As of Oct. 7, the Mafia franchise continues with Mafia 3, and 2K Studios has the clear intent of putting this franchise back on the market with its open-world third person shooter. One of the many rivals of Grand Theft Auto, Mafia tries to get the Italian crime game genre into the limelight.
For some background on the game series, here’s the words of my friend: “Mafia tried to mooch off of the success of mob movies like Godfather and Good Fellows, but while trying to keep the theme of mafia styles in order to be popular, the first Mafia failed to understand what makes mafia movies popular in the first place. Mafia 2 was the highpoint of the Mafia series so far, as it focused less on the bland, generic controls and story and more on an interactive story with boring crap on the side. Mafia 3 is doing something that not many people have covered, New Orleans, but they don’t know what makes a game good.” I know what you’re about to say, and yes, I’m surprised I have friends too. True, it’s just his opinion, but it’s also the opinion of many others.
Regardless of other’s opinions, Mafia is better than others competing against GTA. The controls are mostly responsive, there are many different missions, and it is overall an entertaining experience. This being said, the missions are stale and repetitive. If you fail a mission, it’s very annoying, but some missions leave you even more annoyed if you do them correctly.
Ignoring the gameplay, what is the game? Friggin GREAT, that’s what. The graphics, voice acting, and choreography in cutscenes gives off a feeling of a great Hollywood film in the Italian crime genre. As you drive around New Orleans, you are made to listen to famous soundtracks of the post-Vietnam time period. With this, traveling around and progressing through the story are rewards, while missions, the main part of the game, function as challenges that need to be passed.
Essentially, this game is a great movie. Top notch, really. If you want to see a movie about a war veteran from Vietnam who has to pay back his parents’ debt to the Mafia and the twists and turns that stem from his forced employment, this game is for you. Otherwise, I would look towards buying an actual game. Mafia might be successful in making a game that functions as a blockbuster hit, but this premise for their goal is backwards, as the game is simply a very long movie. Enjoy the game’s story to your heart’s content, but you might just want to look the cutscenes up online, it’s your choice.
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