'Mafia III' brings serious cultural issues to the 'Grand Theft Auto' formula

Let's be real for a minute: Big-budget, mainstream video games usually go out of their way to never engage with serious issues. When huge amounts of corporate money go into a project, it's generally good business sense to avoid controversy whenever possible.

At best, you usually get social commentary using fantastical stand-ins for real problems. Cyborgs and elves are structurally oppressed instead of people of color, for instance.

"Mafia III," if nothing else, bucks this trend with its treatment of race in the 1960s American South. While it isn't uniformly successful in everything it tries to do, there are so many little things about it that make it worth recommending if you want a solid video game revenge story.

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