Mafia games should have some respect, especially when it comes to Mafia 3 which was released in 2016. The game is published by 2K Games and developed by Hangar 13 (who also made Mafia 2 and Mafia: Definitive Edition).
Mafia 3 is set in the fictional city of New Bordeaux – this global version of New Orleans – during the 1960s. You play as Lincoln Clay, a former Army soldier who has returned home from Vietnam. At first, everything seems to be going well, but things take a turn when Lincoln and his family are betrayed by the Marcano crime family. Vowing to vengeance, Lincoln has assembled his own crew, and that’s where the game really shines.
Throughout the game, you enter into partnerships with the leaders of three different local crowds. Thomas Burke, the Irish gangster leader, Cassandra who leads the local Haitian gang, and Vito Scaletta, the Italian gangster you played in Mafia 2. What sets this mafia game apart from others is that from the start you are in charge of your crew and how it works.
You don’t start out as the usual pistol and work your way through the ranks; You start a new gang and tighten your grip on the city with a little help from your friends. This brings us to another unique dynamic in the game: the power of choice. Whenever you take over a new area, you have to sit down with your assistants and each come up with a reason to give them control of that area. After each speech, you can cycle through your assistants and see what perks come with their reward, including how much revenue they’ll earn for you.
For example, if you reward Burke – the leader of the local Irish mob – your days will end with flat tires because he will reinforce your wheels to withstand bullets throughout the game. Meanwhile, Vito would send men with rifles and machine guns whenever she called for support. But if you ignore and reject one of your assistants, they will get upset, and if you decide to isolate them from any territory, they will become your enemy. If you decide not to give Cassandra – the leader of the Haitian mob – any territory, your deal will break. This leads Burke and Vito to advise you to kill her because she is now a “problem”, and the same scenario applies if you decide to oppose Vito or Burke.
When a lieutenant becomes your enemy, so does his gang. They will attack you and shoot from a speeding car if you set foot in an area they control. This adds weight to your decisions. Do you choose to rule together and equally? Do you drive alone and kill all three? Or letting others feel neglected and forced to eliminate them, rewarding total control over the last one left? it’s your choice.
The New Bordeaux map is divided into several different regions, each of which runs a different criminal gang or family. Each area does a great job of standing out from the other, and really gives you a sense of who is running what. For example, if a crime family is making their money from drugs, you will see more users and drug dealers in those areas than in others, as it may be the case that prostitution is prevalent in the area due to it being a racket of a particular gang. Through small details like those, New Bordeaux has a wonderful sense of boldness and life.
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Each area provides you with a different experience, which also comes in the form of how you decide to take over each area. You can harm every mafia family by destroying drug boats and their dens in a fire, or by killing drug suppliers and pimps. The latter can also be questioned, gaining knowledge of how each family runs its business. After questioning, if you choose to let them live, Lincoln says to them — with a knife in their throat — “You work for me now” and they agree like a frightened child to a new administration. If you choose to enlist them, a one-time cash amount will be credited to your bank account.
His story is presented in a pseudo-documentary style that gives it an extra sense of realism. The entire story is told by retired FBI agent John Maguire – whom you’ve never interacted with – making everyone feel like a real historical figure. If you fail a mission known as death, he will play a movie scene for Maguire where he becomes by his side and wonders how the Lincoln story ended in different ways. There are also movie scenes involving a local priest known as Father James who acts as Lincoln’s spiritual advisor and treats him like a family member throughout the game. One end of the game involves Father James making a huge and shocking decision to determine Lincoln’s fate.
While it’s nothing new to play as a hero who has hit rock bottom, the fact that you build your own criminal empire from the ground up and take over parts of the city one by one is tempting – every newly owned plot really feels owned. When GTA exaggerates its world, Mafia 3 feels more realistic and realistic. So head to New Bordeaux and try it for yourself.
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