IMafia takes a more visual approach (see right) - the game’s main menu is an interactive street scene, where you swipe left and right to see more buildings, and tap on individual ones (for example the bank, police station or bar) to access that sub-menu.Īlthough it’s nicer to look at, you could argue that it’s also a bit slower to access the different sections of the game. It follows the emerging iPhone standard of having large icons at the bottom of the screen for the main menus - something also seen in Mafia LIVE!
It feels well-designed, in that you can navigate between the various menus and options quickly and easily.
iMob Online is mainly text, but with background visuals.
The look and feel of the games is where you start to notice some differences between the four titles. There’s usually a bank to deposit your cash safely, a hospital to heal yourself when you’ve taken damage, and some way to place ‘hits’ on other players who’ve particularly annoyed you, with a bounty for whoever rubs them out.Īll of the above describes all four games - they really don’t vary the template much, although Mafia: Respect and Retaliation does have an extra shooting gallery mini-game where you tilt your iPhone to aim and tap to shoot - with the result of keeping your character’s attack potential stat high in the main game. You can also generally pick random fights with other players, which also earn you cash and experience.Įxperience points help you level up your character and boost you skills, while the money can be spent on new weapons and items, or on buying properties to earn you a regular income. The jobs are automatic tasks, like robbing banks or trashing cars - they cost you a certain number of energy or stamina points, but earn you cash and experience points. The formula runs as follows: you start with a certain amount of cash to buy weapons and items, before accessing a Jobs menu to earn some money (that's Mafia LIVE!'s on the left) So, each game involves making your way up the mafia ranks through a combination of criminal acts, loot accumulation and property speculation. The most striking thing about the four games is how similar their basic gameplay is, although that’s perhaps unsurprising given that all follow a template laid down by Facebook game Mob Wars.
We’ve been playing all four in the past week to work out what makes this genre tick, and to try and establish which of the four is best. The choice is between Addmired’s iMob Online, PlayMesh’s iMafia, Aftershock Innovations’s Mafia LIVE!, and SGN’s Mafia: Respect and Retaliation. In a matter of weeks, four have appeared on the App Store, all offering similar gameplay and connectivity. The word ‘mob’ is particularly appropriate when it comes to describing mafia-themed iPhone games.
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