You go to locations and wreck them until you’ve done enough damage to bring out the “boss.” After that, you kill or recruit them then give the area to one of your underbosses. While it all works well, it just feels like filler to lead you from major plot point to major plot point, something that struck me as odd for an action game.Įven the mission structure comes across as uninspired. You have other options such as explosives, vehicular combat, and even intimidation, but none of them feel particularly fresh in the grand scheme of things. You aim (with some assist, depending on the difficulty you chose) and you pull the trigger until the bad guys drop. Shooting is serviceable, but it isn’t anything to write home about. While the story and world goes through leaps and bounds to provide something that is uncomfortable, thought-provoking, and memorable, the activities spattered through the story are simple and seen before. However, the experience does become somewhat muddied due to the gameplay that is far from unenjoyable, but feels largely safe and repetitive. And that star is punctuated by a stunning soundtrack that manages to capture the action and times. That background, forever pushing against me and reminding me that no matter how hard I tried, I would never fit here, is Mafia III’s shining star. Even worse a feeling was being attacked by members of Sal Marcano’s crime family, only to have the police show up and join in on the party, completely ignoring that I had done nothing wrong and had even yet to brandish a weapon. I was followed by not only the police, but by civilians who for some reason wondered what I, as a free man, could possibly be doing strolling around a public area. I was told to leave a store as soon as I walked in, simply because my “kind” didn’t belong. Discomfort rests greater with what lies under the surface insult, a societal norm that stuck with me even after I put the game down. Even in the digital world, it is foul and demeaning, and it is only a fraction of what players will face. A simple, scathing title that reduces a man to nothing more than his color. Hatred and a palpable tension fuels the world of Mafia III, but more remarkable is in how many forms. At first you’ll notice the “n” word tossed about as if it were child’s play. While you won’t run into trouble in the bayous or the predominantly minority-populated neighborhoods, expanding out into the more affluent realms of New Bordeaux means dealing with much more than increased difficulty. When you look like Lincoln Clay, simply existing is a challenge unto itself. Walk around, and you will hear slurs tossed about more often then you see the words “bae” or “fleek” in the current age. It was a world where a man like Lincoln Clay could fight for his nation overseas only to be treated like less than a second class citizen when he returned to the home country that didn’t want him. Riots by a people long overlooked were met with violence from those who sought to oppress them. had recently been gunned down for being virtuous in a time of contempt. Mafia III takes place in America during the 1960’s, a time when racism was a ingrained norm. What follows is a quest for revenge that sets the entire city of New Bordeaux ablaze. After a happy reunion with old friends, now members of the Black Mob and the Italian Mafia, it appears that things are looking up for everyone - until betrayal sets in, leaving the Black Mob decimated. Players step into the battleworn boots of Lincoln Clay, a bi-racial war orphan and veteran who stops fighting for his country overseas only to fight for the right to exist in his very home of New Bordeaux (Hanger 13’s fictional take on a 1960’s New Orleans). Thankfully, Hanger 13’s latest manages to achieve this goal, though it does stumble a bit along the way. How to stand up tall and appealing without just playing it by the numbers. Releasing in a post GTA V world, Mafia III had to figure out how to do the same. They were different takes on what make open-world games so captivating without copying the tried and true formula of the biggest name in the genre. The second game changed things even further, serving up a much more linear narrative in its open world. Instead of being filled with diversions and tons of civilians to kill, you got speeding tickets and roamed around looking at historic sites. The first game of the series presented an open world, crime-riddled adventure that took a distinct approach compared to its competition (Grand Theft Auto). Mafia III had some big shoes to fill from the moment it was announced.
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