I cannot help myself to compare this title with previous Crimes and Punishments. What is obvious is, that this title is greatly influenced by movies with Robert Downey Junior and Jude Law and it affects all parts of gameplay. In terms of game design, Frogware added a lot to the game. The essential from previous game is still there (clues, interrogations, deduction) but added a lot more action, getting closer to the action adventure classification. Which is not bad, just different, but I personally enjoyed it a lot. Characters changed a lot in every aspect, visuals, voiceovers and even character is changed to match better the recent movie adaptation. I leave verdict about this decision in your hands, but if you enjoyed the movies you won't be angry. If you didn't like them and prefer the original Arthur Conan Doyle's version of characters, you would be disappointed. The story has a lot more action scenes but cases still makes sense and it fits well the set atmosphere. However, Frogware tried to link all cases to one bigger story, with consequences and decision and it didn't played out that well. I actually felt less weighted by consequences of my decisions than in the previous game, where it wasn't an important part of gameplay. Overall, this title is rather good, enjoyable and I don't regret buying it.
This game gave me a pleasurable detective experience. It is based on the stories from Arthur Conan Doyle and I was lucky that I didn't read this ones. However, game system is built on deducing also other versions of what happened, playing with possibilities and getting to the most plausible answer so I can imagine that it would be fun also for someone who read the books. Gameplay was well balanced, I was never bored. You will be gathering clues (duh), doing research and experiments, solving puzzles, picking locks and so on, until you'll have enough evidence to solve the crime. You can always be wrong (and game will continue) and you'll have to make a moral choice about the criminal. Graphics are very nice and I had no issues with running it, though I am playing it on far stronger machine than developers could think of when working on their HW requirements. Controls was rather standard and without anything that would be uncomfortable. To sum it up, if you like adventure games and detective stories, just go and play this one. :)
Gameplay of Mafia III was surely a unknown waters for the series. We were used to movie-like, thrilling and weighting story of individual who got cough up in organized crime and Mafia III is nothing like it. How it went? This game feels much more like GTA series, where story is not linear but you are "on your own" in open world city of New Bordaux. Main storyline is interwined with a lot of "business keeping" activities like fighting off competition or increasing incomes. This change wouldn't have to be much of a problem for the gameplay, but unfortunately, your ingame activities starts to be repetitivu and boring very quickly. Every mission will feel like deja vu, because once you aquire a grip on effective strategy, you won't be forced to change it ever since. You will loose track who you are fighting and why, because it will all feel the same. Story might have been a lifesaver of this game. But it is not. I mean, it is not bad, I enjoyed certain parts of it. Problem is that most of the characters are shallow, with no believable motivation and dilemmas and it is strongest with main protagonist, Lincoln Clay. Main story line is simple ride from point A to point B and when you expect the turn, there is none. Probably the only character with clear and interesting storyline is Father James, who is telling you the story of Lincoln Clay. He is perplexed, he is heart-broken, he must go against his nature. I made a terrible mistake of re-playing the Mafia II after playing this title. Game felt technologically more advanced (yes. graphics was nicer, AI was actually working with NPCs), city felt far more alive, story was captivating and I had no trouble to bond with the main protagonist. You will loose nothing with just watching the cutscenes and listening to music from radios. Unfortunately, this was not a good step for the Mafia series.
