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‘Mafia III’: A masterful story let down by gameplay

“Mafia III” is the first game directed by longtime “Star Wars” writer Haden Blackman. (Courtesy of 2K Games)
Andrew Sciascia
Connector Staff

The story of La Cosa Nostra, or the Italian Mob, has been a staple in classic American film since before the time most current students at UMass Lowell were even a thought. In recent decades, the trope has died out. People just do not care about the mafia anymore. The classic gangster story just does not sell the way it used to.

Fans of the genre, however, were introduced this last week to the latest installment in a videogame series meant to pay homage to those classic American films like “The Godfather” or “Good Fellas.” The third installment in the 2K “Mafia” series is here, and for some it has been long awaited. Though the long-awaited “Mafia III” takes a new approach to the classic gangster story, and does so with a beautiful and strong narrative, the game itself just does not hold its water.

“Mafia III” follows Lincoln Clay, a mixed-race male returning to the states after service in Vietnam. Lincoln was an orphan raised by a preacher in the racially charged city of New Bordeaux, Louisiana. Searching for family and respect, Lincoln enlists for Vietnam as a special forces operative. However, upon returning home he finds that the family of a childhood friend is having trouble with ties to the Haitian and Italian Mob in New Bordeaux. Witnessing a massive betrayal, the death of the only family he ever truly knew, Lincoln swears revenge. The rest of the story revolves around Lincoln building his own mob family to overtake the Marcano family.

The story of Lincoln Clay is positively stunning. Like previous installments in the series the narrative is not played out as it occurs, but presented in documentary format. Cut scenes consist of interviews, audio files and old tapes as you would see in any History channel documentary. The voice acting is stellar. Everyone in the cast provides their character a unique voice, style and motive. Everyone has an angle; everyone is driven and you come to know every character that is introduced to the point of truly caring what happens to them. Despite the story being a generic revenge tale, it sets itself apart from anything of its sort. It pays homage to greats like “The Godfather” with a character looking to prove himself and take care of his family after returning to the U.S. from a foreign war. The narrative struggles with southern racial tensions and the idea of family in a way most stories cannot. It is positively brilliant.

Where the rubber hits the road? Not so brilliant.

Starting with the low hanging fruit, the gameplay is stale. If you have played one sandbox, over the shoulder, third person shooter you have played them all. The gold standard is “Grand Theft Auto V.” Everything else is just noise, and this game happens to be adding to the noise. It does what your typical third person shooter does, but incredibly badly. The player cannot customize Lincoln in any way shape or form. There are no clothes, hair styles, etc. There is a lack of variety in terms of weapon choices. The cover mechanic is the wonkiest thing you have ever seen. When Lincoln crouches into cover, he cannot move cover to cover. He must detach, sprint to the next cover, then duck in again. Sometimes the game gives an indicator that Lincoln can turn the corner on the cover he is using. Sometimes. Barely. Never when you need it. The driving is beyond average. Steal any vehicle. They are all lousy. The gameplay is a wonky rehash of the same thing the industry has seen countless times.

The fatal flaw came in world building. New Bordeaux could have been a character. Driving around, getting a feel for each of the city’s nine unique districts, the bayou, listening to fantastic 1960s music on the radio and just looking around you can tell the city was supposed to be vibrant. It is not. The graphics are just plain mediocre. The textures are lacking. The game renders poorly. You cannot see detail at distance whatsoever. The game looks like it is running on a PlayStation 2. The water is flat and shiny; the sun’s glare is appallingly distracting. Weather and day/night shifts happen almost instantaneously. There is almost no transition. The entire feel of the map is just mediocre.

All in all, the game had so much potential. The story was phenomenal. It would have been welcomed with open arms as a film by fans of the gangster film genre. The graphics, gameplay and overall feel of the game are mediocre at best. It is playable. It is passable. At times, it is even fun. It is, however, far from great.

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