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Mafia III
Mafia III’s story is told via a really cool documentary-style narrative, and during my E3 visit, I got a chance to tour Hanger 13's re-envisioned city of New Orleans, the crime-drenched city of New Bordeaux.
Main hero Lincoln Clay, an ex-Vietnam war vet who is betrayed by the Italian mob and ends up on a quest to see their criminal empire burn.
Hanger 13’s rendition of New Bordeaux feels like a character itself. My tour through the city starts in the bayou as we work our way through the French Ward. Each of the 10 districts have their own ecology. The bayou is a scenic swampland that feels sticky and hot. Amidst these foul waters the mafia runs guns and produces moonshine.
Further north is the district of Frisco Field, a collection of well-manicured lawns and stately fields. Here, the Italian mob has partnered with corrupt official at the local university to produce PCP. However, the heart of the city is the French Ward, which feels like a constant party that never stops. This districts is run by a fat man named Uncle Lou, who uses the district to deliver smack and high-class call girls to anyone with money.
Lincoln’s mission to take Lou down can play out in a number of ways. He can hurt the criminal giant by interrogate pimps for information, burning down drug boats, robbing his orgies, killing his smack dealers, and capturing and controlling his brothel and drug den. You won’t have to do all of these things, but as you do these activities they begin to hurt Uncle Lou’s operation, which eventually forces Lou to hold a fundraiser on a riverboat.
The riverboat fundraiser is Lincoln’s chance to take Lou down, and the mission we saw played out like a highly polished cover shooter. Lincoln used stealth to get the drop on a few of Lou’s men, before tossing them over into alligator-infested waters, then took out several more with a shotgun and some well-placed molotovs.
Lincoln finally makes it to the top of the ship to confront Lou, but an explosion sends both of them out of the boat and into a river. Lou is hurt and firing blindly into the forest as he runs for safety. Unfortunately, Lincoln is only armed with his army knife, so he stealthily sneaks around behind Lou and presses the blade to the drug lord’s throat. Lou offers Lincoln money, but Lincoln is more interested in using Lou to send a message. Unfortunately for Lou, he doesn’t have to be alive to deliver that message.
Mafia III looked better than ever in our E3 demo, and I can’t wait to finish Lincoln’s crusade against the Italian mob when the game releases on October 7. For more on Mafia III, be sure to check out our month of cover coverage.
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