There’s there’s a DRM-free version of a Mafia 3, so maybe if the music ends up being pulled from the digital version, like Trent Reznor’s Quake soundtrack, there could be a helpful forum thread on GOG, which will let you download and restore the OST without much hassle.
Problem is, a lot of times the patched version of a game’s exe will look for very specific resource files, with exact sizes, timestamps etc.
I remember back when a hack to the original version of Company of Heroes came out that let you use German speech for the German side. When the game’s next patch came out, the hack didn’t work anymore.
Now if there’s a version on GOG that lets you download Mafia III and store the installation files locally and indefinitely, awesome. I wouldn’t expect the resulting files to work with Steam though.
Oh, true! I had times, specifically with removed music tracks, where I could basically drop the original files into the Steam directory and everything would be hunky-dory, but most of those were games from the late 1990s to early 2000s, so if 2K were to patch the exe on the Steam version, we would all be out of luck there, unless some Mafia super fan were to provide with a fix.
Hangar 13 opened a new studio in the U.K. to collaborate with their Novato and Czech teams. Since 2K are also building up a Bioshock team at their HQ, I imagine funding two AAA teams in the Bay Area would be prohibitively expensive, so it’s nice to see the studio is expanding elsewhere rather than winding down. Check out their fancy new logo:
Wait what, what is Prague doing there? From what I remember they closed 2K Czech Prague studio and most people went either to Warhorse or to Brno office. Cool that they have two CZ studios again, apparently. Shame they are not making Mafia 4 or the spy cold war game though.
Yeah, that stood out to me as well. 2K Czech Prague shut down in 2014. What a weird cycle, right? A publisher invests all this time and money building up a team only to shut it down and then start it up again a few years later.
I wish 2K Czech could’ve released their Hidden & Dangerous spiritual sequel, Enemy in Sight. I’m sure it’s too late to ever return to the series now, but H&D2 remains my favorite game from the studio.
EDIT:
Hangar 13’s hiring a Lead Multiplayer Designer for coop gameplay seamlessly throughout game, confirming that the studio’s next game is a GAAS: “Own the vision for how multiplayer drives game development and is integrated as a core feature for our upcoming unannounced title.”
Yeah I would love Hidden and Dangerous 3 but sadly I think that ship has sailed. And multiplayer Gaas title is pretty much the least interesting thing possible for me. Unless it has fully functional singleplayer like e.g. Far Cry 5. But I am not optimistic.
“That whole cold-open has been burned from our servers,” said Andrew Wilson, executive producer, speaking at Brighton’s Develop Conference yesterday in a session hosted by GamesIndustry.biz. “It literally does not exist. Because if ever that had come out without any context in any form it would have looked terrible, because disconnected from the game it’s obviously even more shocking.”
“We’ve never really talked about this anywhere,” he said. "We went back at the eleventh hour and added a cold-open to the game that was a really violent prologue which basically shows Lincoln and a couple of his friends getting ambushed by the mob. It’s super-violent and Lincoln has to resort to violence to escape.
“This cold-open was going to explain why he left for Vietnam,” he said. “He ends up killing a cop and has to flee to Vietnam.”
I started this game yesterday. I bought both this and Watch Dogs 2 in the Spring Sale on Xbox, and it’s interesting to contrast the two.
Watch Dogs 2 is waaaaaaay prettier than this game. At least on Xbox, it is not even close. Mafia III looks like something that could come out for the 360 in comparison to Watch Dogs 2.
However, Watch Dogs 2 has this long meandering intro with no point to it, and Mafia III’s documentary opening, followed by the bank heist, man that shit is so much more compelling. I know it doesn’t look as good, but Mafia III really makes me want to come back to find out what happens next.
The setting and story in Mafia 3 is definitely worth it. I thought it looked nice on PC. The game play can get repetitive.
I loved Mafia 3, enough to get DLC, and I was sad to see it end. Great story, very well told, great atmosphere.
I wanted to love Watch Dogs 2 but got frustrated at some of the (IMO) needlessly contrived puzzle requirements that didn’t really advance the story, they seemed just there to be timed puzzles for the sake of puzzles rather than something to advance the story and atmosphere. I quit and never came back (which is unusual for me, I usually finish a game no matter what.)
You mention the story and setting, then there’s the music!
Re-bumping this as it helps make the game less grindy and allows the story to make more sense by playing missions in a certain order.
Somehow this is stilllllllllll on the backlog burner. One day!
Oh heck yes. Sorry, I had to hit “post” on my previous post because I was called away at work. But yes, that’s the main thing I wanted to mention. The music has been amazing already.
Finished both, WD2 is ok but the story goes nowhere and characters are not too likeable, plus the hipster paradise SF ain’t that compelling.
Mafia 3 suffers from repetetive mission structure, but I liked it much more. Stronger atmosphere and sense of place, better writing, infinitely better driving physics. But I would really recommend it on PC, graphics is better and framerate makes driving much more fun.
Question for anyone who knows, is the DLC content of this game worth it (in my case only Faster Baby and Stones Unturned, since I got Sign of the Times when I got the game in a Humble Monthly)?
I don’t know how much they’re going for, but I’d say they were a pretty decent chunk of content and worthy additions.
Thanks for the reply. Right now the Season Pass is going for $12.75 over on GMG (down from the $29.99 MSRP). Historic low is $3.99 on Fanatical but I’m holding out for 10 or under.
If you enjoyed Mafia 3, you’ll get $12.75 worth of fun out of the DLC, I’d wager.
I’ve read it is, and posted above the best order to tackle the story and dlc missions as they should sort of weave into the main game as you play.