Mafia III First Impressions

I'm nearly twenty hours into this thing so I figure now is a good time to take a minute to write down some of my thoughts. Coming off of Mad Max, maybe the most well-optimized game I've ever played, Mafia III hasn't exactly knocked my socks off and everyone and their dog was putting the developers on blast for releasing a game that manages to run distinctly less-well than you'd think a game of this graphical caliber would. I'm not going to get into all that stuff here but suffice it to say that it ran decidedly poorly on my system initially, and after the patch it runs... better. Not Mad Max level smoothness but a definite improvement, so performance-wise at least things are alright.

The real meat and potatoes of this game is the story, and so far I've been impressed by the writing. The first hour of the game in particular is a really, really effective tutorial/plot hook setup and the way the story is being told in the past-tense through a kind of documentary and archival footage has kept me interested so far. Open world games tend to be terrible at this kind of thing with all of their faceless quest-dispensers but it's obvious that the developers tried to give these secondary characters at least a modicum of life, and it's very much appreciated since the main thrust of the narrative is pretty straight-ahead: revenge. Combined with juggling the loyalties of your capos (which I thought was introduced a little late actually) and I'm really looking forward to seeing how it all turns out.

The gameplay at its base level is pretty repetitive, as every district I've tackled so far has followed a similar template of progression: talk to an NPC, get some objectives that pretty much always involve killing dudes in certain locations, interrogate a certain enemy to reveal a bigger objective in the area and take it down to flush out one of the district mini-bosses. You do this twice for each district before taking down the leader of that district in a special, unique mission that have so far been pretty good. This type of stuff can really get old if you aren't someone who likes "making your own fun" and messing around with the sandbox of the game world, so buyer beware. As someone who spent hours fucking around with the outposts in Far Cry games I'm naturally predisposed towards enjoying this kind of stuff and the raw game feel of the gunplay and cover system go a long way towards keeping things from turning too stale as they're pretty great. The AI is mostly pretty blind but on the highest difficulty you're easy enough to kill that there's at least some tension in combat. Oh, and the soundtrack is incredible - lots of great period music and some almost Red Dead Redemption level soundtrack material, but the main menu sells Mafia III hard: a sunset over the bayou as Jimi Hendrix's "All Along the Watchtower" blasts out at you. So far, so good.

Edit: Literally 10 minutes after starting the game up for the first time after writing this I get a watch a great cutscene ruined by one of the character's eyeballs being apparently replaced with giant black shark eyes. Then I got trapped in an infinite loading screen. Nice.

Mafia III: Overexposure

Mafia III is due to release in a couple of days and I find myself kind of amazed at the amount of preview material available for it. Hours upon hours of gameplay, a wide selection of trailers and short teasers, and two developer-commentated, heavily controlled walkthroughs of pretty significant length, not counting all the social media posts and interviews that have the made the game and its developer Hangar 13 their subject. The frankly overwhelming amount of raw gameplay released (seems like everyone Youtuber and their dog got some hands-on time with it) gives potential buyers a much more informed picture of what the game is actually like than is usually offered for high-profile releases like this. In the wake of No Man's Sky-gate it's refreshing to see a tentpole release like this being clearly and plainly marketed by the publisher and to have so much of the actual minute-to-minute interactions showcased for anyone interested.

What's really interesting about this is that the publisher, 2K Games, isn't sending out review copies ahead of time so there won't be any up by the time the game releases on October seventh. People got upset about this as they always do, even though there are hours of gameplay available to watch on Youtube so you can decide if Mafia III looks fun to you or not. I just find it really strange that people place so much stock in professional reviews and would sooner trust some random asshole from IGN over their own personal judgement. Is it possible that the game comes out and is actually a total bomb? Of course. Watch_Dogs released as an ugly, bug-ridden mess and it went on to sell incredibly well in spite of that (or its story, characters, themes, gameplay, etc.), so it even working on a technical level isn't a sure thing. It's totally possible the game is buggy as hell and boring as shit, but from the ads I've seen - I mean "gameplay videos" - it looks like I'll enjoy this one. If you find yourself worrying about what review scores a game gets so you'll know if you should buy it or not, you really need to ask yourself: Why is that I trust the system (IGN/Gamespot/Polygon/Kotaku) over my own personal opinions and judgement? If you can't even decide which piece of media to consume because one got a 7.8 from Polygon and the other got a 8.1 from Gamespot and everyone knows that Polygon is a bunch of SJWs who knock games down for not having trans options for the protagonist, then Houston, we have a problem.

OSI - Fire Make Thunder

2009's Blood saw OSI iterate on their sound with some noticeable progress towards a fully blended mix of electronica and prog riffing. The groups hopefully-only-temporarily final recording as of this writing, Fire Make Thunder dropped in 2012 to sweep away all doubts that the group was done evolving by delivering their most crystallized sound yet.

Forgoing the use of any guest musicians or vocalists for the first time, Fire Make Thunder again sees Jim Matheos handling guitars, Kevin Moore providing lyrics and keyboards, and Gavin Harrison taking on drumming. Written in the same back-and-forth long distance fashion as the previous OSI records, what stands out about this album right from minute 1 is how rich and vibrant it sounds in comparison to Blood. Moore seems much more present vocally on these tracks as he drones out some of the best lyrics he's penned yet on "Invisible Men" and "From Nothing" while Matheos' playing is taken to another level thanks to the roomier production and less overtly electronic sounds found here, which had a tendency to obscure his picking. With less effects layers to take up headroom, his riffs are finally able to sit up straight in the driver's seat and hit the gas, as testified to by the opening crunch of "Cold Call", basically the entirety of "Enemy Prayer", which might be in the top five best instrumentals of all time, and his David Gilmour tribute in the second half of "Invisible Men". His bass lines have improved as well and the interplay between him and Harrison's drumming seems much more familiar and confident than what was found on Blood. Individually the songs still mostly alternate between Matheos' gorilla sized riff emporiums and Moore's samples and quite pieces but their is a unity of composition here that elevates the material noticeably beyond what they achieved with Blood or Free, for that matter - "Wind Won't Howl" starts off as textbook Moore electronica before gradually building into a full-forced climax once Harrison and Matheos join in to bring the song home. "Guards" is a teetering house of cards built on a skittering drum sample and an almost funk synth line by Moore before Matheos enters after the chorus. The closing track "Invisible Men" wraps the disc up by combining all the elements of OSI into one lengthy piece that makes "ShutDOWN" look like it was written by Twitch: Moore's lyrics and atmospheric keyboard work combine like never before until Matheos brings the thunder, and the song shifts into a Lynchian groove that recalls Pink Floyd at their best.

Matheos and Harrison's renewed vigor is confidently matched by Moore. Whether he's chopping up and distorting a drum beat for the into to "Big Chief II", delivering some crushingly dark lyrics in a near whisper in "For Nothing", or applying his talent for crafting atmosphere in the haunting synths of "Invisible Men" and "Indian Curse", he steps up to the plate and really adds that special ingredient to Fire Make Thunder that sets it apart from the rest of their catalog. "Warm" or "Hot" were never words anyone would use to describe OSI's music, but the spark of life visible throughout all of Fire Make Thunder adds a human element that Blood was missing. With this album they finally achieved the aural synchronization they've been striving for ever since Office of Strategic Influence. We can only hope they'll be able to build off Fire Make Thunder's success and deliver an even greater follow up.

B+

OSI - Blood

2009's Blood, OSI's third release, signaled a new chapter in the group's history by not featuring Mike Portnoy on drums or a guest bassist - the drum seat was filled by Porcupine Tree's Gavin Harrison while Jim Matheos handled both guitar and bass duties himself. Mikael Aekerfeldt of Opeth lends vocals to one track much like Steven Wilson did on OSI's debut album but that would turn out to be the extent of the guest appearances on Blood's standard edition release.

A more aggressive slant is foreshadowed by the crimson-soaked packaging and Blood's content doesn't renege on that promise, opening things up with the band's most straight-ahead track yet recorded in "The Escape Artist", including a compact guitar solo of all things. The tone of the rest of the record is darker on the whole but not just in a way that the heavy songs are heavier: there is a cohesive unity to Blood's composition that elevates the individual songs past the previous electronic/metal either/or approach that marked OSI's previous output as songs like "Radiologue", "Terminal", and "Stockholm" all blend Moore and Matheos' distinct songwriting into a powerful synthesis of sparse electronica and battering-ram riffage. The tracks all feel tight and fat-free (except for "Be The Hero" and it's  strange, 2 minute quiet intro) without wandering into Chroma Key synth-pop territory - these pieces have a clearly identifiable "OSI-ness" to them that some of the lighter material on previous records lacked, coupled with some of the strongest standalone songs they've ever written: "Radiologue", "Terminal", and especially the haunting title track are immediate home runs that do well to prop up some of the weaker numbers. Blood's heavier tracks in particular suffer for being played a bit too straight and the similarities between "The Escape Artist", "False Start", and "Be The Hero" stand out more since they're put up against the more distinct soundscapes of the quieter tracks "Terminal", "Stockholm", and especially the title track, which deserves a shout-out for being the headiest shot of concentrated atmosphere and keyboard work the band has ever assembled.

Gavin Harrison does a good job of propelling Blood's more turgid moments as he's got a style all his own, playing more beneath the rest of the music than alongside it. His drumming doesn't feel as chopped up or restricted as Portnoy's and it lends an organic, almost jazzy feel to the album, especially on the lone instrumental "Microburst Alert" and the heavier tunes. The only real casualty of Blood's instrumental makeup is the bass: Matheos is a capable player, but nothing he provides ever really stands out in a way that Sean Malone or Joey Vera's grooves did. Moore's vocals are reassuringly somber, and the vivid lyrics he provides for "Terminal" and the title track only further cement his reputation as prog metal's Peter Watts.

Blood, finally, represents both a peak and a valley for OSI. They achieve a sonic mind-meld with a consistency unseen in their earlier work, but it seems to have come at the cost of some of the more experimental material found in past albums. It doesn't really drag so much as stew in it's own juices, and while that can make for a great album to visit when in a certain mood it's liable to grow stale on you.

C+

OSI - Free

While most supergroups are considered a success if they can release a single disc of quality material, OSI bucked the trend in 2006 by dropping another album on the progressive scene entitled Free, again helmed by co-captains Kevin Moore and Jim Matheo with Mike Portnoy returning on the skins. Sean Malone is sadly absent, as is Steven Wilson as Joey Vera (Armored Saint, Fates Warning) steps in for bass duties for certain tracks while vocals are provided entirely by Moore this time around.

As the next stage in OSI's evolution as a unit Free leans closer to Moore's area of expertise than Office of Strategic Influence ever did, with several songs that wouldn't seem out of place on one of his solo albums. "Go", "Home Was Good", "Simple Life", and "Better" in particular are more minimalist and reliant on atmosphere than ever, eschewing Matheos' pipe-clearing riffs completely, instead trading in on Moore's singularly droning vocals and keyboard work to carry the weight. Other tracks, like the excellent title track, "Bigger Wave", "Once", and "All Gone Now" allow more room for Matheos' guitar parts to share the load, but never in a way that's completely smooth. Just like with Office of Strategic Influence songs have a clear demarcation between the "Moore sections" and the "Matheos sections", but the more obvious compartmentalization lends things a sterile, clinical air that fits the material. On the whole Free is a looser album than it's older sibling, dropping most of the progressive flourishes that decorated Office of Strategic Influence for cleaner, less forced vibe. Portnoy's caged-beast percussion is a clear highlight, injecting some much-needed emotion into Moore's icy compositions as he synches up with Matheos to deliver even bigger grooves than those found on the previous record - see the title track, "Bigger Wave", and "Better" for details. And if you're concerned about the previous album's political slant, Free's lyrics drop the current event angle entirely - relationships are the primary focus here. Those hoping for something more similar to Moore's work with Chroma Key will also find something to hook into here as Free shifts into synth-pop territory on a couple of occasions with "Simple Life", "Better", and "Once" and the songs on the whole are trimmed down in length across the board - nothing to be found here over six and a half minutes. And as before, the record is capped off with an excellent light acoustic number, this time in the form of "Our Town", bringing things to a satisfying close.

While it wouldn't be until their next record, Blood, that Kevin Moore and Jim Matheos would really begin to fuse the disparate halves of their songwriting inclinations into a cohesive whole, Free's songwriting lacks much of the baggage of their debut and feels more adventurous and experimental as a result. It isn't always elegant, but the band managed to capitalize on their different areas of expertise in an impressive way that never feels self-indulgent. Definitely worth a listen if you liked anything on OSI's previous record.

B

OSI - Office of Strategic Influence

A heady blend of influences and approaches as supergroups tend to be, OSI's debut offering Office of Strategic Influence presents the oil and water inclinations of chief songwriters Kevin Moore and Jim Matheos at the point of their greatest bifurcation. Graced by the presence of assorted genre alumni Steven Wilson, Mike Portnoy, and Sean Malone it had quite a diverse cast and was released to general critical approval but never seemed to gain the traction it really needed to take off, a trend line that the project's later albums would continue to ride.

The disc initiates with some of Moore's reliably cryptic samples starting things off before the loud n' proud instrumental workout of "The New Math (What He Said)" begins in earnest, rising in intensity before dropping off into the restrained electronic groove of the title track "OSI" (by the band OSI, off the album O.S.I.). Here is where Moore's vocals kick in and we hear one of the biggest differences between OSI and other prog bands: instead of the usual vibrato soaked wailing you hear from singers in other progressive bands of this ilk (Looking at you Dream Theater!), Moore has a delivery that lands somewhere between Trent Reznor and a very sleepy Steven Wilson, employing a hypnotic near-monotonous range that gives the album a decidedly nocturnal atmosphere. Sean Malone's rich bass tone provides a groovy foundation to heavier numbers like "Head" and "Horseshoes and B-52's" while Moore's distinctive synth lines and creative sound effects lace things with a hazy coat of electronica, alternating between the heavier, more traditional progressive metal passages found throughout. The lyrics provided by Moore, while not explicitly political and in keeping with his typical stream-of-conscious writing style, have a definite fixation on current events of the time without ever straying into earnest criticism or task-taking (the name of both the band and the album is a reference to a real-world US government propaganda office established during the Bush administration), keeping things appropriately mysterious.

In keeping with the alternative style of singing is the general songwriting restraint and dexterity displayed on Office of Strategic Influence. Moore and Matheos as the principal songwriters clearly aren't much interested in colossal progressive "epics" a la Transatlantic or boring displays of technical ability, as the spare (for this genre, at least) runtime of just under 48 minutes coupled with seven of the ten sings clocking in at five minutes or less means that there is little room left for noodling. What's really surprising is how plentifully hook and catchiness is found here - "Head", "OSI" and "Hello, Helicopter!" basically drip with groove-heavy bass lines provided by Malone while "Dirt From a Holy Place" and the middle sections of "ShutDOWN" give the listener plenty to latch onto before the excellent ending coda of "Standby (Looks Like Rain)" passes.

Despite the very different musical preferences of the players, Office of Strategic Influence stands out from the progressive crowd not in spite of, but because of that push-pull tension. It's less cohesive than the later OSI records but not any worse for it as the songwriting and atmosphere here are strong enough to get all the threads through the needle convincingly.

B-

Dead Money

The first piece of major DLC released for Fallout: New Vegas also turned out to be it's most controversial. Tasking players with breaching the vault of the mythical Sierra Madre casino to plunder the treasure locked within, Dead Money differed from the rest of the DLC and even much of the base New Vegas itself in it's oppressive and desperate atmosphere, marking a sharp about-face from the Mad Max-esque post-apocalyptic escapades of the rest of the game. Dropped into a decrepit villa, stripped of all your gear and forced to work with a ragtag group of other captives to pull off "the heist of the centuries" for the mysterious Father Elijah, ostensibly the one who lured you to the dead casino in the first place.

A number of design elements make sure the interesting setup don't go to waste by piling on the tension: you and your gaggle of mandatory teammates have an explosive collar locked around each of your necks, wired to go off if even one of you buys the farm. Your collar in particular is sensitive to the frequencies emitted by the still-active radios and speakers littered around the compound, adding an extra wrinkle to your exploration while also making for some intense races against the clock to sprint to a safe zone, oftentimes without knowing if one will even be there. Ammunition and healing items are rare and only dispensed by vending machines that accept the proprietary coin of the Sierra Madre and nothing else, forcing you to make every consumable you run across count while coldly murderous security systems ensure the halls of the casino are never really safe. On top of all that, the area is cloaked in a blood red toxic tint known as The Cloud - don't linger in it too long unless you enjoy being poisoned. Pound for pound, Dead Money's atmosphere (no pun intended) is incredibly effective at flipping your presumably high-level character (the DLC is intended for experienced players who've finished most of the base game) on their head.

Source: CynicalBounce

Adjusting to the villa's hostile environment is just the easy part, unfortunately, as it quickly turns out that you aren't alone among the ruins and dust. Enigmatic roving scavengers known as the Ghost People stalk the grounds, laying increasingly vicious traps for you and generally contributing to your increasingly serious hypertension condition. These guys have some of the coolest designs in the whole franchise and while exactly who they are and where they came from is somewhat addressed they never lose their air of Silent Hill-esque inscrutability. Completely silent save for easily-missed breathing, they amble out of the crimson shadows and approach you with a methodical obsession, absorbing far more damage than anything shaped like a person has any right to and are only truly dispatched when dismembered - leave them dead but intact and they'll rise again to resume the pursuit.

The thread of the plot is pretty linear here, but not without reason - I found myself thankful for the clear objectives as the rest of the Sierra Madre gave me plenty to worry about. The story of the Madre, the people who built it, and the others you encounter during the run of the events of Dead Money all contribute to a common theme found in New Vegas and it's DLCs: letting go of the past. No spoilers, but things come to a head in a great way and the climax of the heist had me, literally, on the edge of my seat. While the game's chunky, inelegant flow and stiff gunplay lent themselves surprisingly well to a survival horror design ethos, the characters and world of Dead Money are the true treasures at the heart of the Sierra Madre.

B+