but this game doesn't want you to exercise your freedom, it just wants you to enjoy the ride.
Knife fights are a frequent fixture of the ride, and the game regularly has you drop the guns so you can dodge and stab at one another. It's functional, at least, but you'll never be eager to knife fight anyone. Or play the game in general.
Take cover at the right points, shoot the guns, get the job done. Luckily, the game is carried along by a decently told -- if predictable and rote -- story that manages to hold your interest. You already know where this tale is going, it's just a matter of how it gets there.
How it gets there is with acceptable shooting gameplay, decent driving and some of the worst stealth sections ever forced upon the gaming audience. The game's climax features one of these, and it betrays the plot by dragging down each moment, as if you expect a kiss on the lips and get punched in the nose instead. An atrocious decision, but in reality, most players will probably stop playing long before that point.
Mafia: The Old Country eases you in as if you're about the be let off the reins to explore and complete tasks at your own pace at any moment, but that moment never comes, and it feels off -- almost as if the game's design and priorities were switched at some point mid-development. Still, even with that and a few other caveats, it manages to be enjoyable enough while it lasts -- and it doesn't last long at around 10 hours. This game will inevitably be forgotten about by the end of the year, but it's nice to visit Sicily for a short weekend.