Initial Mafia III Reviews Are Unacceptable

Early Mafia III reviews have been unacceptable, not taking the time to review the game in detail but instead rushing reviews to generate traffic.

[guywazeldatatt]

The game isn't perfect but the initial reviews, namely the very early ones, were traffic grabs and unacceptable.

[ChronoJoe]

Definitely I agree, and unfortunately early reviews also frame the experience for everyone else. While reviewers aren't supposed to read other reviews before publishing their own, it's not at all uncommon. On videogamerTV they even talked about validating their opinions with other reviewers before publishing their opinion.

The game is flawed in some respects but I'm enjoying it overall. I think a 7 or something along those lines is a fair score, but I can't understand the perspective of reviewers giving the game a 4 or less.

[yay111]

Being controversial pays unfortunately

[wheresmymonkey]

Pot calling the kettle black me thinks. Writing clickbait while accusing other outlets of it. Classy!

[KwietStorm_BLM]

Everything is click bait to someone around here. Someone else might say they're just making a point.

[VideoGamesAreDumb]

You're clickbait.

[Palitera]

Yeah, yay... This comes from the same gargabe blog responsible for:

"Uncharted is a fraud"
"VR is not optimal for gaming"
"Shin Megami Tensei is Pokemon for adults"

So... People here thinking he is not making clickbait about clickbait are just being trolled and feeding it. ;)

[Thisisjuju]

I think a solid way to avoid rushed reviews is to not have review copies sent out on the same day the game releases.

[DragonKnight]

What do you expect to happen with a pre-release review embargo enforced by not giving out review copies? Had 2K given out the review copies pre-release, there'd be less of those obvious traffic bait reviews.

[NightmareCV]

Mafia III has a wide variety of critic scores ranging from very high to mild at best, which should be a sign that these different critics are taking their time with the game and coming to different conclusions. Just like this article, a review is an opinion piece. There will always be common ground across reviews, but it all depends on how much the critic enjoyed the game. It sounds like you enjoy it and will give it a favorable score, but your score is no more or less valuable than another. It always comes down opinions.

[guywazeldatatt]

I agree and disagree. If someone puts time into a review and comes out with a low score, that's their opinion and valid. Putting a few hours into a game and writing a horrid review, and I mean grammatical errors galore (sign that it was rushed for click bait) is not acceptable.

[Gh05t]

So I have to know in the first two hours of playtime whether I want to keep a game, but I'm not allowed to make an opinion in a short amount of time... Got it.

Yes I am aware that me buying it is not the same as a review copy of a game and a rushed review, my point is rather, if you say you have to play a game for a certain amount of time to make an informed opinion then isn't that counter intuitive to the "well you played for a long time so you obviously enjoyed it." Which is it as a consumer, can I decide I don't like it in two hours and write a bad review or do I have to play longer and then I may be screwed with a game I don't like because I now can't return it.

Seems like the people that complain about reviews want it both ways.

[Deadpooled]

"Putting a few hours into a game and writing a horrid review, and I mean grammatical errors galore (sign that it was rushed for click bait) is not acceptable."

Yeah like that Abriael's Dualshockers reviews and articles, but recently Thisgengaming took that honour away from Dualshockers.

[RememberThe357]

Ghost, you seem to be confusing the issue. Reviewers play games whether or not they enjoy them. The point of reviewing the entire game is to give the reader a full scope of the reviewers experience. This is not the way gamers approach games becuase they're not reviewing, they're playing. It's just not the same. The reviews in question are unacceptable becuase they weren't made to inform the consumer but to gain readers. If your looking for arbitrary initial experiences you can visit forums and talk to other gamers, but that's not what reviews are.

In an other context reviewing a book or film having only experienced a 1/4 of it would be moronic. These reviews were in the same sense moronic.

[Utalkin2me]

@RememberThe357

So you're comparing a 2 hour movie, which may be a handful a week. Compared to a 10 to 200+ hour game with over a handful each week. It's pretty obvious just as a movie if you're going to like it in the first hour or not.

[Aloy-Boyfriend]

Angry Joe gave it a 6 and addressed that repetition some have been highlighting and others been defending saying stuff like "every game is repetitive by nature bla bla." I hate to be that guy, but it seems they are right about it. Repetition is fine as long as there are creativity with the missions and variety. It seems that all you do is kill this guy then proceed to do the same thing in another area of the map. They even all have the samr animation and stuff. MGSV sucked because of it. I mean 150 side ops of the same thing... Really? Why? It would have been enough with half of that. As for Mafia 3, it seems that the creativity was not there. Even GTA V had a variety of missions and a world that feels alive. No one does Open world like Rockstar, before you tell me that GTA V is also repetitive.

[guywazeldatatt]

You can't really compare this and GTA V because this is a mafioso game and GTA isn't. Also there are things that open up later in the game if you play long enough, but a lot of reviewers simply didn't take that time. It's much more narrative-driven and honestly when it comes down to it I haven't been bored at all and the game has been a blast so far. It's not perfect and I'm not releasing my review yet, but, it's a really enjoyable game if you put the time into it that's intended.

[GrimmyReaper]

It's fine if you enjoy the game but don't expect people to think the same.
You can't expect people to respect your opinion if you don't respect theirs.

Also, saying "if you play enough, you unlock cool things" for me personally is not a good thing. Why couldn't cool things be in the beginning as well? If people already pay 60 bucks, for most, having to also play for X hours before they like it, is not good.

Again, it's totally fine if you like it, but then don't be surprised if not everyone likes it.

[RedDevils]

@GrimmyReaper "It's fine if you enjoy the game but don't expect people to think the same. "

Same thing can be said vice versa.

[Gh05t]

@RedDevil True but which side is saying that the others opinions don't count and are unacceptable?

[RememberThe357]

The approach is unacceptable not the opinion. The author isn't saying bad reviews are wrong. Reviews that dont cover the entire game are wrong.

This isn't rocket science, it's nuance.

[Utalkin2me]

@GrimmyReaper

Don't use logic, cause Darlink wont reply.

@RedDevils

You cant say vice versa, cause he already stated that....SMH.

@RememberThe357

Again you cant play the whole game, there is just not enough time. A few hours is plenty of time to know if the game is good or not.

[Red_Renegade]

if you can't play the whole game, don't review it. the reviews don't have to be out the day the game comes out, or exactly the day the embargo releases. either put in the time and effort to do the whole game and make a good review, or don't mislead people by doing a half-ass review.

[Nathan_Hale53]

Variety does not = repetition. repetition literally means the same over and over, and this game doesn't change shit up. If you simplify every mission to "kill this guy then proceed" then yeah, every game is the same repetitious crap, but it isn't.

[WellyUK]

ye but then again gta shouldn't of got 10' and 9's anyway as it's overrated sh*te. Also Witcher 3 has a far better open world than GTA.

[TheSuperior]

A game doesn't need to be revolutionary to provide a valuable experience. Mafia 3 is one of those games. Its a shame to see so many rushed reviews.

[guywazeldatatt]

I've had a ton of fun with it. and the narrative is amazing.

[Utalkin2me]

I have to disagree with you there. Game is doing the same mission over and over. Game deserves all the crap it's getting.

[endi123]

Please go to utube and watch the comparison between mafia 1 and 3
But really, please do

[Servbot41]

You do the same mission 36 times. That's not a valuable experience, that's just stupid.

[lxtrxi]

Yet if it wasn't for these sites you wouldn't be able to write your own clickbait article.

[guywazeldatatt]

this isn't clickbait. simply put there are a lot of terribly rushed reviews that were put out before the game even launched by people who got it from retailers that broke the street date and rushed to get a review out. that's clickbait.

[BellePelouse]

seems to me you have a case of salt because you don't get the traffic you want

[EDKICK]

How is this a clickbait article when he is highlighting a fairly serious issue in the gaming industry. It's utter nonsense when I see a review like 5 hours after the game is out at like 2/10 and you read the article and it looks like it was written by a five year old. It's becoming a growing trend to piss a review out hours or even days before others with an obnoxiously low score. It's pathetic to see these reviews be the first reviews people read tainting many's opinion on the game. It's a tactic employed by talentless, lazy, pathetic people claiming to be writers and it's obnoxious to see people doing this before most major reviews recently. So good for the writer calling this nonsense out.

[zcmilano]

Don't read reviews from non metacritic listed blog sites then :)

[Gh05t]

Yet no one forces you to click and you know it's garbage but you still seem so hell bent on forcing others to do what you want rather than just passing by not letting it get to you.

Or are you saying others are so dumb that they will believe a rushed, childlike, click bait article and its your duty to protect the feeble minded. OUR HERO!

Either way, you should talk to them, not to us.

[kindkinesis]

I agree

[guywazeldatatt]

When people somehow get retailers to break street dates to get a rushed review out and then give it a horrible score in a horribly written review just for clicks (and from all accounts that's what happened on this very site), that is a serious issue. It's saddening more than anything as someone who has run a few outlets and now own my own, as it's simply irresponsible and people don't understand the damage it does. It's one thing if it were a thorough review, but the ones linked to in my article weren't.

[gbsrnctaln]

Dont let Christopher get wind of you criticizing this site darklink, for you will feel his almighty wrath come down upon you!

[Utalkin2me]

@HaydoThePotato

I agree, he clearly comes of as a baby. Not everything is going to be perfect and including the game. You have already said your peace, not let it go and move on like a big boy.

[eldingo]

im still going through the game myself on ps4 most of the glitches iv'e encountered are more immersion breaking than game breaking had about 1 crash so far.the games narrative is negatively effected by the open world structure the story characters and setting are written well but the amount of repetitive kill work you have to do inbetween kills the pacing with very little variation that only happens when killing one of sals capos or lieutenants it helps break up the monotony but dear god theres alot of repetitive bitch work to do in the world.

im not gonna go full blown paragraphs on this but overall i'd give the game a 6 right now when taking into consideration the many glitches and 1 crash i encountered 7 if it didnt have all the immersion breaking stuff and a better skybox also the lighting is all over the freaking place sometimes i can't line up a headshot in the middle of the day because the sunlight is so bright i can't see my reticle or the fucking enemies head theres no game breaking stuff to my knowledge but all the little unpolished parts and glitches add up like dissapearing shadows indoors during a conversation and the previously mentioned stuff.

great game but they didn't make full use of the open world along with it killing the pacing of the story and hampering that part of the experience overall along with definitely needing a couple of months to iron out all these glitches and bugs.

also keep in mind a 5 is average for a game in the scoring system mafia 3 is more than average but some things are holding it back from being up there with the best of em hope when they make a mafia after this they improve on this games aspects because that would be great.

[guywazeldatatt]

everyone's scoring system is different. I personally think that a 5 or below is a bad game, but that's according to my system.

I haven't encountered any glitches yet, but who knows (I've put a lot of time into the game.)

[eldingo]

I have heard it's been optimized differently by platform so thats something to keep in mind hence why i said ps4.

as for scoring system i use the one that is most officially recognized as a fair scoring system,there are so many people who think that if a game isnt an 8,9,10 ect. that it isnt a game worth playing which is a very unfortunate misconception at the same time i understand only people who play and follow games regularly understand how to mediate these kinds of things i remember when i played castlevania curse of darkness even after seeing it get middling reviews and i still really enjoyed it this is why i have gravitated twoard youtube kinds of early play and reviews because theres alot more of the game to glean from them than just a score since everybodies scoring system varies from person to person and its really hard to get a general consensus from everyone.

[Nathan_Hale53]

Go look at a mirror in game and tell me there are no glitches.

[showtimefolks]

does the game not have the worst enemy AI on next gen consoles?

does the game not have major technical issues?

does the game not lack polish and proper game testing before launch?

are the side missions not repetitive and must be done to unlock the great main story missions?

doesn't the driving feels broken and there is not proper vehicle damage?

does the game not provide a fast travel system?

did 2k not hold back the game so the bad reviews wouldn't come out before launch?

did hanger 13 not hire people to test the game?

please keep defending these idiotic practices and soon all games will launch earl preview where we pay full price than patches are released later

games who agree with this article are the main problem with gaming industry. shouldn't there be a rule that all game reviews must be out 24-48 hours before game release to inform consumers

same gamers defended micro transactions saying no one is forcing us to buy and not MT are in every game. grinding became a bigger mess unless you are willing to pay up

mafia 3 is at best a 7/10 and worst 6/10

and no matter how much time reviewers take that's just how facts would have come out to be

[guywazeldatatt]

"games who agree with this article are the main problem with gaming industry. shouldn't there be a rule that all game reviews must be out 24-48 hours before game release to inform consumers "

gamers and media are not entitled to early copies of games. we are not the problem with the gaming industry. the entitlement displayed by some "media" and consumers, on the other hand, is.

[showtimefolks]

Darklink28

so you mean to tell me that publishers shouldn't send out early copies to reviewers. that means reviwers buy the game at release take(3-5 days to play it)before handing out a review

by than a lot of gamers would have bought games even if it ends up being bad

i understand your comment since you are leaving comments everywhere trying to defend mafia 3(i think you maybe part of 2k or hanger 13) but logically review hcopies for most games get to reviewers 1 weeks before the release of a game

from now on if a publishers refuses to send out early copies just don't buy the game

these gaming sites/youtube channels hand out a lot of free advertisement so it's not like publishers are not getting anything in return

[boing1]

" What other reason could they have for not sending out copies other than fear of losing pre-orders?"

Day one patch maybe? A lot of developers send unfinished builds, which are often TCR ready, for certification. Meanwhile, they work on day one patch for release day.

[treeson47]

personally i'm really loving the game. the story is interesting and unique, the setting and characters are for the most part all great and up to par with the other two games. i'm probably the only one who's happy that there AREN'T a ton of filler missions for "variety". it's the first open world game where i haven't had to go pick up an NPC or specific vehicle so the story could shove exposition down my throat or pad the length of the game. people referencing GTA for having variety in things to do like gambling, or playing pool or whatever shouldn't expect every open world to follow that model. I love Mafia games for the story and fun combat, which so far this game delivers in spades. it's definitely got it's glitches, but give me a game in the last 2 years that hasn't had a shaky launch or needed a day one patch and then some. so far i haven't had any game breaking glitches or ones that have seriously hindered my overall experience, and i'm sure they'll continue to patch it over time and improve it even more. if you're a fan of the mafia franchise and the third person shooter genre i definitely recommend picking it up or at the very least renting it and deciding for yourself.

[guywazeldatatt]

fallout and other open-world games are always riddled with glitches day one. personally, I haven't really encountered any 30 hours in about but we'll see. the GTA comparisons aren't really valid because they are two different types of games, completely.

[Utalkin2me]

So please explain how they are completely different games?

[Eiffel]

I usually go with player reviews as a good indicator of what to expect. And as someone who has played both the previous games with some level of expectation the general consensus seems to be: Decent story, terrible everything else. I played it for a couple of hours myself and I agree with the reviews for the most part. It's weak both aesthetically and functionally, with limited playability. It's especially weak when compared to it's predecessors in just about every aspect.

[Gh05t]

What a clickbait childish review you just gave it, you only played a couple hours. You have to play longer and then it gets more fun. You review is unacceptable because reasons /s

[PureTruth]

The first 3-4 hours were a bit off for me... but once I got through the first "main event" that set up the plot, i got the feeling the intro hours were just a long prologue-type setup teaching gameplay mechanics. I'm not sure what I'd rate it at this point, but after about 8 hours I find that I'm enjoying it much more than I did when I first started playing.

[Lilrizky]

Sure I get that but the wording to the reviews after were not much different. I'm also a firm believer if a game doesn't grab you in its first hour it'll most likely won't grab you in its last hour

[TheBeguiler]

As someone who also works for a video game website, I think it also depends on the player and game. Some people can go through a game quicker than others. I do agree that day of releases when review copies were quite scarce is subject to eyebrow raises especially when its longer game like Mafia III and not something shorter. That all being said it is a case by case basis, but I am not gonna speak ill of other writers and their work. Interesting read.

[USMC_POLICE]

Anything below a 4 is unplayable and the game is not unplayable. Personally for me it's a 7 a disappointment from mafia 2 but the storytelling is amazing.

[Gh05t]

"Anything below a 4 is unplayable..." Based on what, your own beliefs of how scoring should work?

[USMC_POLICE]

No based more or less on common sense

[Kenshin_BATT0USAI]

I mean I've seen enough gameplay to see almost all complaints are justified. It's one of those great story, but shitty gameplay, games.

[Manubiggs]

I am close to 30 hours into the game and still loving it. It is repetitive but just the type of thing that works for me after a long day of work and have to let off some steam. Love the story, setting and music. Never feel like I need fast travel because I hop into a car and just enjoy the music and scenery. I know this game isn't for everyone, but it works for me. And that's what's the most important, regardless of what any reviewers think.

[opinionated]

Nobody cares about reviews anymore. They don't have the influence they used to. They are a number thrown into a shit stew. We're at a point in technology where we can watch somebody play on twitch.

I don't need reviews personally. I prefer betas, demos, developer diaries and behind the scenes crap more. I always see people trashing game journalism only to turn around and treat metacritic as gospel. Metacritic is influential to costumers who are too lazy to look into things but it's pretty worthless to anyone that keeps up on this stuff. The lazy ignorant consumers aren't reading these clickbait articles. They went to metacritic for a number.

[starrman1985]

Unfortunately a lot of game review sites want the hits and for new games they want to get their reviews out ASAP whilst the game is still in the spotlight, games come out so rapidly now (plus other new announcements, videos etc) that people lose interest very quickly.

Not sending out review copies is just a bad idea because it will encourage this type of behaviour.

[Jon_Targaryen]

Sure its repetitive, but so was MGS V!! And that got praised for being the swan song of the franchise, where in a real fan's eyes it was the worst installment of the series!

[SharnOfTheDEAD]

Would have made for a better movie, Got fed up of the silly AI the OTT brutal takedowns and just doing the same stuff over and over. Much of what made made Mafia 2 great is lost in this one.

[Meltic]

8/10 for me. THe Story is strong in this game

[1nsomniac]

I completely agree. There's something clearly not right with the low scores. Everybody I know that has played the game properly seems to be pretty amazed at the low scores.

It has some truly amazing little touches to detail. I keep finding more & more things that amaze me. Like last night I realised that it not only uses soft shadows but also volumetric light for those shadows. So certain areas of your shadows can fade out & blend with the light & can realistically blend together with other overlapping shadows.

All these reviews that claim the game suffers from lazy developement clearly have no idea what they're talking about.

[Tzuno]

So is the game current state, people have paid full price for a full experience not a lag and bug fest, no excuses here, GTX 1080 sli 1080P ultra 61 fps max, are you kidding me???

[n1kki6]

There is a weird hypocrisy in the gaming media. If it's a game like Uncharted story narritive will drive the score regardless of boring repetitive gameplay, same with gears of wars. In a game like GTAV, again clunky game play but rated will for it's ambition. Then a game like Mafia 3 hits, with some of the best acting and story narrative that I have ever seen and it gets 6 and 7's.

[Blaze929]

I thought the same. Anyone giving this game under a 7 honestly, i have to question you.

[NonShinyGoose]

Even user/customer reviews on Steam, Metacritic and Amazon are mostly negative. You can't say these reviews were rushed or unacceptable.

[TKCMuzzer]

Maybe not, but you would be surprised how many people will rate a game they play on others opinions. It's sad but people are easily influenced.(Don't cont metacritic or Amazon, you can review things without even touching them and believe me there are a lot of idiots who do)
It's easy to see the flaws if there has already been an article on it and of course it alters your judgment before even playing.
Mafia 3 is a 7-8/10. The driving (in simulation) is fun and better than most of its rivals, setting people on fire is amusing as ever and the shooting is pretty nice, especially with silencers. Yes there can be repetitive moments but there is no need to do a vast majority of side missions if you want to focus on the story. The 3/10 that one site gave was unacceptable, I have played many games with higher scores than that which are easily worse than Mafia 3.
Sites who review for clicks should be ousted and never 'clicked'.

[Tetsujin]

Instead of a numbering system, why not have a system where someone puts some positive/negative remarks, and let the public decide? I've seen some reviews where this was far more acceptable since instead of a number it's what the reviewer like/dislike, and let the reader come up with their own score. A 10 to one is a 4 to someone else.

The other problem is inconsistency in the numbering, as well as too broad of an interpretation of what is considered a Good/Bad game.

[cyber_daemonx]

Game sucks. Cry harder.

[mahmoods26]

I've finished the game. Here a review for you.

It is massively repititive. I really like the story, the voice acting and the cutscenes. The characters motivations make sense. The gunplay and driving and cover and stealth system are all functional. The problem is the game doesn't do a lot with it's open world. I'd say the 7/10 reviews are accurate. There are some good bits, the stages where you hunt the main players are fun and different. Everything else is pretty much generic and samey. This bleeds into the good sections as well. Plus graphics are muddy. Performance on pc isn't optimized. The game crashes and glitches enough times to be a noticable issue but it is possible to play it from start to finish.

[FernandoMartinez]

It's a shitty game and you don't have to play it through or for 30+ hours to know that...

Go to Youtube and check for a Mafia 1 Mafia 3 comparisson video and you might get the feeling why this game is such a dissapointment.

[_LarZen_]

Reviews in general have been unacceptable for several years.

[-Foxtrot]

Look it's not a good game for what it was hyped out to be. Lets just admit it and move on.

I'm so glad I dodged this bullet. Even my brother who has it tries to defend it but keeps picking the flaws as he's playing it

"Oh I wish they added this" - "Where's X, Y, Z feature" - "GTA can do this" - "See how this dosen't work" - "Why can't you do this" - "How he jump this but not that".

[GOODKylePS]

All I hear are complaints that you weren't able to get it early. Both reviews more or less line up with the general consensus that came after them. If you need to reaffirm your crying with the notion that Mafia 3 was a great game, so be it.

Edit: I think all the disagrees you've piled up speak for themselves.

[daynnight365]

Wheresmymonkey, you're a jackstain by calling this clickbait.

[Clown_Syndr0me]

I defended this game to death at first as I didn't let visual bugs get in the way. But now I'm a a fair way through the game and slowly giving up. The bugs are more than just visual, quest markers and side quests bug a lot, I've had cars that sink into the ground or float making them undrivable (very annoying after driving all the way across the map to deliver the cargo for the 100th time).
My original 7/10 is now a 5/10, the only thing saving it from lower is the main missions are pretty cool and I like the characters. Plus I just have a soft spot for mafia...

[stanr]

As someone who writes reviews for games, I have to agree with how the game is being treated by critics. Unlike most critics, I bought my copy on Thursday and have put over 50 hours of game time into it before publishing my review. The game has its flaws but the story is solid. Personally I'd rather write an honest review that gets 5 readers than a rushed review that gets 500 readers.

[Utalkin2me]

If a game is bad, it's bad. No reason to drag on the scenario. If a game is decent or good it will show in the first 3 hours of gameplay.

[Auron]

Id rather know what gamers think of this game than reviewers. I was kinda excited for this game.

[Utalkin2me]

Just read the comments. Its repetitive, has alot of bugs.

[Brohan]

Reviews these days is bullshit, stick to gaming news and not forcing your opinions on others. Let them try the game out for themselfs

[OoglyBoogly]

People can say what they want about early reviews but after watching game play videos in length this game just looks arcade-ish and goofy. Definitely a major departure from the previous installments no matter how you look at it.

[WMANUW]

wtf? the game is shit ...

[CrimsonWing69]

Funny, so is a game that's half-baked!

[ROWDYMANE]

always trust your on judgement.

[Hoffmann]

I agree, the 8/10 reviews for this game are a joke.

[JokerBoy422]

This is bullshit. Games get rushed to review all the time but no body cares until the protagonist is an African American. I've read pretty fair reviews and it's not the story or the characters who are the reason for the bad scores but rather the glitch fests and the apparent repetitive gameplay.

[XXanderXX]

I love the game , have had no issues .
I don't trust reviews ever rather judge for myself .

[The_Kills]

Ah well, how about the publisher provide review copies next time instead. Reap what you sow even if the reviews were a lie (which most weren't - this game is horrid, gave it 4 hours before I gave up and watched the cutscenes for the story wrap up). Thank goodness i didn't buy it, but now I feel bad for my friend that wasted money buying this for me.