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Mafia III: Rivals review – build up your gang and seize control of New Bordeaux

By Cosmin V.

Published: Oct 23, 2016, 1:28 AM

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Mafia III: Rivals review – build up your gang and seize control of New Bordeaux

Mafia is one of the most series in the gaming industry and that's probably one of the reasons 2K, the owner of the franchise, decided to revive it with the launch of the third title.

The new Mafia III made it to PC and consoles on October 7, but it didn't get the same great reviews its predecessor received many years ago. Currently, Mafia 3 sits at 6 out of 10 rating on Metacritic, which says everything about the quality of the game developed by Hangar 13.

But we're here to talk about Mafia III: Rivals, the mobile game developed by Cat Daddy Games and published by 2K. The game was launched on both the Android and iOS platforms around the same time as the PC title.

Rivals is a RPG (role-playing game) with turn-based combat mechanics where players must build up their crew of gangsters and take over the town of New Bordeaux. It starts easy with an in-depth tutorial that allows players to get used with the game's controls and objectives.

For the most part, you will spend your time facing off waves of rival gangs in turn-based combat, and what should keep you interested in playing Rivals is the loot that you'll be able to collect after defeating other crime bosses.

After each battle your crew members will receive experience points, which will help them become even more efficient in combat. Even if they don't survive a battle, they will still receive experience points, but they will get even more if they don't die. Also, you can outfit your gang with weapons, armor, as well as cars to boost their stats and make them more deadly in combat.

A "heat" cool down will limit your play time

If you're not particularly interested in the story of the game, Rivals also offers you the option to fight other real players to improve your reputation.

It's also worth mentioning that after each fight your gang members' “heat” level will increase. When it reaches 100% you won't be able to send them in missions anymore since they are wanted by the police. The heat cool down is meant to limit your play time.

Unfortunately, the game fails when it comes to progress, as players will be forced to spend real money more often than not if they want to start doing some progress into the game. The drop rate for good items is extremely low, which prevents players from advancing into the story.

Another problem is the PvP matching system, which doesn't seem to be balanced at all. Beginners are paired with players that have much higher reputation, better crews and improved gear, which is annoying to say the least.

Overall, it's a game that has great potential, but needs some improvements to make it playable without having to spend real money. We recommend trying it out since it's free-to-play, but disable the in-app purchases feature if you don't plan on spending money on it.