![]() ![]() Not wanting to lose my money, I call Vito’s associate and she arrives promptly on the road I’m standing on. Associates are NPCs that come and help out in some way, like bring you a weapons cache or, as in this instance, pick up any money you have and drop it at the bank for safekeeping. This is where I look into calling an associate. I’m scoping the place out, trying to see how I could get in quietly when I realize I have $5,000 on me, which may not be a lot but every time you die you lose 50% of your cash. So to set the stage, I am in front of a warehouse where a group of guards stands between me and my target. And while I can list all of the times the game bugged out on me, I’d instead like to give one example that, I think, puts together the Mafia III experience. From mission items, like a stack of money not loading in, to NPCs standing on the coffin during a funeral scene. And there are plenty of glitches to report in Mafia III. Unfortunately, even with such mechanics, Mafia III doesn’t let you step into the shoes of Lincoln Clay for too long before it yanks you right out. These sort of gameplay mechanics do a great job at merging the story and the gameplay resulting in a more immersive experience. However, you have to think through your decisions because favoring one or two members will leave the third feeling offended and that could lead to negative outcomes down the line. With each racquet you bring down you must assign it to one of the three, and this will, in turn, give you a new or increased income and gameplay enhancing perk. Once you progress enough in the story you will have three people under you that run the business while you are on your revenge path. There is also some overlap between gameplay and story, the biggest example of that being how you manage your startup mob. The game does add in small extra features, like slow motion during gunfights as well as the ability to slide across the hood of a car when you run at it, but, having recently played Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition, the gameplay, especially in the melee sections, in Mafia III didn’t have that much personality or variety. I enjoyed the familiar gunplay and controls that are now commonplace in these sort of open-world games, and though I wasn’t a huge fan of driving at first, once I switched to simulation style in settings I enjoyed it significantly more. After the first few missions, the game pretty much repeats the same mission structure as Lincoln Clay takes on on one district after another to bring down the Italian Mob. How much you enjoy Mafia III will depend on if you like its gameplay loop. But Mafia III always managed to reclaim my attention before it wandered too far off. This is mainly due to the fact that Mafia III is significantly longer than its predecessors and the length doesn’t always feel warranted. However, with a campaign that takes roughly 25 hours to beat, there are times where the game starts to drag. The voice cast’s work is a big part of why the narrative is as engaging as it is. Mafia III also has some fantastic performances with Alex Hernandez (Lincoln Clay), Gordon Greene (Father James), and Rick Pasqualone (Vito Scaletta) being my personal favorites. Lincoln’s story is stung together with documentary footage which is mostly CGI cutscenes made to look real but some of it is genuine archival footage from the era. The presentation of Mafia III’s narrative is incredibly effective. Full of instant classic songs on the radio, cops turning a blind eye to crime in black neighborhoods, and white people throwing out the N-word like it’s their mother’s maiden name. Although New Bordeaux isn’t a real city, its imitation of 60s America is intensely accurate. After recovering from a near-death injury, he vows to dismantle and destroy the Italian Mob and take over the city of New Bordeaux in the process. Mafia III centers around Lincoln Clay, a black Vietnam War veteran who comes home to have his life turned upside down. However, as I booted up Mafia III and read the opening disclaimer from Hangar 13 which warns of the harsh reality which it depicts, I realized that the game was perhaps more relevant today than ever before. ![]() ![]() But as I saw the one-year release anniversary for Mafia III: Definitive Edition approach, I couldn’t miss the chance again. I missed my chance to review Mafia III back in September of last year when Mafia: Definitive Edition was released. The same goes for if a new entry in a game series is about to release. ![]() If a game on my list is approaching its one, five, or ten-year anniversary I am more likely to play it next. As someone who has a lot of games in their backlog, I try to pick my next game in relation to upcoming anniversaries or releases. ![]()
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