Mafia: Trilogy

When I think of open-world shoot-em-up’s, I will always revert to the Grand Theft Auto franchise from GTA3 onward. What Mafia 3 does is take that formula and wrap it with a story so compelling in a world that feels so authentic that it made for a very fun game. Hanger 13 tried to create a fictional version of New Orleans in the 1960s after Vietnam ended, leaving former Special Forces soldier Lincoln Clay to his roots, finding trauma in his return, and surviving a course of events that unfold into the most stone-cold story I’ve played in recent memory. The music provides an excellent tool of providing a nice distraction to a flaw of the game in the lack of fast travel. Gameplay is pretty standard with driving, melee, and shooting mechanics that feel copied but not out of place. The side characters all feel genuine, with the close up vignettes adding depth and emotion to the story. The 3 lieutenants you recruit and the choices made (or don’t make) result in a wonderful problem - balancing gun upgrades vs. car upgrades vs. health upgrades is a hell of a problem when trying to determine loyalty (or none). There were some major downsides, one of Vito’s side missions was completely bugged to the point where a truck I wanted to steal simply wasn’t there, the camera got locked into place after big story missions, leaving me to have to quit the game and reload the save. The guns given with the Definitive Edition was a major advantage; the Silentium suppressed pistol ended hundreds of lives while not worrying about almost any other weapon and unlocking a style of stealth that Sam Fisher would appreciate. The DLC missions were outstanding - providing Lincoln, Father James, and Donovan with deeper backstories to provide more emotional sting than the base game already did. After almost 40 hours with this edition, I’m happy to end it with all the DLC content complete and getting the ‘good’ ending. I’d advise watching playing Mafia 1 and 2 in order to appreciate one of the side characters’ backstory.