Mafia 3: 8 New Gameplay Features You Need To Know About

I don't know about you, but Mafia III is shaping up to be my personal favourite title of the year. Not only does it look to have an intense and captivating setting in 1960s New Orleans, it looks as though it's got a bonafide cast of all-star anti-heroes, on top of an already intricate and layered style of gameplay that ostensibly blends stealth, action, and driving to a near perfect conclusion.

Point being: It's flat out undeniable that the game looks brilliant, and as its release date inches ever closer, it only makes sense to examine just what makes Hangar 13's first foray into the world of open-world crime sim spectaculars so damn special.

The third entry in 2K's open world crime franchise certainly looks to be packing a narrative punch this time around, but it's hard to argue that gameplay isn't at the centre of attention here. But what exactly has been done to make this world seemingly more compelling in an industry awash with similar titles?

The proof is in the nitty gritty details of Mafia's pudding, where we can see a title that is prepared to deviate from the established tenets of the open world genre at an almost unprecedented scale.

It makes for a project that could, by all means, contend with the very best the genre has to offer. Whether it delivers the goods is anyone's guess, but at least we're getting a title that's placing innovation and detail right at the front of its experience.

Much like Assassin's Creed: Black Flag and Metal Gear Solid V, the soundtrack behind Mafia III is locked behind exploration, meaning that if you want to listen to all the tunes the swinging sixties has to offer, you're also going to have to visit pretty much every area in New Bordeaux.

It's certainly a worthwhile way to spend your time, especially since Mafia's soundtrack is so damn good. You've got everything from Creedence to The Animals to Aretha Franklin and so much more to delight your ears during your stay in New Bordeaux, and it's certainly something Hangar 13 should be commended for.

Not many devs have dared compete with GTA on the licensed soundtrack front on such a grand scale, so to see Mafia get its own suitably swinging score is quite simply wonderful.

Even the originally composed music making its way into the title sounds fantastic, with Jesse Harlin and Jim Bonney crafting a mix that feels instantly at home in the tumultuous atmosphere of the deep south. Harmonicas, guitars and more accentuate car chases, brawls and gunfights in the streets of New Bordeaux, and only further imbues the title with a sense of cinematic gravitas most others in the genre sorely lack.