Mafia III, an action-adventure game published by 2K games, is the third instalment of the Mafia franchise and is available across multiple platforms including Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Windows PC.
This iteration of the series is set in 1968, New Bordeaux, a fictional city in New Orleans, and centres on Lincoln Clay, a Vietnam war veteran who sets out to create a rival crime organisation to confront and take down the Italian mob as a means to seek revenge for the deaths of his friends.
Mafia III’s plot is nothing new and plays out as expected of any revenge tale. The game prides itself on giving players a deep understanding of each character and their background, focusing on providing a great deal of detail rather than jumping straight into action. Right from the start, we a thrust into Lincoln’s world, in which we follow him in the present, but are also given flashback sequences of how he came to become the man he is today. Not only that, but the overall narrative of the game is mixed in with testimonials and documentary footage relating to Lincoln, giving players a well rounded view of the character.
This focus on narrative, world building and character development may be slow and boring to some, but provides a decent knowledge base for those new to the game and its style of gameplay, along with giving the appearance of reality to the game, with supporting characters given much more screen time in comparison with other videogames of its kind.
The game is played in third-person and players are required to complete objectives in order to move the story forward. Despite the core of the game revolving around gun-play and killing those who get in your way, a variety of tactics are available as well, such as utilising stealth or engaging in melee-combat and taking cover behind objects.
Remaining true to its name, players are required to channel their inner mob boss and interrogate non playable characters (“NPCs”) for information through dangerous and rather tortuous methods. As a mob boss, players are further able to gain control of former Italian mob owned establishments to assign to their lieutenants. In a nutshell, Mafia III provides gamers with an almost realistic idea of what it means to be in the mob.
One of the aspects of the game I enjoyed is the cut-scenes and the history lesson within each one. There’s something uniquely special about the locale and the feeling of being transported back to the 60s. Being able to take control of a vehicle from that era and feel the weight of that vehicle while driving is an intriguing experience. Not to mention the incredible 60s soundtrack that plays in the background, which only reinforces the time period players have delved into.
While the premise, characters and music were all on point, in my opinion, the gameplay did feel sluggish and repetitive after some time. There were several moments during the game where I did feel rather bored as the tasks and objectives that needed completion were far too dull to take seriously. The more time spent on the game, the harder it was to truly be enamoured with it, which was a real shame as Mafia III really did have great potential with such an intriguing story. Not only that, but even the visuals appeared almost glitchy from time to time and not as crisp as one would expect, making it difficult to truly appreciate the appeal of the game. For a videogame that’s come out at a time where graphics and visuals are highly developed and of a solid calibre, Mafia III almost feels as if it was cheated out of incredible graphics. The overall feel of the game wasn’t the best either, as movement and actions felt clunky and rather laggy at certain points. This could just be a problem that I experienced though.
Despite its repetitive gameplay and sluggish feel, Mafia III did come across as a refreshing videogame in a time where story-less multiplayer games run rampant. Supported by a solid soundtrack, which reinforces the era in which the game is set, Mafia III is one game that will have you longing to experience life in the 60s, and instil the fantasy of what being a mob boss in a city filled with culture, allure and organised crime could be like.