Mafia 3 review in progress

   Mafia 3 starts off with a bang.  I don't want to ruin the story, so I'll just say so far it's the best part of the game.  The game is set in 1968 New Orleans.  Not one of my favorite decades but I think the 80's might be used a little too often nowadays.  The story is handled well and doesn't gloss over the racial issues of the era.  I know a lot of people are going to compare it to Grand Theft Auto, so do yourself a favor.  Don't compare them.  Try not to even think about Grand Theft Auto while you're playing.  This game isn't GTA and won't magically turn into it, no matter how hard you might wish it so.  It's not a bad game, but in comparing the two, it will fall short.  So just don't.
   So far I've played about 10 hours and I've not unlocked that much yet.  There's not a whole lot of side stuff to do; I'm hoping that changes further into the game.  The map is a decent size, but so far it's kind of empty, except for collectibles that serve no purpose.  (That I can see).  You can rob stores but it doesn't net you a lot of cash; I usually haul in $20 to $50 dollars.
   The missions are pretty straightforward: kill the goons and take out the boss.  Hopefully there will be a little variety down the road.  They do take place in memorable places at least.  So far the best one  has taken place at an abandoned carnival.  It killed my love of carnivals, I can tell you that.  Actually that's a lie, the only reason I go to carnivals is because they're slightly creepy.  Even when they're brightly lit and full of people.  Carnivals are like miniature Halloween Horror nights, except a lot cheaper and not as scary.  But I digress.
   Speaking of scary, the AI leaves a lot to be desired.  You can usually get away with killing goons right in front of each other and they don't react.  Witnesses will usually call the police when you commit a crime but it's easy to knock them down.  Pedestrians don't react when they're crossing the road and you honk at them.  Nor do they run in fear when you almost run them over.  They just keep walking sedately along.  Out of all the stores I've robbed, not one has reported me to the police, despite being full of people.  Maybe I've gotten lucky.  I'll continue to test this theory as I go.