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The bombastic opening sequence of 2K’s Mafia III depicts landmarks from New Bordeaux, the game’s fictionalised version of New Orleans, to a backtrack of crackly sixties music. The resulting video shows us glimpses of the Ku Klux Klan besides happy-go-lucky white families, scenic river cruises alongside hastily dug graves in bogs, a violent and turbulent inner city alongside peaceful and beautiful suburbs. This contrast of stark reality against optimistic idealism sets the tone of the game immediately.
The majority of the game is set in 1968, both arguably the dirtiest year in 20th century American politics and the year that the mafia begins to decline as a serious force in America. A modern day court setting is used to introduce characters and their motivations, while the game proper is explored through flashbacks. Among these characters is Lincoln Clay, the main protagonist and playable character. The opening is especially compelling as not all aspects of Lincoln’s character are revealed immediately. Rather, we gradually learn that he is mixed hispanic and black, he is a Vietnam veteran with a traumatic past, his brother has strong ties to the new Bordeaux black mafia, and he takes family values very very seriously. All these factors come to the fore when a collaborative effort between the Italian and black mobs to rob the federal reserve succeeds. The Italian mob bosses immediately defect on the fragile deal and kill the black leaders, but with our hero miraculously surviving. Lincoln resolves to take back the city from the Italians and gain vengeance for his murdered family with one stone.
What could very easily slip into generic revenge story material, the game however, does not. For one thing, Lincoln and his supporting cast are remarkably well developed for a video game. All come across as extremely damaged people with genuine depth, without resorting to typical shooter clichés. Secondly, the history and lore behind New Bordeaux makes it a fascinating area to explore. Thirdly, the brilliant crime story told through the roughly fifteen hour campaign is brutal and moving in equal measure and will appeal to any Goodfellas or Godfather fans wandering bereft.
One aspect the game handles spectacularly is race. Racism underpinned every echelon of American society in the 1960s and the game does not shy away from it. Certain businesses will not serve Lincoln due to his colour, for instance. The looks and comments Lincoln receives walking around part of the city, the discreet detail of every cop you pass moving his hand to his holster, glancing at the on-screen rearview mirror and noticing the squad car tailing you for the last mile – all of these small details are representative of the terrible discrimination of the time.
With that being said, it is in the gameplay that Mafia III stumbles somewhat. The fairly standard shooter functions are nicely done, with a good range of combat animations, but the AI leaves a lot to be desired. Entire gunfights can rest on just aiming above the spot an enemy is crouching under until they pop their head up. There is no real coordination or flanking maneuvers by enemies which is quite disappointing. The driving also takes some getting used to; in a nod to the much heavier muscle cars of the day, cars have slower acceleration and a much lower centre of gravity. However, car chases are fun and well designed. Rather than the uninspired chasing that plagued Mafia II, coppers will actively try to box Lincoln in and ram him off the road.
After the first few hours of pure campaign based play, the open world aspect opens up into a series of boss missions which you prepare for by doing several smaller jobs. For instance, a prostitution den is supposedly too heavily guarded to enter immediately so you launch several small attacks on the mobsters’ business to wear him down. There’s something of the first Assassin’s Creed here and it can become fairly repetitive. However, it does add a new twist in that once you’ve conquered an area, you get to choose which of your three subordinates you get to pass it onto. You can’t please everyone and sooner or later, you may have to put your own interests before theirs.
All in all, Mafia III is a great story with fantastic characters. However gameplay can become quite bland and repetitive after the first few dozen shoot-outs. There should be more incentive to play a game than simply getting to the next cut scene to advance the story; which 2K doesn’t always provide. Nonetheless, it is a broadly fun, clever game full of social commentary that most game companies wouldn’t come near with a ten foot pole, and perhaps that is motivation enough.
