Mafia: The Old Country Heads to the Past to Revive Floundering Franchise

Mafia: The Old Country Heads to the Past to Revive Floundering Franchise

From Hardcore Gamer (Written by Jonathan Klotz) on | OpenCritic

Released in the wake of Grand Theft Auto 3, Mafia was a more serious and refined take on the crime drama that, though it never reached the heights of Rockstar's groundbreaking game, still found a dedicated fanbase. But over the years, the series has had a rough time with diminishing returns each time out, a trend that developer Hanger 13 hopes will be reversed with the upcoming Mafia: The Old Country. This time out, the story is set in Siciliy in 1900 during the birth of organized crime, but it's also a return to the past in its gameplay, which drops the open-world of the third game for a structured, linear story described by the developer as "a cinematic experience."

Mafia: The Old Country starts with its hero, Enzo's initiation into the Cosa Nostra as way to make something of his life. While it's not exactly a reboot, it is a new starting point for the series, which previously explored the 1930s, 1940s, and 1960s. Hanger 13 President Nick Baynes is already hopeful that the upcoming title will serve as a launching point for even more stories about the Mafia. The goal of Hanger 13 is to get out...