When i first got it, i thought the first few missions were somewhat boring. I put the game aside for a little bit. After maybe a few days, i had nothing better to do so i said, "why not?". After that i was hooked to the game. I only left the computer to eat, sleep, and do homework. The graphics in the game are so realistic and the gameplay is too. Games such as StarCraft and Spider-Man (the movie game) have great cutscene graphics, but decent gameplay graphics. Mafia's gameplay graphics are just as good as their cutscene graphics. There are a few missions i was discouraged with and found impossible to beat, but i beat the game. The storyline is a storyline that i say rivals some gangster movies.
The only problems are that sometimes you have to drive all the way across a vast, detailed city to get to your mission while obeying traffic laws. This does make the game more realistic, but its somewhat annoying at times. Another thing that after you beat the game, there is Free Ride and Free Ride Extreme. Neither of those options come anywhere close to being as good as the actual game.
The game is so realistic and lifelike. This is one of my favorite games along with Grand Theft Auto 3 and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.