Trepidation could definitely be felt the Mafia world over when 2K and new developer Hangar 13 revealed Mafia III recently, but since then we were privy to an up-close-and-personal look at the game and also chatted with executive producer Andy Wilson.
Here's a snippet from our feature:
When all of this was announced, a lot of concern appeared to seep from the Mafia hardcore, and rightly so. A new studio is one thing, but the revelation that we’d moved out of the 40s and 50s and into the 60s with a mixed-race Vietnam vet, who is also an orphan, as the main protagonist, was more than enough to raise a few alarms. But as was the case in tying the original Mafia to Mafia II, Mafia III carries with it a thread that promises to maintain both the foundation for why these games are so highly regarded in the first place, with a sense of progression befitting the age of technology we’re now in, and by making sure the core values reflect the topic and context at hand. In other words, it might be a different era with a different main character who isn’t specifically a member of the mob, but the game’s setting allows for an exploration of the titular organisation in a way that’s never been done before, but it’s on-point.
“There are two interesting things about the period,” explains executive producer Andy Wilson. “First, it’s that age where the Mafia stops meaning ‘traditional Italian mob’, and you start seeing a lot more competing influences coming in, particularly in the US. Varying combinations of struggles for power.
“But also that decade and particularly that year (1968) was one of the most tumultuous in US history,” he adds. “And Mafia is about this kind of curated narrative; about this character and his journey, but also the world has to feel seamless, and to do that, a lot of it comes from the time-period because you want the environmental storytelling to be constantly reminding you where and when you are. And with a lot of what was happening [in 68] with Vietnam and the racial politics, it allows us to bring the world to life in a lot of different ways outside of the main narrative.
Click here for our in-depth preview and interview feature on Mafia III.
Posted 09:25pm 04/9/15
I'm keen.