Contains spoilers to Mafia :The Old Country
The Dictionary described “Intermission” as a short break or pause between the parts of a bigger performance, like a short view into something else as a breather. The biggest example of this in film is of course the classic by Francis Ford Coppola, with a certain crime drama about the Sicily underworld within Italy and New York. 
So this intermezzo for the pretty incredible entry in the Mafia series, aptly titled The Old County, brings our protagonist, Enzo Favara, a year after his initiation into the Torrisi Crime Family as a Made Man. And it’s where we pick up the action as we meet another familiar face of this entire series.
Familiar Family
Mafia The Old Country looks mighty fine still, on base PS5, where it’s resolution makes the game look pretty scenic at times and even has the frame rate to 60fps aka Performance Mode on Gameplay, and while I expected the cutscenes to also get the framerate buff too, its locked framerate does make it more of a cinematic feel, which I do understand. 
And still, as mentioned in our original review, it’s one of the most movie-esque games you could play right now that’s a big homage to Crime Dramas before it. Which is why this recurring character return as a younger version of him is quite an interesting addition.
Spoiler For Mafia (2002 and the Definitive Edition)
The return of Salieri, the head honcho that you’ll eventually meet in the future (and sets up the entirety of actions later down the line) as our main quest giver as he brings Enzo doing his business works before heading to a certain country across the pond. In a select few missions where you visit a up and running mining cave (which Enzo, our main protag isn’t too fond off), or driving those era of cars in a chase that sees you using dynamite, which just landed in Sicily at the start of the game at that point, and is very volatile.
All of the set-pieces are incredible. Even during the start of the expansion, where the town Enzo lives are celebrating Don Torrisi’s generosity, and it’s where one of the cutscenes is just a homage to a certain movie series intro essentially. The ebb and flow of the entire expansion really just fits rather well with the entirety of the story that we experience in the base game.
And the lore implications of this expansion does help explain why, when we meet the man as Don Salieri later on in life, as a calculated yet brashed leader with how he acts as a youngster, puts a nice bow to the game’s universe quite well.
Comparing this expansion to the likes of Mafia’s 3 ones, where the story takes more liberties and more unique flavour to the package but not part of the main story, Man of Honor feels more in-tune with the whole game’s story as a whole, a reprise before the more heavier aspect of the storyline kick in after this.
Verdict![]()
Mafia The Old Country – Man Of Honor expansion is all about telling the story that sets up the foundations of later stuff down the line. That, even when played as a standalone game, feels complete already with a good cast and narrative that has me engaged in my two or so hours with this one. It’s short, yes, but it is an “intermezzo” of the campaign, and you still have many more hours of the game.
Is it worth the asking price? Perhaps, if you enjoyed the campaign like I have and having more links to the future games helped with my interest with it.
Played on PS5, Review copy provided by 2K Asia. You can read the original review of the game here.