And while there’s a standard array of weapons at your disposal, I’ve found that the most useful ways to kill enemies are whistling to get their attention while I’m in stealth and silently stabbing them or just using my basic pistol. What’s even worse is that a lot of locations are used as the setting for multiple missions, meaning I had to clear out the exact same bath house filled with enemies twice in a row, which is pretty nonsensical.Įven that wouldn't be a big deal if Mafia 3’s combat were interesting enough to make each encounter feel different, but instead it definitely falls into the realm of “familiar, but functional.” The cover system is adequate when it works, but it occasionally wonked out and wouldn’t let me hide behind something, which led to a handful of frustrating deaths. The first time I did each one of these was great the literal 20th time, not so much. Taking over parts of the city involves repeating the same handful of tasks like simple assassinations, destroying some sort of cargo, or stealing something from a well-guarded compound.
That being said, the path to these big encounters isn’t nearly as exciting. Making my way through a creepy abandoned amusement park, escaping a bank vault after a heist, and sneaking aboard a sinking riverboat all provided some awesome, memorable action. I really love the big, story-driven missions set in unique, well-designed locations. You drive around New Bordeaux, get missions from various characters, reap your rewards, and occasionally get sidetracked along the way. In between the chunks of plot is the familiar open-world infrastructure that Grand Theft Auto 3 set in place 15 years ago.
The Rolling Stones, Sam Cooke, and Creedence Clearwater Revival all add to Mafia’s already incredible atmosphere. Steal a car in a poor neighborhood, and the cops might not even show up at all.Īll of this is only heightened by the fantastic soundtrack, which does as good of a job at delivering a sense of time and place as Grand Theft Auto: Vice City did for the ‘80s. For example, if you steal a car in an affluent neighborhood, cops will show up quickly and in full force.
Along with this are some pretty heavy themes consistent with the era: Mafia 3 does not shy away from dealing with racism and what America was like in the fallout of the Vietnam War, but all of it is done smartly with tact and in ways that affect gameplay. From Mardi Gras parades and above-ground cemeteries to bayous filled with gators and riverboat gambling tours, it took me to some settings I can’t recall ever exploring in a video game before. New Bordeaux, a fictionalized take on New Orleans in 1968, is full of diverse architecture and nature.
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