Mafia III: Definitive Edition review

    I was one of the early purchasers of Mafia III and I had a set of mixed feelings about it that could be summarized as: "I love this game but it crashed to the point I could not complete it." That is a pretty heavy criticism for me to lay on a game. The story was magnificent, the characters entertaining, and the soundtrack was so great that I burned myself a CD of its classic Sixties hits. Unfortunately, the frame-rate drops and bugs were nasty to the point that I had to quit. There was also a point where the gameplay became repetitive and boring.

Lincoln is a very engaging protagonist.

    When I heard that anyone who owned the original game would be able to upgrade to the Definitive Edition for free, I was intrigued. I didn't know what to expect three years later and was wondering what I'd get. Much to my surprise, I'm going to say it's gone from being a fairly mediocre game to one of my favorite releases of 2016. Well, technically, I suppose it's one of my favorite releases of 2020. The game isn't really anything more than all of the DLC and bug patches but that's a pretty big apology for its awful initial release. Hell, there's 15GB in patches without including the three DLC expansions.

    The premise of the game is a pretty standard revenge plot with a unique backdrop. Lincoln Clay is a Vietnam War veteran newly returned from deployment with the Green Berets and CIA in the worst of the fighting. Lincoln is a biracial orphan who was raised by the Black Mob, which runs the prostitution and numbers in New Bordeaux (which is a fictionalized version of New Orleans). Lincoln is willing to use the skills he acquired in the army to help his adoptive father, Sammy, but his mentor doesn't necessarily want to get as violent as his son yet. This changes when the Italian mob led by Sal Marcone (based on real-life New Orleans gangster Carlos Marcello), "invites" the Black Mob to help in a robbery of the Federal Reserve.

The RL Louisiana Mafia had 300 Made Men. You'll kill more.

    Robbing the Federal Reserve was the climax of Grand Theft Auto V and it's a very good opening act to Mafia III but goes horribly wrong for our (anti)hero. It turns out, surprise-surprise, the Italian mafia can't be trusted. Lincoln ends up badly injured and his adoptive family murdered. Worse, when he finally recovers, he finds the Black Mob's former territory is occupied by a stand-in for the Ku Klux Klan while the mob is planning to use the money from the Federal Reserve Heist to make themselves untouchable in the state. What follows is 30 hours of Lincoln recruiting allies, assassinating gangsters, and seizing territory on his quest to take down Sal Marcone.

    In basic terms, Mafia III is more like classic Grand Theft Auto or Saints Row 2 than the previous Mafia games. It also has elements of Hitman. The majority of gameplay consists of you going to one of the mafia's outposts throughout New Bordeaux, sneaking or shooting your way in, and smashing up the place. After you do sufficient damage to the local capo's businesses, you'll get a story mission to assassinate said capo. Honestly, the majority of these missions are busy-work and there's a decent argument that if you removed everything but the story missions then the game might actually be better. Certainly, it might be tighter storytelling-wise.

    The biggest appeal of the game is the setting of New Bordeaux and it is a fabulous re-creation of the Sixties. Unfortunately, there's not much to do in the city aside from kill people. You can't drink in bar, buy things, or other activities. This was a major flaw in the original release. The updates have mitigated that by adding racing and alternate costumes to the main game, however. It also added car customization that allowed me to drive around in a bright red jeep with the words BOUNTY HUNTER on the side and the vanity plate GATOR. That went a long way to easing my initial problems with the game. Sadly, there's no Burt Renyolds or Crocodile Dundee costume to put Lincoln in.

Grenades are the best solution to this group.

    The DLC also goes a long way to breaking up the monotony of the missions as well. My recommendation for playing them is to do them after every two territories you take. It will make the game feel much more diverse in gameplay. The biggest problem with the game's storyline, as stated, was the grind and the DLC suffers none of that. They also add features like slow motion driving, slow-motion shooting, new weapons, and new cars to make the territory seizures more entertaining.

A short review of each DLC on their own:

* Faster, Baby!: Lincoln Clay and a beautiful Pam Grier-inspired action girl named Roxy Laveau go into a small town outside New Bordeaux where a murderous Sheriff is indiscriminately killing black people. Lots of car chases and run-in's with the police ensue. Sadly, Roxy disappears after this DLC and it would have been enjoyable to have her in the main game. I also loved the Bill Paxton-esque Sheriff.

* Stones Unturned: My least favorite of the DLC that seems like it moved from the mobster movies and blaxsploitation films of the main games to a James Bond-esque spy movie. A renegade CIA agent is trying to steal a nuclear weapon. Lincoln teams up with his CIA contact Donovan to hunt him down. It feels a bit too Call of Duty: Black Ops at times and removed from the main story. Really, you could change it to a story about recovering some Nazi gold and it wouldn't change in the slightest. The game adds a few "Bounty Hunter" missions

* Sign of the Times: This is easily the best of the DLC as you face down a drug cult of murderous hippies based on the Manson family. The atmosphere, introduction of "investigation" mode, and unique enemies make the encounters really memorable. This is also probably the most emotional of the DLC as we see Lincoln desperately try to save a pregnant cult survivor from her "Family." The game also adds the opportunity to rebuild Sammy's Bar, an important location from Lincoln's childhood.

Roxy is a great side-character.

     None of the DLC are particularly long but added into the main game are enough to smooth out a lot of the rougher edges. I think the game could have benefited from even more DLC after these three but I can understand why they chose to move on after the game's initially mixed reception. Still, the setting of New Bordeaux and its characters are some of the most memorable and enjoyable I've dealt with in recent memory. I was particularly fond of the sub-lieutenants like Nicky and Alma, who proved a lot more interesting than their limited appearances would imply.

    No discussion of Mafia III would be complete without also discussing the fact the game is one of the few that systematizes racism. Lincoln Clay will be harassed by the police if he goes into well-to-do neighborhoods, the police will show up faster in white neighborhoods, and there are numerous buildings that will call the police on him if he enters. There's also the Dixie Mob and Southern Union that serve as stand-ins for the Klan as well as serve as regular enemies. Indeed, I found Remy Duvall (the local Grand Wizard) a much more hateable villain than Sal Marcone. Sadly, it feels like the treatment of the subject in the game is relevant in 2020 rather than an exaggeration of the past.

     In conclusion, Mafia III: The Definitive Edition is a much better game than the original version. I wish they'd added even more content rather than collecting all the previous but "free for anyone who buys the old version" is a price worth getting behind. I managed to get a second hand copy of the Xbox One version for $5 and got access to all of the features. Most of the bugs are patched up but I still suffered a few crashes (but nothing gamebreaking). I strongly recommend this game and think its even more topical than it was in 2016.