Mafia III - Quick Hit (Video Game)

Mafia III (the third entry in the Mafia series) is a video game available on all the major platforms (Xbox, Playstation, PC) that was released on October 7, 2016. The following was originally posted on my Facebook page, but I wanted to re-post it here because my comments still apply.

If you don't want any plot details of the game, please be advised that there are some spoilers in this review. You've been warned!

Mafia III takes place in late 1960's New Bordeaux, a fictionalized version of New Orleans. The main character is a veteran of the Vietnam War who comes home, has his family murdered by the local mob and is left for dead. He also happens to be black.

It is one of the only games that I can think of that not only has a black main character protagonist, but also explores the sort of overt and casual racism that pervades American society to this day. It does not revel in racism or attempt to glorify it, but it also does not sugarcoat it. There are examples of blatant, in your face racism (characters shout the N-word and other slurs, and there are bands of roving white supremacists, complete with hoods and confederate flag-emblazoned pick-up trucks) as well as subtle, under-the-radar racism ("No Coloreds Allowed" signs in shop windows, police stopping and looking your way even when you're not doing anything wrong, white people walking a little faster as you pass them by).

No one, even the main character, can be considered a good person or acts particularly heroic in the game, which is also kind of the point, I think. I've recently been reminded that a lot of people don't think that racism limits choices, and I can understand how anyone who has never personally experienced racism could believe that. However, there are several points during the game (even though game-design is limited in scope by necessity) that the only option to resolve a problem is through violence or doing something bad. That seems intentional on the developer's part.

There are some gameplay issues that bother me and can distract from the atmosphere. Sometimes the physics system acts up and bodies go flying when they shouldn't, cars get stuck on the terrain and bounce around out of control, and textures pop in and out occasionally. There are also sometimes when NPCs just start shooting when I haven't done anything wrong, and while that could technically be chalked up to racism, it seems like more of a bug. It's not very common, but when it does happen, it wrecks the immersion.

Overall, Mafia III is, dare I say it, an important video game. It is absolutely art, in that it makes a statement about the world both as it was in the 1960's as well as how it continues to be.