E3 2016: The Don of all crime games is coming to E3. Here's what we know of Mafia III

By Abhilash Pavuluri When we all want to enact a Godfather scene, where do we turn to? 2K Games’ Mafia, of course. And we’ve been waiting for the sequel that has all but officially released. Now, with E3 2016 only days away, Hangar 13 has announced that the game development is running as per plan and that the team is certain about their October 7 release date. There’s also been plenty of pre-release gameplay footage as well, but what do we really know about Mafia III? Here’s a run-down. All new plot and character Unlike the earlier games, Mafia III has an all new plot and background to it. Set in 1968, the game is based on Lincoln clay, an orphan who joins an all-black mob after serving in the Armed Forces in Vietnam. When his mob is betrayed and killed by the Italian Mafia, Clay sets out for revenge, the deceased mob his only semblance of family. The game is set in a city called New Bordeaux, named after New Orleans which had its fair share of the organized crime racket. The game’s plot is said to tackle racism and the Vietnam War, as well as the fall of the mafia as a power in cities. Open world gameplay

Mafia III will feature an open-world sandbox setting, where players can build their own crime empires and also defend the built syndicates from fellow mobsters. There is also a retaliation system, where enemies once defeated can come back in later shootouts and try to take over your ‘area.’ The game will be developed an a separate open-source engine rather than the RAGE engine from GTA V. Despite being a sister company with Rockstar Studios, the owner of both Rockstar and 2K Studios, Strauss Zelnick mentions that “We’re blessed that we have two distinct labels at this company. 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.” Coming to the other gameplay elements, Mafia III will be a third-person role playing action game, similar to the last two titles. Three editions of the game As with most games these days, Mafia III will come in three editions: a standard edition, a Deluxe Edition and a Collector’s Edition. The Deluxe Edition comes with a season pass to Downloadable Content, while the Collector’s Edition comes with: a vinyl record of the game’s soundtracks (most of them by famous artists), Lincoln Clay dog tags as seen in the game trailer, faux leather coasters, and even a Playboy Lithograph. The collector’s edition will also include the Season Pass. The gameplay footage: we love it

If gameplay footage is anything to go by, then we’re sure Mafia III isn’t going to disappoint. The setting, walking around the grim facade of 1968 New Bordeaux, the brutal combat and accurate driving physics, all look amazing. A lot of the game’s features have been showcased without actually spoiling the game, like the character’s brutal takedown combos—being a well-trained veteran in the war, Lincoln Clay can kill in gruesome ways—a knife to the heart, the enemy’s face to the wall. All of which make the game infinitely more fun to play. We also get a glimpse of the various cars available, including Cadillacs, Pontiacs and even a Dodge Charger. The physics do seem extremely accurate, even allowing for cars to drift and power slide into curbs and so on. Cross-platform release As expected, Mafia III will be releasing for all three major platforms: PC, the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4. Details for all three will be shared at E3. Expect the game on October 7. It’s gonna be a long wait.