MAFIA 3 : First Review

Mafia 3 is a fantastic game , But like your local trip to ikea your going to see a few flaws in it's design

Monotonous mob

MAFIA 3 borrows a lot of its formula from the open world ubisoft titles such as ASSASSINS CREED and more notably WATCH DOGS you will scour the bustling streets of this southern state breaking into junction boxes to reveal the collectables in that area and like a desperate pervert spend forty-or-so hours collecting every playboy magazine in sight. this part of the game would seem great but in MAFIA 3 its a double edged sword on one hand it adds longevity to the world you inhabit , But on the other hand it does seem tedious after you pick up your 300th fuse which you don't actually need . Unlocking junction boxes only takes up three fuses at a time . Another gripe with this game seems to be the strange design choices which I assume will be patched in at a later date for example . You have a shed load of shops that will appear on your mini map once you start walking the streets of new Bordeaux but the problem with these places are you cant do anything with them , You have bars and pawn shops and no means to get drunk or sell items, there's cloth stores dotted around the downtown area but with no means to buy outfits there's twenty or so gas stations but your vehicle never runs out of gas. I can only assume these places will become more vibrant once we get our hands on the free post content but until then these icons seem pointless.

Shadow of new Bordeaux

A game that will be brought up a lot by other reviewers is how similar this game is to SHADOW OF MORDOR in which to take down a boss and cripple his Empire you must first weaken his rackets . These range from tailing cars, smashing objects and shooting anyone that is in a four mile radius , Again this seems like a great idea but only if its used sparingly in MAFIA 3 however it isn't once your told to take down your underboss in the region an abundance of side missions will appear on your map and it goes as followed. Go to location (A) shoot a man go to location (B) steal the cash ,now repeat steps (A) and (B) five more times then lather rinse and repeat until you unlock the real story mission.

The game of the rising fun

One thing i can say that sets MAFIA 3 apart from its competition is how much it feels like your progressing through the story, normally most games in the open world genre have the full circle effect to their story and characters . For example GTA you can demolish the gangs, take out the boss and yet you still don't control the city or its people the best way to sum up what MAFIA 3 is would be to say its SAINTS ROW 1 with racism. On the latter point if your easily offended by the use of derogatory statements and slang words then maybe stay clear of this product . MAFIA 3 isn't shy to throw the N word around every four seconds . If martin Scorsese holds the record for the most F bombs in cinema then give MAFIA 3 the prize for most N words in history

The Sound of the Sixties

Mafia 3 packs an impressive soundtrack with classics such as the number one hit from northen band the animals ( House of the rising sun ) to some more obsure songs of the era if your in your 50s playing. This game could give you a memorable nostalgia trip and as for the other sounds that ring through your ear drums there s an unparalleled level of detail in this package. radio's will get interference if you embark through the sewers ,guns will tatter through fences, explosions will rip the world apart . All of the sounds feel perfect and really straps you into an immersive experience.

The southern Story

MAFIA 3 has got one thing and thats a fantasic story shot like a documentary you may stumble across on the discovery channel, it follows the FBI and other characters such as father james as they recollect the legend which is Lincoln Clay this gives the game a some what old western feel. Talking about an outlaw that butchered the mob and took out a criminal empire . The writers that work at studio Hanger 13 are probably the most talented group of individuals on the planet I would imagine it being pretty hard to make a racist ,bigoted, discriminatory antagonist likable but heck they nailed it. Hearing Sal the main bad guy of MAFIA 3 talk throughout your excursion is like watching Kevin spacey in House of cards each line he says and each delivery he gives feels like there's purpose to it. As for our main character take note ubisoft This is how you write a strong African American character in video games. Lincoln Clay is both charming and vengeful, Witty and humorous and is portrayed wonderfully hitting each story beat like a bullet from a gun.

The summary

MAFIA 3 really is very close to perfection shooting feels punchy and realistic with enemies reacting accordingly to your shots , Driving feels smooth and responsive and Lincoln controls with the same animated pazazz you may see in an uncharted title with the added bonuses being the innovative way it gets you to decide who will own the town its to soon to Write-off MAFIA 3 like a car crash . But I just wished the studio didn't take out most of the content and hide it away for future post DLC. For example car customization which was present in its predecessor is now locked away for future Content along with the ability to swap clothes at will and who knows what else has been picked away . MAFIA 3 now is a skeleton but hopefully by December we will start seeing some flesh on its bones and more people may snap up this title like an alligator in the bayou and lets just say this , destiny had nothing in it but good shooting and people liked that. so there's hope for the future.

Day One Review

GOOD BAD

- the story - Content Stripped away

- it's characters - Collectables and fuse boxes seem pointless

- the driving - To many side missions in which you do the same thing

- the world - Shops , But you cant interact with them

- beautifully animated

- stealth gameplay feels like splinter cell

- future DLC

- the effects

- It's Music

Gameplay - Score (7.6)

Sound - Score (10)

Story- Score (10)

Replay value- Score ( 10)

Graphics - Score (10)

Overall score 9.6

Is this your first Open World game?

What a bunch of utter nonsense.

Borrows from AC and Watch Dogs lol.... but ya as stated above, is this your first Mafia game ever?

huh? a half finished game is getting a very high standard for replay value

Overall score 9.6 ? are you OK? you've seen this?

@Jacanuk: played the first mafia for a bit, but really enjoyed the 2nd one . What I mean by borrows from Assassins creed is the repetitive unlock structure . Best example for a comparison would be the ubisoft games as you spend the first few hours finding a tower or radio to unlock the collectables on the map then you do that again and again. If I recall mafia 2 never did that you actually had to look also you have that eagle sight ability to see through walls. Hope that makes sense

@hxce: probably about the 50th ha.

@nirogol: Ha. Must admit I really enjoyed it even tho half the content is locked behind the get it later slogan. Just reminds me of when Saints row was actually good

Hehe cool man, that is probably more than I have played. I didn't mean to sound like a douche with that comment but giving Mafia 3 an almost Masterpiece rating seemed a bit too much but we all have our opinions.

@adamswords: cool

that's one of the worst things about ubisoft games and you scored it a 10 out of 10 for replayability? the thought of having to do that again and again with each new play through sounds painful.

i'm struggling to figure out how you can score gameplay at 7.6 and summarise the game is basically a carcass that will hopefully get fleshed out with future dlc and then score it a 9.6 overall. there seems to have been a rather large break down in logic somewhere along the path to that conclusion

Funny enough most does not score the game based on the story or the intriguing characters, they score it on the fact that they cannot get their Epeen big enough because of the 30fps "cap" for a awhile.

And as to the Pro reviews, most seem to be around the same idea forgetting that Mafia 1 and 2 was the same thing, what makes mafia 2 great is it's story and characters.

Hmm, are you referring to the wiretaps? because they are optional, you do not have to do it , but ya i can see what you mean there. That concept is straight from AC , tho i'm sure we could find earlier games with the same idea.

But anyways MAfia 3 is a good game, and if you are a story gamer then you will not go wrong with the game, the 60´s atmosphere, the New Orleans feel and the fact that we have a character that is good, not forgetting the music, best music in a game in a long time.

@hxce: no problem perfect valid question . Just gave it a score of near perfection just because of 1. its different from half the other stuff out there but most importantly 2. I'm doing this as a Pre-review so by December if they haven't added any abilities with shops,clothes, cars or updates then the score will be changed to a 7 . Doing 9 as a nice foreshadow just encase this turns out to be a rise of the tomb raider situation when after a year or so we get co-op, classic modes and croft manor

It doesn't matter what aspect of the game cause this bad rating...so much bad reviews means it's a bad game game. period.

as for MAFIA 1...don't mention this masterpiece with other MAFIA games...specially storywise!

@Jacanuk: totally agree by '' borrows'' it is the concept of going around a huge world unlocking radio towers ( Far Cry ) or climbing buildings ( AC) and of course the wiretaps ( Watch dogs ) totally agree with your statement

What are you talking about? I hope you are being ironic otherwise it´s laughable stupid to judge a game based on some troll reviews.

Also Mafia 1 & 2 & 3 all have great stories.

@Jacanuk: From my experience, despite let's say movies ratings which are mostly ridiculous and pathetic, game reviews are pretty much hit the target...and when a game gets so much bad reviews it doesn't make me any will to even try it.

of course there isn't 100% in these cases. but the mix of those low scores plus the fact that this is the third game of a franchise being squized a little bit too far, bring me to the conclusion it's a bad game. i might be wrong but this is my thought.

Iv never had a review hit the spot be it movies or games or music.

Reviews are opinions nothing else and the only person who knows what i like or don't like is myself, and i go by the saying "don't knock it until you tried it"

Some of the most fun i've had is with games that have been ripped apart in reviews.

Where the least fun iv had is with games that have been praised, like with Witcher 3, But to be fair the whole medieval setting does nothing for me.

I am wanting to give the game a try, but with all the recent game releases this quarter of the year, that will be really hard. I will have to wait for a while before I play it.