The Mafia series of games are some of the most well remembered from the past couple of decades, but it hasn't had anywhere near as much love as bigger name franchises. That hasn't stopped a third one being made though and today we have our first look at a good 12 minutes of gameplay, all overlayed with developer commentary giving us backstory, context and plans for the future.
Needless to say, the game looks very pretty, though we're not told what engine it's using. The lighting is fantastic and very atmospheric. The late '60s atmosphere is heavy and offers an interesting take on the open-world sandbox genre of games.
The actual gameplay is very reminiscent of similar titles though, like GTA, though with perhaps more of a moral stance than might be typical with your average anarchy simulator. Players will be trying to take down the mob, though with their own criminal past, falling back into familiar patterns will certainly be part of the game.
The game's pretty brutal though. Stabbing people in the face as part of "takedown" animations is common, as are lots of other brutal knife-based attacks. So don't expect this to be a fluffy tale.
A big part of the game though will be giving you options. If you'd rather use stealth or go in guns blazing, you can do. It's all down to the player.
Working those different routes is important too. There's multiple endings and multiple outcomes for the game and its characters, so playing certain ways will have a big effect on what ends up happening.
Mafia 3 is set for release on Xbox One, PS4 and PC in 2016.
