Developer : 2K Games
Release date : 7 October 2016
Synopsis :
Mafia III is a 2016 action-adventure video game developed by Hangar 13 and published by 2K Games. It was released in October 2016 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows, in May 2017 for macOS, and in October 2021 for Google Stadia. It is the sequel to Mafia II and the third installment in the Mafia series. Set within the fictional city of New Bordeaux (based on New Orleans) in 1968, the story follows former criminal and Vietnam veteran Lincoln Clay, who is forced to return to a life of crime to help his adoptive family settle problems with the local branch of the Mafia. After the Mafia betray and murder his family, Lincoln embarks on a quest for revenge while slowly building a criminal empire and seizing power from other criminal organisations in the city.
The development of Mafia III began soon after Mafia II’s release, but initially had problems. 2K Czech, the developer of the series’ first installments, oversaw restructure, with much of the development team assigned to the company’s new studio, Hangar 13. After deciding on recreating New Orleans in 1968, the development team drew influence from the series’ previous projects, and designed the game around Clay to replicate the core structure of its predecessors. Much of the development work constituted the open world’s creation, and several team members conducted field research around Louisiana to capture footage for the design team. The game’s soundtrack features several licensed songs composed by various musicians who were active during the time period.
Upon release, the game received mixed reviews, with praise directed at its story, characters, darker themes, and soundtrack. However, some of the gameplay mechanics and the presence of technical issues drew criticism. The game was a commercial success, selling seven million copies worldwide. On 19 May 2020, to coincide with the remake of the first Mafia game, 2K Games released a version of Mafia III comprised with all downloadable content packs titled Mafia III: Definitive Edition. This Definitive Edition was later included in the Mafia: Trilogy pack, released on 25 September 2020.
Set nearly two decades after its predecessor, Mafia III takes place during the late 1960s, within the fictional U.S. city of New Bordeaux. Situated within America’s southern states and coastline, the city is composed of island districts, industrial complexes and ports, high-rise offices and apartments, slums, suburban housing, and historical districts, interconnected by railroads and an extensive road network, with a large swampland separating the city from the coast. The city consists of a mixture of cultures including African-Americans, Irish, Italians and Haitians, and is mostly controlled by one Mafia crime family – the Marcano family – alongside smaller organisations like the Irish Mob, the Haitian Mob, the “Black Mob”, and the Southern Union, a group of white supremacists.
The city’s design, including its architectural styles, cultures and lifestyles, were influenced by the real-life aspects of the southern United States during the time period, primarily the city of New Orleans. The game’s story focuses primarily within this setting, while its downloadable content expands the setting with additional locations around New Bordeaux.
In 1968, Vietnam veteran Lincoln Clay returns home to New Bordeaux and reunites with his surrogate father and Black Mob leader Sammy Robinson, his adoptive brother Ellis, and his friend, Father James Ballard. While initially planning to leave for California, Lincoln agrees to stay and help Sammy, who is facing problems from the Haitian Mob and is indebted to mob boss Sal Marcano. Lincoln ends the conflict with the Haitians by killing their leader and meets with Marcano to see how he can cover Sammy’s debts. Although Lincoln declines his suggestion to take over the Black Mob from Sammy, Marcano nonetheless recruits him and Ellis to help his son Giorgi rob the city’s branch of the Federal Reserve during the local Mardi Gras celebrations. Aided by their friend Danny Burke, whose father is also looking to settle matters with Marcano after a previous falling out, the group carries out the heist with little complications, but the Marcanos turn on them afterward, killing Sammy, Ellis, and Danny, then setting the bar on fire. Lincoln was also shot and left to die but is rescued by James.
After recovering, Lincoln contacts his former CIA handler John Donovan, who agrees to help for unknown reasons and assists him by locating three crime bosses that also seek revenge against Marcano: new Haitian leader Cassandra, eyeing Delray Hollow, which was taken over by the Dixie Mafia; Danny’s father and Irish Mob boss Thomas Burke, whose turf was also given to a rival by Marcano; and exiled Sicilian mafioso Vito Scaletta, who joined Marcano’s ranks as part of a deal made with the Commission, but was eventually betrayed and left for dead after Marcano’s nephew took over. After reclaiming their respective territories, Lincoln begins violently undoing the Marcano family, taking over their rackets and turf and assigning them to his allies, who slowly come to respect his skill. In the event any are neglected and eventually abandon him, Lincoln must eliminate them.
While dismantling the Marcano family’s operations and attacking Marcano’s lieutenants, Lincoln learns that Marcano has recently begun building a new casino with the intention of becoming independent of the Commission, and the main intent of the heist was to steal money plates. Lincoln proceeds to attack Marcano’s three capos who were tasked with obtaining real estate, counterfeiting money to cover mounting expenses, and getting politicians to legalize gambling. After all three capos all dealt with, Lincoln attacks the casino, killing Marcano’s remaining men and Giorgi, before confronting Marcano himself. Accepting his fate, he shares a drink with Lincoln while explaining that, although he doesn’t regret his actions, he had only tried to improve New Bordeaux and get himself and his family out of the life of crime before anything bad happened to them. After killing Marcano or letting him commit suicide, Lincoln leaves the casino and is greeted by Commission consigliere Leo Galante, sent to investigate the attacks against Marcano. Satisfied that Lincoln’s vendetta is over, Galante informs him that he can take over the New Bordeaux underworld provided the Commission receives a cut of the profits.
After Lincoln informs James and Donovan of Marcano’s death, the latter leaves the city and advises him to take over, while the former, appalled with such a concept, reminds Lincoln that his goal was to remove Marcano, not replace him, and implores him to stick with his original plan of getting a job in California. At this point, the player must choose Lincoln’s fate. The game has multiple endings dependent on Lincoln’s choice If Lincoln leaves then one of his allies will take over, If Lincoln stays he will rule with Vito, Cassandra, and Burke or kill all three of them which causes a reluctance and remorseful James to kill him with a car bomb.
Regardless of the ending chosen, Lincoln’s actions in New Bordeaux spawn an investigation by the FBI, led by Jonathan Maguire, who is later interviewed for a documentary on Lincoln’s life, as is James and a few others who knew him. In 1971, Donovan is brought before a Senate committee to explain his role in Lincoln’s crimes. The meeting ends with Donovan revealing he had helped Lincoln because he wanted to investigate Marcano’s link as one of the conspirators behind John F. Kennedy’s assassination, and shooting a senator who was named in Marcano’s files as a co-conspirator, while promising to track down and kill everyone else responsible for President Kennedy’s death.
Source : Wikipedia
