Mafia: The Old Country was a fantastic entry in the series. Stepping back in time before the rise of the Mafia in America, the game shows what life was like in Italy during the early 1900s, when the harsh conditions of the 19th century had forged a generation of tough men and solidified La Cosa Nostra's grip on Sicily.
In the first three games, we got to witness and take part in the rise of the American Mafia. The Old Country gave us a glimpse into the era just before that, when Sicilians first began making their way to the land of the free. We experience it all through the eyes of a young Enzo Favara and witness his transformation from working in Sicily's sulfur mines to earning respect and becoming a fully made man.
I love the Mafia franchise, so getting to spend extra time with any of its protagonists makes any new content a must-play for me. When I heard about the new Man of Honor DLC, I couldn't wait to jump back in and go on a few more escapades with Enzo and the crew.
So, is the new DLC for Mafia: The Old Country - Man of Honor worth picking up? Let's break it down.
The DLC starts around the halfway point in the game, just after Enzo becomes a made man, but before he gets too heavily involved in the criminal organization. If you are new to the game, I would recommend playing the story in Mafia: The Old Country (check out my review by clicking that link) before diving into this.
After a few slow fetch-quest missions of door-to-door tribute collections, and a shootout with a wine thief, the story kicks off during an 'opening scene of The Godfather'-type festival where we see Don Torrisi granting favors to the locals who have come from far and wide to ask for his help.
The Don pairs you and Cesare with a fresh-out-of-prison Ennio Salieri who is on some scorched-earth revenge tour around Sicily to take out his old partners before he heads off to America. Settling the score with Scalieri takes you across rural Italy as you and Cesare get involved in shootouts, racehorses, dynamite, gentlemen's clubs, and a new mine area.
It sounds like a lot when I put it like that, but much like the main story of the base game, it is rather short. Clocking in for me at just over 2 hours, despite losing my horse on an optional side-quest to meet Isabella, Man of Honor came and went like a thief in the night.
Now, does that mean that Man of Honor isn't worthwhile? No, not in the slightest. You see, Salieri inserted right in the middle of the story actually ties Enzo and Isabella's story into the original Mafia game even more. It also breathes more life into the rather short-lived but close-knit relationship Enzo had with Cesare. Unlike most DLC, it fits the existing story perfectly without disrupting the narrative flow.
That said, it is not perfect. A lengthy stealth section near the end frustrated me to the point of almost giving up. Stealth has not been great in the Mafia franchise, to say the least, and getting an instant game over when an NPC was stuck in place and spotted you every reload is not the ideal way to have fun. Once I slowed down and played the way the game wanted me to, I passed the guard and finished the mission.
Having to play the way the determined path says always takes me out of an open world. In the Mafia games, the story and characters have always been the strong points; the open world is more about creating the vibe than being a character itself, as they usually have very little to do outside of main missions (except Mafia 3). But it is still frustrating game design not to be able to wander outside the predetermined fun zones.
The new expansion also includes more content for the post-launch Free Ride mode, which lets you explore the map freely. Man of Honor adds Salieri jobs and challenges, along with new weapons, vehicles, and charms. I haven't tried Free Ride mode in the main game yet; I play Mafia games for the story, but here it's been enjoyable to see more of Salieri, especially for long-standing fans of the franchise like myself.
So would I recommend the new Man of Honor DLC? Yes, but with a caveat: if you loved the base game and want a few more hours with Enzo, it's essential. If you are hoping this will completely change things up because you didn't take to it in the first place, maybe give this one a miss.
For me, Mafia: The Old Country - Man of Honor left me wanting more, and I hope that we get to see further add-ons or even a full game with Salieri helping Isabella start her life in America in this time period before they jump back to more recent times with Mafia 4.
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