Mob Time: Come See 20 Minutes Of Mafia 3 In Action
Good moon on the rise
It's no secret that I quite fancy the look of third-person crime-a-thon Mafia 3 [official site], and, with each passing trailer, it's fast becoming one of my most anticipated games of the year. Now, as this is E3 week, it's not unusual to see upcoming games treated to shiny new trailers, and Mafia 3's only gone and got itself two - its official scene-setting E3 vid, and another which gives us an action-heavy 20-minute dive into the cut-throat criminal underworld of New Bordeaux. Catch them both after the drop.
First, here's the official E3 trailer:
Beyond all the shooting, the breakneck driving, and the finger chopping, Mafia 3's latest also gives a quick glance at how politics, religion and racism are all interlinked in 1968 New Bordeaux - "one of the most tumultuous years in American history," so says Hangar 13's creative director and studio head Haden Blackman.
Blackman also provides commentary in the following 22-minute gameplay video that kicks off in the Bayou with Bad Moon Rising blaring from the car radio. I've never been to present day New Orleans, far less a time before I was born, but this feels exactly how I think it should feel. From there, protagonist Lincoln Clay sets off towards the faux New Orleans setting's French Quarter and things get pretty messy pretty quickly. See for yourself:
In his quest to topple the Italian mob, Clay sets out to take down one of rival Uncle Lou's illegal French Quarter operations, and Blackman tells us there's a number of ways to do so. The above sees Clay choose to go after one of Lou's pimps by inconspicuously infiltrating a party, shooting him in the head, and then fighting his way out in some pretty brutal gunplay. Later on, Clay's off to murder Lou himself on a sinking ship and winds up taking on his crew as the boat goes down in flames around him.
Again, I was into the idea of all of this before now, but seeing Mafia 3's combat mechanics in action, the era-authentic tunes, the lovely-looking New Bordeaux, and a small helping of its narrative, and I really can't wait.
Mafia 3 is due for release October 7, 2016. In the meantime, be sure to read all of of our E3 2016 news this week.