Mafia is a game that has a very passionate fan base — the series has built its loyalty through solid storytelling. With a poor story line and repetitive gameplay, Mafia III isn't a legitimate heir to the franchise's legacy
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Mafia is a game that has a very passionate fan base — the series has built its loyalty through solid storytelling. The latest Mafia III starts off with equal oomph. You play Lincoln Clay, a Vietnam war veteran who has just returned home to New Bordeaux, Louisiana (a take on New Orleans) after his stint in the special forces. This scenario is a shift from the last two Mafia games, which focused on the Italian mob.
The first few hours are mostly spent in setting the premise. The actual gameplay during this time is limited and you will wonder if the game will ever let you explore the open world. However, once it does, you are going to wish for the heavy story mode to kick in again.
New Bordeaux is a fantastic place. It's huge and there are lots of parts that pay homage to New Orleans. There is racism, too, because it’s the 1960s. For example, there are white-only establishments. If you trespass, the owner will warn you with some racial slurs and call the cops if you refuse. People use the N-word a lot and talk about how black people are lazy. All in all, it gives a sense of the open racism that the community faced in the 1960s. That said, the subject, we feel, was handled in a very bold and appropriate manner.
The music in the game, too, only brings legitimacy to the experience of the era. It has everything from Rolling Stones, The Animals, Johnny Cash, Aretha Franklin, and Jimi Hendrix. The vehicles, your primary source of music, are not so much fun to drive. They feel like they are mostly floating.
Cinematic wonder
The story starts off well — your adopted family, that’s part of the black mob, is in trouble and they need your help to get out of it. The storytelling is done in a cinematic interview/flashback method. It’s fun and feels like you are part of a movie. Most of the cinematics take a backseat once there is an attempt on Lincoln’s life. He decides to go on a revenge spree by taking the entire town away from the Italian mob. That’s when things get bad.
The game is divided into districts and you have to help your lieutenants take them over by conquering rackets. With the object of killing boss Sal Marcano, you have to take over every illegal activity he is into, by force.
Weak, repetitive story
While all of this sounds great on paper, it could seem repetitive during gameplay. This feeling of boredom is partly due to Hangar 13’s decision to use the same locations and mission types over and over again, with enemies taking over the same positions as the last time. We fail to understand the decision-making process that led to this, considering the town of New Bordeaux is huge. This is a big reason for the game’s failure to deliver on the story it so enthusiastically started. The second reason is that enemy AI is laughable, if you can even call it that. The gun play is not as satisfying either; we preferred one-on-one fist combats and knife play. Graphically, the game looks good, the animation and cut scenes are beautiful as long as you can ignore the beady eyes.
Overall, it is playable. But, is it a legitimate heir to the Mafia name — not so much. It feels like a standalone. This feels like GTA’s not-so-great cousin, the one that everyone talks about in whispers because they are so ashamed of them.
Mafia III
Rating: 2.5/5
Developer: Hangar 13
Publisher: 2k Games
Platform: PC (Steam)
Price: 2,499
Video link: https://www.youtube.com /watch?v=TNiHOpHbCzM
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