To tell you the truth, I'm a fan of flawed games. I LOVE Deadly Premonition, I prefer the original Assassin's Creed to most of its sequels, and I generally enjoy games which bring out great ideas but have less than perfect execution. So I knew full well Mafia III was deeply flawed when I picked it up - but I was hoping it would be that 'diamond in the rough' kind. Was it? The answer is... well... maybe? The designers have created a gorgeously-looking city, a unique interior for each major building, stellar soundrack and a compelling story with interesting characters, well-written dialogue and cutscenes with tons of production value. But then the gameplay department couldn't think of anything to do in this lovingly created world - so they filled it with the blandest, most outdated and uninspired sandbox-ey gameplay you can imagine. Honestly, it feels like someone just reverse-engineered a PS2-era GTA title and shoehorned it into this game. Remember pedestrians jumping right under your wheels as you drive? They're back. Tailing missions? Yep, here they are. Fetch quests? The game is practically one HUGE fetch quest. Rubber-band racing? Yes, sir. Stealing X amount of Y type cars? Check. Liberating outposts? You'll do that over and over and over again (my friend), some of them twice - or more if you happen to stumble upon them before liberating it became a story mission. Already cleared the place of enemies? Sorry, pal, but Simon didn't say. Getting shot by the police because an enemy patrol attacked you in a street? You betcha. Getting killed in an instant with full HP and armour because you left cover for a second? I had that in spades. Progression bugs? Oh, yes. The worst offender for me though, was driving around the city. A ton of missions make you drive from one end of New Bordeaux to another and then back again... So, is Mafia III a flawed gem? Rather, it's cracked and quite obviously fixed with duct tape. It's a gorgeous world but not much of a game.
