With certain franchises, you need to think about how to not only improve the game from entry to entry but to deliver something special each time. As we’ve covered in the past with various other series, if you just repeat the same formula repeatedly, you’re going to drive fans away. In the case of Mafia III, which came out 9 years ago yesterday, the team at Hanger 13 decided that they wanted to talk about a different kind of crime story. One that focused on a different setting that many would find intriguing: New Orleans. The results were a bit mixed, but many are still celebrating the anniversary of this title.
Easily the best part of the game, as noted by fans and critics, was the game’s story and characters. It focused on Lincoln Clay, a soldier who comes home to connect with friends and family for a brief time before heading off in search of a new life for himself. New Bordeaux was the game’s setting, and while Lincoln intended to leave after helping someone close to him, things quickly took a turn for the worse, and he was forced to get revenge on those who had wronged him.
Just about everyone admits that Lincoln’s story is one of the best that this particular genre has ever offered. The Hanger 13 team used motion capture to ensure the animations and performances of the main actors carried over to the screen and looked amazing, and it worked. The game ending with multiple paths for Lincoln to take, including some twists that no one saw coming regarding the overall plot, made it stick out in players’ minds to this day.
So, what went wrong with Mafia III? Sadly, while the team put great effort into the game’s story, it didn’t put the same effort into the gameplay. Many felt that the gameplay, which was once again an open-world vibe, was so bare bones that it was pretty much pathetic. That’s why the game had such low overall scores, including some stating that if you were to play the title, you should just focus on the story and merely get through the gameplay.
Ironically, the game did sell over 7 million copies, which is hardly a failure. Yet, it took almost nine years for the next entry in the franchise to come out.
This anniversary is important because of the return to “The Old Country” and what Hanger 13 will do next. It must learn from the mistakes of its past if it’s going to continue showing the “honor of the family.”
