Steal a car in a poor neighborhood, and the cops might not even show up at all.Īll of this is only heightened by the fantastic soundtrack, which does as good of a job at delivering a sense of time and place as Grand Theft Auto: Vice City did for the ‘80s. For example, if you steal a car in an affluent neighborhood, cops will show up quickly and in full force. Along with this are some pretty heavy themes consistent with the era: Mafia 3 does not shy away from dealing with racism and what America was like in the fallout of the Vietnam War, but all of it is done smartly with tact and in ways that affect gameplay. From Mardi Gras parades and above-ground cemeteries to bayous filled with gators and riverboat gambling tours, it took me to some settings I can’t recall ever exploring in a video game before. New Bordeaux, a fictionalized take on New Orleans in 1968, is full of diverse architecture and nature.
