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The Mafia-inspired game 'Mademan: Confessions of the Family Blood' tells the story of Joey Verola, a man who is sharing his story of mob involvement with his nephew.

Mafia man

'Mademan' has good plot, but fails in playing quality

By: Jason Deuterman

Posted: 4/20/07

Organized crime is a genre not new to the virtual world of gaming. Studios such as Rockstar Games have thrust a gamer into the world of malicious transgression with games such a "Max Payne" and the acclaimed series "Grand Theft Auto" for years.

Absorbed in violence and a plot that takes the player deep into the sullied underbelly of the mob, one is able to become removed from the law. Yet, "Mademan: Confessions of the Family Blood," a game revived by Aspyr from Acclaim gaming studios, fails to meet the qualifications of mob-based gaming.

At the game's opening, it would seem to be a relatively enjoyable seven hours of playing as the game's plot - designed by author David Fisher - is indeed promising. The game revolves around the character Joey Verola, who recants his life as a man moving up the ranks of the mafia to his nephew while driving through New York. Whether smuggling goods from North Carolina or braving the rough streets of Little Italy, the player is immersed into a realistic representation of mafia-life.

Yet, such a pragmatic plot is quickly weakened as the player is forced to fight through massive amounts of adversaries. Not only is the farfetched nature of the fighting off-balance from the plot's realism, but the enemies faced are also not even worth the time to fight. Most of the game's artificial intelligence is incessantly low skilled, allowing the player to virtually walk right up to an opponent to take them out. On the other hand, many times the player faces sniper-quality opponents - who, despite the player hiding behind cover, have the ability to batter the player relentlessly with bullets resulting in a quick, unavoidable death.

Much of what could have saved the game, including a "Kill Rush" - a mirror-imaged character ability taken from "Max Payne" in which the character can slow down time in order to better combat enemies - is lost in the monotony of missions and brutal killings. Even the much boasted "Retort Kill" in which the player can execute adversaries in order to gain back life is an ill-fated attempt to add quality where none can be found. Perhaps if more effort had been made to create a virtual world on par with the storytelling of author Fisher, "Mademan" would not have been a "made-flop."