8 Ways Mafia 3 Proves The Past Is Best For Video Games
3. Obviously, The Soundtracks Are Amazing
If you were going to choose your favourite GTA soundtrack, it simply has to be Vice City's.
That irreverent blend of '80s pop rock and dance was the perfect backdrop for Rockstar's recreation of Reagan-era Miami, and its scope meant you were never left to succumb to a repetitive radio for too long.
Mafia III takes the approach pioneered by Vice City and one-ups it completely, using it to further reinforce immersion and contribute to the sense that Hangar 13 just plane get the zeitgeist of sixties America. Even when you're on your sixth play of Creedence's 'Bad Moon Rising', it still sounds just as good, and who can forget that killer opening when you escape a bank heist via boat to Steppenwolf's 'Born To Be Wild'? It's just brilliant, and the soundtrack is far from short of artistic talents, drawing upon everyone from Aretha Franklin to Same Cooke and even The Rolling Stones to create an authentic musical accompaniment for Lincoln's story.
At times cliched, at others poignant, Mafia's soundtrack is a testament to just how brilliant historic releases are. And no, I'm not trying to be 'that guy' knocking modern day music and such, but there is something particularly resonant about hearing pop culture anthems blare as you dispatch some mid-twentieth century mafioso in a hail of bullets.