During the last Gamescom 2015 held in Berlin, 2K Games revealed an announcement trailer for the third instalment of the mob-inspired series, "Mafia 3." This bolstered the excitement for those who follow the series closely.
Set in 1968, the game focuses on Lincoln Clay who was a Vietnam veteran recently returned to a fiction-made New Orleans. The protagonist was looking for a place with people he can call a family and finds this in the Big Easy's "Black Mob," according to IGN. Tragedy struck and his family was wiped out by the Italian mafia. After his recovery, Clay swore vengeance to those who wronged him.
The sheer disparity of the new protagonist for the third instalment from the previous "Mafia" games was something that fans found most astonishing. Followers of the series will associate the "Mafia" games with an Italian main character, according to International Business Time. There are other aspects of the game, as shown on the trailer that piqued fans interests.
One of which would be the location where the game is set. New Orleans has yet to prove that it is the perfect place, especially during such unsettling times for the United States. Other than the war in Vietnam, the Civil Rights Movement was at its peak, creating a chasm between white folks and the black community.
Reports further reveal that if the game misses the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. or if the protests against the war in Vietnam will not be highlighted on "Mafia 3," then Hanger 13 would've missed the focal point of 1968 in totality. As an open-world crime game, it should also include the sexual revolution and drug culture of the 1960s as this could distinguish the game from the previous instalments.
According to Game Spot, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick was asked during an interview if "Mafia 3" should be thought of as another Rockstar-style-open-world-game. The CEO answered it should not be the case. Zelnick added that the game is completely different and should not be compared to anything else out there. He also clarified that Take-Two's two main labels: Rockstar Games who made the Grand Theft Auto a global hit, and 2K Games which is known for the Mafia series; do not share their technology.
"We're blessed that we have two distinct labels at this company," he said. Zelnick added, "We do not have a tech-sharing environment. We're a very congenial company, but we don't think that's the best way to get the best out of our development folks. It's not the way it works around here."
Still with no exact release date, "Mafia 3" will be released sometime towards the latter half of 2016.