Uploaded October 2016 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Two episodes in a week? Wow Hamish, you must really like Mafia III! Nope, I reaaaally don't. It's a buggy, boring, repetitive mess of a game, but also has the added sting of following 2010's Mafia II - one of the most subversive and criminally underrated games I have ever played.
In this episode of Writing on Games I discuss why Mafia II's subversion of open world and gangster narrative tropes add real weight to its narrative, despite not being 'fun' in the traditional sense. I also examine why Mafia III's desire to open up the world to the player doesn't work due to crushingly repetitive mission design, as well as squashing the potential its promising narrative shows early on.
Essentially, go play Mafia II. Here's my piece for VICE Gaming if you want some more in-depth thoughts about what makes it such a masterpiece - vice.com/en_uk/read/mafia-ii-is-the-game-that-made-being-in-the-mob-brilliantly-mundane-100
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Patreon - patreon.com/writingongames
Podcast (iTunes) - itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/writing-on-gamescast/id1124674245
Podcast (RSS) - writingongamescast.libsyn.com/rss
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San Andreas footage from gamerfourlife99 - youtube.com/watch?v=wBPdVaB1Exk
Additional Mafia II footage from GameRiot - youtube.com/watch?v=koyF0vZkG6M
Mafia II trailer from 2K
Vice City footage from AddictionToGaming - youtube.com/watch?v=2JCyI5QkVKI
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Thank you SO much for watching, subscribing, sharing, pledging to the Patreon, etc. It all helps more than you can possibly know and I can't thank you enough for it. If you want to see your name on the end scroll, or you want early access to episodes/access to soundtracks and scripts, please consider pledging!
Thank you for your continued support!
Two episodes in a week? Wow Hamish, you must really like Mafia III! Nope, I reaaaally don't. It's a buggy, boring, repetitive mess of a game, but also has the added sting of following 2010's Mafia II - one of the most subversive and criminally underrated games I have ever played.
In this episode of Writing on Games I discuss why Mafia II's subversion of open world and gangster narrative tropes add real weight to its narrative, despite not being 'fun' in the traditional sense. I also examine why Mafia III's desire to open up the world to the player doesn't work due to crushingly repetitive mission design, as well as squashing the potential its promising narrative shows early on.
Essentially, go play Mafia II. Here's my piece for VICE Gaming if you want some more in-depth thoughts about what makes it such a masterpiece - vice.com/en_uk/read/mafia-ii-is-the-game-that-made-being-in-the-mob-brilliantly-mundane-100
---
Patreon - patreon.com/writingongames
Podcast (iTunes) - itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/writing-on-gamescast/id1124674245
Podcast (RSS) - writingongamescast.libsyn.com/rss
---
San Andreas footage from gamerfourlife99 - youtube.com/watch?v=wBPdVaB1Exk
Additional Mafia II footage from GameRiot - youtube.com/watch?v=koyF0vZkG6M
Mafia II trailer from 2K
Vice City footage from AddictionToGaming - youtube.com/watch?v=2JCyI5QkVKI
---
Thank you SO much for watching, subscribing, sharing, pledging to the Patreon, etc. It all helps more than you can possibly know and I can't thank you enough for it. If you want to see your name on the end scroll, or you want early access to episodes/access to soundtracks and scripts, please consider pledging!
Thank you for your continued support!
