Skip to content
Mafia III stars off looking like it’s a TV documentary, with Sam and Dave‘s Hold On (I’m Coming) booming out, which follows hot on the heels of Jimi Hendrix‘s All Along The Watchtower, a track which will greet you each time you begin.
Told in flashback by Father James Ballard, and mixing in game action with FMV scenes, the year is 1968 and you’re in New Orleans… or rather, New Bordeaux, as it’s called, here. You take the role of Vietnam veteran Lincoln Clay, taking control of protection rackets as you lead the way in organised crime, trying to get one over on the Italian mafia who have done you a major disservice by killing off your best friends.
We were due to receive a copy of this shortly after the release date of October 7th from the PR company, but despite being promised one, that didn’t happen in the end, and eventually I was able to secure one, so this review may feel rather ‘after the fact’ as we’re over a month on, but I love a good third-person shooter, so it’s still good to get stuck into Clay’s world, which takes place over 54 missions, although some of them are very brief.
As you do, you’ll build up a number of associates to help you out, later on getting a radio so you can call them as well as your arms dealer. Some doors require jimmying open, with a method which is like a pared-down version of Thief or Hitman‘s lock-picking, although whenever I failed at that, Lincoln just forced it open anyway. And you’ll rarely be stuck as to what to do next, apart from one glitch I mention below, as it felt like it was telling me where to go at every step of the way.
On the plus side, this game has a strong storyline – there’s plenty of violence, strong language – often rac -ist, such was the era, and you really want to know more about what makes Lincoln tick. However, there are a number of issues with it.
Even before I could get a full assessment of the graphics and sound, this felt like it was playing second fiddle to the Grand Theft Auto series from the start. These games are all about their open-world sandbox feel, but while that’s mostly pretty decent, this felt like it hit the buffers early on when I ended up in a factory and saw a ramp leading up somewhere…. and I couldn’t even jump onto it, to run up. It may as well have been a chimney stack for all the difference it made. It’s a small thing, but really distances you from the game you’re playing, so would it have taken much to program that in fully?
And when it comes to movement, walking about feels a bit clunky; not as ‘free’ as the aforementioned GTA series, for example. I know they’ll be using a different game engine, but this really needs more work to it.
Enemies can be predictable. While doing the “Find Baka” mission, one man barked “No excuses! Tear this place apart!” directing men to find me… and he kept repeating this over and over; And despite them clearly working out where my bullets were coming from (how could they not?), they happily continued to walk one by one into the my firing range. Not the brightest of the bunch.
Another time, when I died as my speedboat crashed underground, going through tunnels with cops shooting at me, Ellis shouted, “Come on, let’s see what you’ve got motherfuckers!”, but only after we’d crashed and burned! We were going nowhere!!!
Later, after escaping from the cops and driving away, the picture just froze for a while (making me think it had crashed) before releasing and the guys celebrating their escape.
Then as I drove around town, it told me to press ‘X’ to find objectives on the map.. but there weren’t any other than having to find the car… which I’d just found. Hmm… Oh, another minute of driving around and the screen faded to black, then came back up and I could select from said objectives.
I understand that on release, there were framerate problems all over the shop, but a few weeks on and this game still has problems that need resolving, not least in that it has quite a poor draw-distance, as the graphics are often still finishing themselves off as you run or drive about.
The sound is good, however, even though it doesn’t differ from anything you’d expect.
Oh and keep an eye on the residents of anywhere you drive about.. One time…
- Stole a car
“Witness is calling the police”
I chase after and run over and kill said witness.
“Witness is calling the police”
Another one?? You really don’t learn, do you people??!
I chase after and run over and kill said witness.
Job done! 😀
Overall, Mafia III is moderately entertaining, but it’s not Grand Theft Auto. Still, it’ll keep you going until the next entry in that series.
I’m currently putting a video together or stupid moments that have happened, such as a chair moving by itself, and surprising a man with a bullet to the head, but you don’t need to see me dying endlessly as I attempt some missions.
Mafia III is out now on PS4, Xbox One and PC.
Important info:
- Publisher: Take 2 Games
- Players: single-player
- HDTV options: 720p/1080i/1080p
- Languages: English
- Subtitles: English
|
GRAPHICS SOUND GAMEPLAY ENJOYMENT |
6 8 6 7 |
| OVERALL | 7 |
Directors: Haden Blackman and Matthias Worch Petr Miksa, Mike Orenich and Martin Zavrel
Writers: William Harms, Ed Fowler, Charles Webb, Haris Orkin and Evan Skolnick
Music: James Bonney and Jesse Harlin
Cast:
Lincoln Clay: Alex Hernandez
John Donovan: Lane Compton
Father James: Gordon Greene
Vito Scaletta: Rick Pasqualone
Cassandra: Erica Tazel
Thomas Burke: Barry O’Rourke
Nicki Burke: Dana Blasingame
Danny Burke: Jeff Schine
Sammy Robinson: Leith Burke
Ellis Robinson: Justice Nnanna
Sal Marcano: Jay Acovone
Giorgi Marcano: Mercer Boffey
Lou Marcano: Brad Leland
Olivia Marcano: Erin Matthews
Tommy Marcano: Christopher Corey Smith
Jonathan Maguire: Cully Fredricksen
Alma Diaz: Danay Garcia
Emmanuel Lazare: Lyriq Bent
Roman ‘The Butcher’ Barbieri: Joey Coco Diaz
Enzo Conti: Matt Gottlieb
Remy Duvall: Nolan North
Tony Derazio: Gibson Frazier
Ritchie Doucet: Matt Lowe
Michael Grecco: Marrick Smith
Frank Pagani: Jack Conley
Nino Santangelo: Jordi Caballero
‘The Voice’/Charles Laveau: Dave Fennoy
State Senator Walter Jacobs: Cris D’Annunzio
Joe (Shop Owner): Anthony Michael Jones
Baka: Asante Jones
Jesse: Jonathan Murphy
Judge Cornelius Holden/Additional Voices: Richard Epcar
Police Chief Wilson: Glenn Taranto
Alex Ribaldi/Reporter: Chris Tardio
Leo Galante/Additional Voices: Frank Ashmore
Alvarez: Alex Ruiz
Stephen Degarmo: Matlock Zumsteg
U.S. Senator Richard Blake: Gene Scandur
Debra Lancaster: Tara Platt
Hollis Dupree/Additional Voices: Casey Sander
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.