The Mafia series of games is about to get its third installment, arguably the most ambitious and different one so far. Time has advanced up to the 1960s, the protagonist is “mixed race” in an era when that used to be a problem and the story relies on this heavily.
Lincoln, the main protagonist, will be given more freedom to roam than in any previous Mafia game.
The familiar extra-strong focus on a linear story is no longer as important, and from what we understand there will be side missions to complete (these were practically nonexistent before, although driving a cab in Mafia I was not a bad experience).
The gameplay and story were detailed for Game Informer in the series of videos posted below. They make us more eager to see what the game is about, after the arcadey car physics kind of ruined the first gameplay impression we had of it.