At E3 2016, we got to go eyes on with Mafia III, the latest in the Mafia series of games and the first Mafia game since August of 2010.
First off, the game looks amazing. The graphics have had a huge upgrade over the previous games in the series and yet still retain that almost stylized look that 2K has been known for in previous published titles like Grand Theft Auto.
The story follows protagonist Lincoln Clay in 1968 in the fictionalized city of New Bordeaux, the developers take on New Orleans. Lincoln is a biracial orphan and a Vietnam Veteran. "Lincoln longs for family... after serving, he returned to New Bordeaux and rejoined The Black Mob." Lincoln survives a murder attempt by The Italian Mob which kills the rest of the Black Mob in the process. Clay is saved by a priest and assumes command of his own criminal empire to extract revenge on the Italians.
Throughout the game, Clay is aided by three allies, Cassandra, Burke, and Vito Scaletta. Each ally have reasons for wanting the Italian Mob brought down and those reasons will be supposedly explored throughout the games length.
Without spoiling too much storyline, the demo took us through a winding and turning street locale to assassinate one of the lieutenants in the Italian organization. This showed off the various types of ways a player can choose to kill a target and also took the time to show off the gun play which looks incredible. They have really tightened up how the guns and grenades play and feel which made for an incredible looking experience. The demo then traveled to a ship on the Bayou where Lincoln had to then seek out and assassinate another target who he has been tracking. Fighting his way through armed guards and sneaking past others, Lincoln eventually causes the ship to crash by creating a diversion involving a tower assembly. This causes everyone on the ship to panic and gives Lincoln the time he needs to get to his target.
Overall the game looks, sounds, and feels fantastic. The music, voice acting, and gun play really blew me away and I can't wait to get my hands on it and explore the world more.
Mafia III will release on October 7th 2016 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. This is a title we will definitely be streaming and reviewing so make sure you check back for more content as we get it.