Mafia III (not to be confused with the disastrous Mafia: The Game of Survival movie), an open-world crime drama game developed by Hangar 13, released this week for multiple consoles. The previous edition, Mafia 2, was the quintessential gangster game — white guys with bad suits and hats, driving fancy cars, failed drug deals, and an ending where nobody survives.
Mafia III however, is the kind of game, which if it were a movie would be nominated for the Oscars (but wouldn’t win one). The Black mob is slaughtered by the Italian Mafia, which gives rise to our hero, Lincoln. A new crime family emerges to revenge themselves on the Italians.
Imagine a serious, toned-down version of GTA which has the environment and music that would make Quentin Tarantino proud. The game is set in a place called ‘New Bordeaux’, modelled on the New Orleans of the 1960s. The issue of racism combined with violence is extremely in-your-face. That’s the trigger warning if you need one.
New Bordeaux has its own criminal ecologies, with each district representing a different populous. Lincoln has to destroy the head of a gang, by eliminating the intricate loop of members (hit them where it hurts, cut off their finances etc). But there are a variety of ways to bring the gang to its knees. Like GTA, the game gives more importance to the ambience and paths to take in every mission, rather than the type of guns and combat options.
What stood out in the short playthrough video released, was the usage of the background music in the game. The music normally adapts, as the tension builds up, and we break into a sweat of intense concentration and panic as the protagonist approaches the boss.
But here, the distinct Jazz-rock style is maintained, like the fact that you are shooting down 50 goons in a cruise ship is no different from brushing your teeth in the morning. Mafia III is like the classy period movie that everyone loves because we see the bad guys bleed out, and the underdog rise. Heartless, but beautifully so.
(This economics graduate spends her leisure time preparing for the zombie apocalypse)