Mafia III
Mafia III is an action-adventure video game developed by Hangar 13 and published by 2K Games. It was released in October 2016 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows, and in May 2017 for macOS. It is the third main game in the Mafia series, and the sequel to Mafia II. Set within the fictional city of New Bordeaux, based on New Orleans, in 1968, the single-player story follows Lincoln Clay, a criminal and war veteran who aims to build a new criminal organization while seeking revenge on the Italian mob.
The development of Mafia III began soon after Mafia II's release, but initially had problems. 2K Czech, the developer of the series' first installments, oversaw restructure, with much of the development team assigned to the company's new studio, Hangar 13. After deciding on recreating New Orleans in 1968, the development team drew influence from the series' previous projects, and designed the game around Clay to replicate the core structure of its predecessors. Much of the development work constituted the open world's creation, and several team members conducted field research around Louisiana to capture footage for the design team. The game's soundtrack features several licensed songs composed by various musicians who were active during the time period.
Upon release, the game received mixed reviews, with praise directed at its story, characters, darker themes, and soundtrack. However, some of the gameplay mechanics and the presence of technical issues drew criticism. The game was a commercial success. It shipped 5 million copies worldwide. An updated version of the game, entitled Mafia III: Definitive Edition, was released on 19 May 2020.
Gameplay
Mafia III is an action-adventure game set in an open world environment and played from a third-person perspective, in which the player assume control of Lincoln Clay, a Vietnam War veteran on a quest to seek revenge for his adopted family, who are murdered by local mobs. The game is set in 1968 New Bordeaux, a re-imagined version of New Orleans, with the game world being larger than the Mafia and Mafia II maps combined. Mafia IIIs map is made up of ten districts: Bayou Fantom, Delray Hollow, Barclay Mills, Frisco Fields, Pointe Verdun, Tickfaw Harbor, Southdowns, River Row, Downtown, and the French Ward. Players can complete objectives using a variety of approaches. For example, players can use the weapons provided in the game, like shotguns and revolvers, to eliminate enemies, or call for allies, who arrive in a van and assist players.Alternatively, they can make use of stealth tactics throughout the entire mission without being noticed by enemies. The core gameplay revolves around gunplay. In addition, players can also perform executing moves and engage in melee-combat. The game features a cover system, allowing players to take cover behind objects to avoid enemy gunfire or detection. Players can interrogate non-playable characters after defeating them in order to gain more information on their objectives, like scaring them while driving a car. Players can attack and overrun locations owned by the Italian mob, and assign one of their lieutenants to operate around the local area. The game allows players to drive cars from the era with realistic driving mechanics and sounds.
Synopsis
Setting
Mafia III takes place within the late 1960s, within the fictional American city of New Bordeaux. Situated within America's southern states and coastline, the city is composed of island districts, industrial complexes and ports, high-rise offices and apartments, slums, suburban housing, and historical districts, interconnected by railroads and an extensive road network, with a large swampland separating the city from the coast. The city consists of a mixture of cultures including African-Americans, Irish, Italians and Haitians, and is mostly controlled by one mafia family – the Marcano family – alongside smaller organizations including the Irish Mob, Haitian crime lords, the "Black Mob", and white supremacists.The city's design, including its architectural styles, cultures and lifestyles, were influenced by the real-life aspects of the southern United States during the time period, including the real-life city of New Orleans. The game's story focuses primarily within this setting, though DLC content expanded the setting with additional locations around New Bordeaux.
Plot
The game is told as a biography of Lincoln Clay through a documentary, for which several people where interviewed, including retired FBI agent Jonathan Maguire, who led an investigation on Lincoln's crimes in 1968, and Lincoln's old friend, priest Father James Ballard, as well as through footage of a 1971 meeting between a Senate committee and John Donovan, a CIA agent and Lincoln's handler during the Vietnam War, who was brought there to answer for his role in Lincoln's crimes.Following his return home to New Bordeaux from Vietnam in 1968, Lincoln reunites with his friends and family, including his surrogate father and Black Mob leader Sammy Robinson, his adopted brother Ellis, and James. Although initially planning to depart to California, Lincoln agrees to stay and help Sammy with the Haitian Mob. Despite killing their boss, Lincoln learns Sammy is in debt to mob boss Sal Marcano. To clear it, he helps Marcano rob the city's branch of the Federal Reserve during the city's Mardi Gras celebrations, alongside Marcano's son Giorgi, Ellis, and Irish mobster Danny Burke. While the heist is successful, the Marcanos betray the group, murdering Ellis, Sammy and Danny, while leaving Lincoln for dead. After being rescued and nursed back to health by James, Lincoln swears revenge against the Marcano family.
Aided by Donovan, who offers help for unknown reasons, Lincoln recruits three crime bosses across New Bordeaux who also seek revenge against Marcano: Haitian crime lord Cassandra, who reluctantly helps despite Lincoln killing her predecessor, in exchange for assistance against the Dixie Mafia; Danny's father and Irish mob boss Thomas Burke, who asks for help in reclaiming his territory from a rival; and exiled Italian mafioso Vito Scaletta, who seeks to reclaim back his business from another Marcano mobster in order to continue paying his dues to the Commission. After reclaiming their former territories, Lincoln begins violently undoing the Marcano family, taking over their rackets and turf and assigning them to his allies, who slowly respect his skill; in the event any are neglected and eventually abandon him, Lincoln must eliminate them.
As Lincoln begins dismantling the Marcano family's operations, he learns that Marcano has recently begun building a new casino, intending to become independent of the Commission. He locates and eliminates many of the family's prominent members and associates assisting in the venture, while learning that the heist on the Reserve was merely to acquire money plates to allow Marcano to produce counterfeit bills to fund construction. After eliminating most of the Marcano family and its allies, Lincoln assaults the casino, killing all of Marcano's remaining men and Giorgi, before confronting Marcano himself. Having wanted to construct the casino in order to go legitimate and keep his son away from the life of crime, Marcano considers he has no more reasons to live and accepts his fate; committing suicide or dying at Lincoln's hands. Upon leaving the site, Lincoln is greeted by Commission consigliere Leo Galante, investigating the recent troubles in New Bordeaux. Satisfied that Lincoln's intention was only revenge against Marcano and no one else, Leo advises him that the Commission will expect a percentage of his earnings if he remains in control of the city's rackets and illicit businesses.
After informing Donovan and James of Marcano's death, the player decides Lincoln's future. If he chooses to rule over the city, Lincoln either rules with his underbosses, or on his own, the latter leading him to murder his underbosses and in turn be killed by a remorseful James with a car bomb. If he chooses to leave the city, Lincoln disappears from public life, sending postcards to James from time to time, while one of his underbosses takes control of the city's rackets, effectively determining how it survives in the years to come.
The game ends with Donovan revealing to the Senate committee why he aided Lincoln: to investigate Marcano's link as one of the conspirators responsible for the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Donovan also reveals that the Senator in charge of the committee was mentioned as a conspirator in Marcano's files and kills him, before openly declaring his intention to track down everybody else responsible for President Kennedy's death.
Development
The game was first rumored in August 2011. In November 2012, 2K Czech, the developer of the original Mafia and Mafia II, announced that the company was working on a "top secret, AAA game". However, the company was later restructured on January 10, 2014, and the main studio in Prague was shuttered, with resources being allocated to a new headquarters in Novato, California. A new studio called Hangar 13 was established by 2K Games in Novato in the same year. Rod Fergusson, who had just left 2K's Irrational Games after completing BioShock Infinite, had originally been in charge of Hangar 13, but later left as a result of creative differences with how he wanted to take the game. Instead, Haden Blackman, who had previously worked with LucasArts, was named as the lead to oversee the project.Hangar 13 and 2K Games wanted to stay true to the quality that many users expected over the previous games. The game uses the graphics software Simplygon. The development team were interested in creating a world based on New Orleans, and eventually decided on setting the game in 1968. The team used a collection of old photographs to recreate the world. Various alterations to the world were made to suit the narrative: the bayou and the city have been positioned at close proximity, despite being at a further distance in real Louisiana; the Superdome stadium was being constructed in 1968, but is excluded from the game. The team intended the world to be accessible for high-speed chases. The team also wanted to move away from the stereotypical Italian mafia scene and represent a different side of gang-related crime scenarios. Another aspect of setting a special tone and atmosphere in the game has been the choice of licensed music. Haden Blackman indicated that Mafia III will include a "ton of great music" from the sixties.
American rapper Ice Cube collaborated with producer DJ Shadow to create the song "Nobody Wants to Die" for the game's promotion.
Release
The game was officially teased by 2K on July 28, 2015, and was formally revealed at Gamescom 2015 with a cinematic trailer. Mafia III released on October 7, 2016 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Players who pre-ordered the game received a downloadable content pack titled "Family Kick-Back Pack" which introduced several new weapons and vehicles to the game. Players can also purchase the Limited Deluxe Edition and the Limited Collector's Edition. The Limited Deluxe Edition's content include the base game and the season pass, while the Limited Collector's Edition added additional content such as the game's original soundtrack and art book. A mobile game entitled Mafia III Rivals was also released to tie in with the main game, developed by Cat Daddy Games for Android and iOS. Rivals is presented as a role-playing game with turn-based combat mechanics.Following the game's release, several pieces of story-based downloadable content was released by the developer. The first DLC, titled Faster, Baby, was released on March 28, 2017 and features new story missions set in the Sinclair Parish district, as well as new gadgets. On the same day, 2K Games released a free demo for players to try the game. On May 30, 2017, the second DLC, Stones Unturned, which reunites Lincoln Clay with John Donovan, was released and it introduces several new weapons into the game. The third DLC, titled Sign of the Times, which sees Lincoln fighting against a cult called Ensanglante, was released on July 25, 2017.
Reception
Mafia III received "mixed or average" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic. Critics praised the story, characters, and darker themes, but criticized the repetitive gameplay and the presence of numerous technical issues.Alex Donaldson of VG247 gave the game a mixed review, writing, "Mafia III features one of my video game stories of the year, some gorgeous presentation, an amazing soundtrack and an interesting world. Sadly it also has by-the-numbers mission design and dubious performance." In his 2/5 star review, Sam White of The Guardian wrote, "To say Mafia III is a disappointment is an understatement. It has all of the surface components to form a great game: the writing and acting are superb, its direction and style are great, but its mechanical underpinnings are archaic and desperately unimaginative."
Marty Sliva for IGN gave the game a score of 7.5 out of 10, summarizing his review with: "Mafia 3s strong characters and confident storytelling kept me engaged, even if the gameplay rarely delivered anything but bog-standard and repetitive open-world action. That's a bummer, because Lincoln is an incredible protagonist and New Bordeaux is a fantastic setting thematically, and it would've been great to see them put to better use." Brian Mazique of Forbes gave the game an 8.1/10, saying, "This might not be everyone's cup of tea, but if you love a good character study and aren't in search of gameplay mechanics that break new ground in innovation and control, this is one you should own."
Sales
Mafia III was the second best-selling retail game in the UK in its week of release, behind FIFA 17. Mafia III sold 58.7% more than that of Mafia II in the UK. It debuted at number 9 on the Japanese sales charts, with 15,838 copies sold. On November 2, 2016, Take-Two Interactive announced that the game shipped in 4.5 million in it first week, setting a new launch record for 2K Games. On February 7, 2017, Take-Two Interactive announced that the game has now shipped 5 million copies. By the end of March 2020, the game had sold more than 7 million copies.On release, it was found that the PC version was locked to 30 FPS; a patch to unlock the 30 FPS cap and address other issues in-game has since been released.
Future
In 2017, development at Hangar 13 reportedly split into two groups, one focused on downloadable content for Mafia III, and one building the concepts for Mafia IV. Early ideas set the game in 1970s Las Vegas, with the "glitz and glamour of mob-controlled Sin City." Plans for Mafia IV didn't last long as Hangar 13 chose to create their own original video game instead, though Hangar 13 reassured fans that they still own the series and would not forget about it.In August 2019, Take-Two Interactive registered three trademarks in relation to the Mafia franchise. Two of the trademarks are for "Mafia" and their respective text-based logos only differ in typography. The first one is identical to the font used for the first two installments in the franchise. The second one is different and without any description. The third trademark directly mentions Mafia 2 and features the same silhouette logo from 2010.
On May 13, 2020, 2K announced Mafia: Trilogy, which includes a remaster of Mafia II and Mafia III, as well as a remake of the first Mafia, and is set to be released later in 2020. The Mafia III remaster, entitled Mafia III: Definitive Edition, was released individually for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows on 19 May 2020.