Almost any open-world game with a criminal element to its story will be inevitably compared to Rockstar’s GTA V. It’s hard not to do that with 2016’s Mafia III: Definitive Edition from 2K, but the comparisons do creep up nonetheless… especially considering that the came dropped some three year’s after the still-going masterpiece called GTA V. Nonetheless, Mafia III does a great job of standing on its own as a game if not always successfully.
How to Download Mafia III: Definitive Edition
To download the game for the platform of your choice, click on the Download button at the end of this review. Check out also what we think about the definitive editions of Mafia and Mafia II.
The Game Review
Plopping gamers down into a recreated 1968 New Orleans, this game has all of the twists and turns you would expect the story to take with a few mechanical hiccups here and there that make you question the amount of final polish this title received prior to release. For Mafia fans, this game is a definite must-play and, for the rest of us, it is worth a look – particularly if you enjoy a more retro vibe to your open-world crime games.
Developed by Hangar 13 after a troubled start at the now-shuttered 2K Czech studio, Mafia III’s dedication to simulating a 1968-era New Orleans shines through from the very beginning. You get an awesome, immersive environment with a soundtrack ripped straight from the top 10s of the time.
Playing as Lincoln Clay, you seek vengeance for your murdered family against local mobsters. Naturally, this progresses into a much more intricate and involved saga involving high stakes and questions about who you are willing to call an ally.
True to its era, the game involves many different competing mafia groups that you can partner with or work against including a white supremacist group known as the Southern Union. While most choices do not involve a morality element in a gameplay mechanic’s sense, the game does present interesting choices throughout as to who and what you consider an ally or “good guy.”
Mafia III understands that it needs to have a strong story and atmosphere and it never disappoints in these areas; however, the gameplay is not the most innovative or compelling. In fact, you might find many of the game’s tasks repetitive. Whereas games like GTA V revel in novelty and strangeness, Mafia III is more staid and grounded in some kind of reality akin to our own.
Even so, it doesn’t forgive the very rote and routine missions you often find yourself completing. Things start to become a chore in the endgame and that’s just too unfortunate. When you really think about it, had everything else come down to the level of the gameplay itself, Mafia III would be easier to write off.
But you can’t do that. The story and everything that gilds it is pure gold yet there is absolutely no substance to what you will spend most of your time doing and that is playing the actual game. As we said, it’s a definite must-play game for fans. As to whether Mafia III would be good for other people though is just something that will have to be left up to the individual gamer. If you want something like GTA but less addictive and fun, this game might fit that bill.
