History VideoGame / MafiaWars

* {{Dissimile}}[=/=]{{Metaphorgotten}}: The "Embezzle Political Funds: Part 1" mission set has one Michelle Paulis telling you "Basically, we have our fingers in the cookie jar already, just need someone to move the cookies. And by 'cookies', I mean 'millions of dollars'."

* MobWar: The rationale for the fighting aspect of the game.

* MoreCriminalsThanTargets: Implied; literally ''everyone'' in the game is a member of some organized crime group or another. Sure, the missions say you're doing things like robbing banks, eluding the FBI, etc., but no economy could conceivably survive all this crime.

* NoodleImplements: Figuring out just WHY you need a $12,000 tracksuit to intimidate someone or why questioning a captured spy requires 30 [=SUVs=] can be the most fun part of the game.
** The Dublin challenge mission might be the funniest example yet. Somehow, all of the tasks (rob the bank, kidnap the bank president's family) are accomplished with ''pints of stout''.

* TemporaryOnlineContent: Many top-level items are only available by doing limited-time missions. Cuba, Moscow, Bangkok and Atlantic City have been removed from the game. There have been promotions with games that are no longer available, and there was a limited time promotion with 7-Eleven.
* TheTriadsAndTheTongs: Featured in the Bangkok mission set.

%%* VivaLasVegas

* GameBreakingBug: Thanks to a bug, [[BikerBabe Red Jackson]] used to be pretty much impossible to beat on the Ruby mastery level. Before you can attack her directly, you have to kill her two henchmen. However, it used to be the case that even if you'd killed them, a bug would still cause one of them to register as being alive, preventing you from doing more than a miniscule amount of damage against the boss. And not only that, on occasion she would also inexplicably heal herself during battle. Though Jackson is still very hard, the bug thankfully appears to have been fixed now.

* DifficultySpike: Fighting and stamina are essential to getting through Vegas, so if you've powered through the other cities by putting all of your skill points in energy, the fighting jobs and boss fights in Vegas will hand you your ass on a platter.

* FollowTheLeader: There's a large number of other Facebook games that are essentially RecycledInSpace versions of ''Mafia Wars'', some of which are also made by Zynga.

A sequel, ''MafiaWars2'', was released, adding graphics and action gameplay by adding features from other Zynga games such as VideoGame/FrontierVille and VideoGame/CityVille, and RealTimeStrategy elements as seen in games such as VideoGame/{{Commandos}} and VideoGame/{{Desperados}}. It was later shut down.

* ShoutOut: While some of the items you can get for fights are original, many are obviously taken from other sources. In particular, the themed mystery crates have often been known to be full of items from other things, such as the [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog blue hedgehog]], [[Series/DoctorWho the chronoton booth]], [[VideoGame/HalfLife the MNU Suit]], or [[ScoobyDoo the Mystery van]].

* TemporaryOnlineContent: Many top-level items are only available by doing limited-time missions. Cuba, Moscow, Bangkok and Atlantic City have been removed from the game.

''Mafia Wars'' is a [[WebGames browser-based game]] by Zynga, Inc., available through Website/{{Facebook}}. It's the company's second most popular game behind ''{{Farmville}}''. You play a gangster who must rise through the ranks of TheMafia by performing jobs, collecting gear, taking over businesses, recruiting members, and fighting with rival Mafias. Through these actions, you earn money and ExperiencePoints; XP is used to advance your CharacterLevel, which unlocks new content and gives you additional points to spend to raise your stats. It's billed as an {{RPG}}, but contains no action elements whatsoever; the game's interface is simply a series of screens and buttons that you click on to perform the desired task.

* ShoutOut: While some of the items you can get for fights are original, many are obviously taken from other sources. In particular, the themed mystery crates have often been known to be full of items from other things, such as the [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog blue hedgehog]], [[Series/DoctorWho the chronoton booth]], [[VideoGame/{{Half-Life}} the MNU Suit]], or [[ScoobyDoo the Mystery van]].

* VivaLasVegas

* LostForever: Many top-level items are only available by doing limited-time missions. Cuba, Moscow, Bangkok and Atlantic City have been removed from the game.

* LethalJokeItem: Lots.

* TheMafia: ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.

''Mafia Wars'' is a [[WebGames browser-based game]] by Zynga, Inc., available through {{Facebook}}. It's the company's second most popular game behind ''{{Farmville}}''. You play a gangster who must rise through the ranks of TheMafia by performing jobs, collecting gear, taking over businesses, recruiting members, and fighting with rival Mafias. Through these actions, you earn money and ExperiencePoints; XP is used to advance your CharacterLevel, which unlocks new content and gives you additional points to spend to raise your stats. It's billed as an {{RPG}}, but contains no action elements whatsoever; the game's interface is simply a series of screens and buttons that you click on to perform the desired task.

The social aspect of the game comes into play in that your ability to fight other Mafias is directly related to how many members your own Mafia has; these may consist of friends you recruit through {{Facebook}} or "Hired Guns" that you buy with reward points. You can exchange gifts with your Mafia to complete collections and help with jobs, request and receive aid to perform jobs, send and receive Energy Packs, and even go to war with each other for fun and XP. There's also a "Hitlist" challenge where you try to stay alive as long as possible with everyone else gunning for you.

There is also a ''Mafia Wars'' [=iPhone=] app by Zynga, but it's a self-contained version that does not link to the {{Facebook}} game.

''Mafia Wars'' is a [[WebGames Flash-based game]] by Zynga, Inc., available through {{Facebook}}. It's the company's second most popular game behind ''{{Farmville}}''. You play a gangster who must rise through the ranks of TheMafia by performing jobs, collecting gear, taking over businesses, recruiting members, and fighting with rival Mafias. Through these actions, you earn money and ExperiencePoints; XP is used to advance your CharacterLevel, which unlocks new content and gives you additional points to spend to raise your stats. It's billed as an {{RPG}}, but contains no action elements whatsoever; the game's interface is simply a series of screens and buttons that you click on to perform the desired task.

A sequel, MafiaWars2, is in development, which judging from the gameplay footage revealed so far, adds graphics and action gameplay by adding features from other Zynga games such as VideoGame/FrontierVille and VideoGame/CityVille, and RealTimeStrategy elements as seen in games such as VideoGame/{{Commandos}} and VideoGame/{{Desperados}}.

The game is divided into different mission areas, each with its own structure and unique challenges. All players start in UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity (considered the "home city"), and the other locations become unlocked as you gain levels. The current locations are New York, Las Vegas, UsefulNotes/{{Italy}}, UsefulNotes/{{Brazil}}, and most recently (as of this writing), UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}. Four former locations, UsefulNotes/{{Cuba}}, UsefulNotes/{{Moscow}}, UsefulNotes/{{Bangkok}} and Atlantic City (The last of which was exclusive to the mobile version of the game), are now closed, with no word from the developers if they will be reopened.

A sequel, MafiaWars2, is in development, which judging from the gameplay footage revealed so far, adds graphics and action gameplay by adding features from other Zynga games such as FrontierVille and VideoGame/CityVille, and RealTimeStrategy elements as seen in games such as VideoGame/{{Commandos}} and VideoGame/{{Desperados}}.