I and other black players do not have that luxury. One example was a “review in progress” that called the opening statement ‘paranoid’, even going on to say they were exhausted by the use of nigger in the game because they had watched all of Luke Cage prior to writing their article. That discomfort is one that has made a lot of white reviewers react to the game unfavorably, the refusal to back down from the slurs my grandparents, parents, and even I have endured over my forty-three years is something they can forget when they turn the game off. It makes people uncomfortable, it makes them squirm at how prevalent this was (and still is in some parts of the world). You can’t escape the discussions of how Lincoln is ‘that damn nigger that’s got so and so spooked’, and how he’s ‘unstoppable’ when you sneak around to take out bosses is fantastic. The fact is that 2K and Hangar 13 don’t give the player a chance to shy away from the reality of being called boy, nigger, coon every few minutes by NPCs and by your enemies. It set the expectation that this game would not skirt around race and I was not disappointed. So I was pleased by this small thing, that many people found unnecessary, upsetting or in one odd case, paranoid. I found it interesting that a white dev wrote this, because the industry has jaded me on anyone not black getting these issues, why they are so important. The game’s opening statement was written by Haden Blackman, who came to Hangar 13 from comics and film. Most importantly, we felt that to not include this very real and shameful part of our past would have been offensive to the millions of who face–and still face–bigotry, discrimination, prejudice, and racism in all its forms. We find the racist beliefs, language, and behaviors of some characters in the game abhorrent, but believe it is vital to include these depictions in order to tell Lincoln Clay’s story. We sought to create an authentic and immersive experience that captures this very turbulent time and place, including depictions of racism. Mafia III takes place in a fictionalized version of the American South in 1968. There is an opening statement that greets you before jumping into play, and it’s something that I’ve never seen in a game, and it was like a kick to the chest to see racism depicted in the game, as well as the horrific conditions that black people are dealing with now acknowledged before playing: What got me excited was Lincoln, and the fact that you get to have a black protagonist in the setting of post Vietnam war 1968 using the racial climate present in the US at the time as part of the game’s dressing, not shying away from slurs hurled at Lincoln by passing NPC’s, as well as your colleagues as you build your empire. By giving Lincoln center stage for a revenge tale, especially without excusing or shying from race, I was hooked. I’ve had my fill of being a scruffy white dude, or in this case a white gangster out to get his before everyone else. I never got into games like Mafia because it was all gunplay, same old tropes on repeat. What made me want this game wasn’t the series’ reputation, in fact I’d actively avoided Mafia and games like it in the past. If you’ve played any of the Grand Theft Auto games or other games with a mix of stealth, shooting and driving, you’ll be comfortable with picking up the third instalment of the Mafia franchise. Graphics and mechanics aside, Mafia III isn’t breaking any new ground. Mafia III - PS 4 screenshot - Courtesy T. However, the game does suffer from reusing maps quite a bit, to the point where I wondered if I had already done a mission when I went to the exact same warehouse layout as in a previous mission. Many of the driving scenes as you go between your CIA informant and missions all over New Bordeaux are breathtaking. You even get a rear-view mirror to check before doing a U‑turn or in some cases to watch your back while being chased by thugs sent to wipe you out after you’ve become a little too successful taking over a district as the new boss. The mechanics of the game are solid in terms of running, shooting, driving. The game had generated a lot of buzz well before release, partially because your protagonist Lincoln Clay is a black soldier, returned from the Vietnam war to New Bordeaux-or Faux Orleans as I’ve taken to calling it. Mafia III is a departure from the prior games in the series by featuring a black lead rather than the same stereotypical, white mafioso. 6 Nov, 2016 in Features / Opinion / Reviews by Tanya DePass
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