2016 Gaming Awards – App Trigger Superlatives Edition

2016 Gaming Awards – Hard Deadline Victim of the Year – Mafia III

Mafia III is the little engine that couldn’t. There are so many neat ideas surrounding a game about organized crime in 1960’s-era New Orleans, especially when it comes to toeing the racial divide within mafia families. The Vietnam soldier coming back from war, only for everything to be taken from him. CCR blasting on the radio, “It ain’t me, it ain’t meeeeeeeeeee…” Revenge served cold.

If only Lincoln Cole would stop falling through the ground.

It’s clear that, at launch, Mafia III could do with at least half a year’s worth of polish. Yet, with Take-Two Interactive’s holiday slate being the annualized 2K series’, a PC-only release, and console releases of a PC exclusive, a major release had to come out in hopes of driving sales throughout the holidays.

It’s a shame, because that extra time would prevent the immeasurable amount of gameplay bugs, improve the quality of late-game missions, allow for more optimization time, and would leave players feel less conflicted about their decision to trust in this fine series again.