Yesterday, IGN posted a video with 12 minutes of gameplay for Mafia III. Here’s what you missed.
In the video, Haden Blackman, Creative Director of Mafia III, narrates the action with IGN’s Ryan McCaffrey. Although they did talk about the story and some of the mechanics, there were a few details that were not addressed. Here’s a few worth noting.
Sweet A.I.
The different ways the A.I. react to your appearance and actions speaks to the level of detail 2K Games has put into this title. It’s most notable in combat; the ways the enemies react to getting shot are noticeably better than in Mafia II. You’ll also see how the A.I. interacts with you in a very interesting way…
Race Matters. A lot.
Towards the end of the video, Ryan asks Haden if Mafia III will address social from the 1960’s, specifically race. “We’re not shying away from it at all,” states Blackman. “It is 1968. Lincoln [the protagonist] is actually mixed race. He’s half black[…] That factors into how the world reacts to you.”
While it wasn’t mentioned, you can actually see proof of this in the very beginning of the video. The first few pedestrians that you see on Bourbon Street have very different reactions to your presence. Some turn their head as you walk by. Some are borderline horrified. Some won’t pay you any attention.
Racial tension comes to a head a minute into the video when you see police officers hassling an interracial couple. Haden said that “we’re not trying to get on a soapbox or cure racism,” but it does make you wonder how deeply will they approach race.
This is a True Mafia Sequel
Many people may be asking themselves “What does a half-black Vietnam veteran have to do with the events of Mafia II?” Well, if you listen carefully, you may get your answer. Towards the end of the video, you hear the main character on the phone with someone and says “And Vito… don’t **** this up.”
It sounds like Lincoln is talking to Vito Scaletta, who was one of the protagonists in Mafia II. Speaking of which, the previous Mafia game ended in 1951. Will we find out what happened to Vito over the past 17 years?
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Mafia III is scheduled to be released within 2016 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and Mac OS X.
