10 Reasons Mafia 3 Is The Best Open-World Game In Years

Oct 10, 2016 October 10th, 2016

1. Graphics & World Presentation Are Gorgeous

From dumping corpses in the Bayou and watching the gators snap them up, to offing mob bosses and leaving them bleeding out in moonlit alleyways, Mafia 3's world just oozes style and individuality.

Honestly, for all its accolades and perfected game mechanics, I always thought there was something lost on the last couple GTAs, and it turns out, that was character. Both Vice City and San Andreas had style and charm in spades - a trait that driving through Mafia 3's world displays at every turn.

NPC animations range from jazz bands tuning up in small dive bars, to gangs of rednecks rustlin' up some BBQ food deep in the heart of the swamplands. The whole thing has a slight sepia tone applied to give the game an old-school, almost photographic feel, and it aids in bringing out the realism behind both characters' faces and their many interactions.

From the first moment you see the sun crawling over the horizon, to watching the rain pelt down as a target's car careens over a hillside in a blazing fireball inferno, Mafia combines the tire-screeching delights of Driver with the hair-back slickness of old-school GTA, all wrapped up in the confidence of everything Mafia has been building towards up to this point.

It's by far the most fun I've had with an open-world game in years, and easily one of the decade's best stories overall.