Mafia 3 Has An Animalistic Threat, Get The Details

It turns out that, in Mafia III, the world is full of dangers other than a bunch of Italian dudes in suits with guns. According to a recent report, some of the wild life will be able to take a bite out of you, too.

The upcoming Mafia III puts players in the role of a man by the name of Lincoln Clay. Long story short, Clay is waging a one-man war against the Italian Mafia, who have forcefully inserted themselves onto the streets of fictional New Bordeaux. Based on New Orleans, it goes without saying that this game world will be home to some rather deadly wildlife.

According to a recent report over on IGN, some of that wildlife will actually be, well, wild. If you venture out into the swamp, it turns out that you'll have to keep your eye out for other hunters while doing a little mobster hunting of your own. Mafia III is home to a whole bunch of alligators and, yep, they can absolutely attack you if you get too close.

For the record, Mafia III isn't the first game to introduce these baddies to the fray. Metal Gear Solid 3 had players sneaking through a croc-filled swamp, too, and encounters with those damn things turned a stealth action game into a survival horror romp for yours truly. The damn things came out of nowhere and, if you weren't careful, they had a knack for pulling you into a death spiral whenever you least expect it.

And it sounds like similar shenanigans will be on offer in Mafia III, too.

To be clear, we figures alligators were going to be part of the Mafia III equation to begin with. You can't set a game about organized crime in a city like this and not have bodies being dumped in the swamp for the gators to eat, or maybe a scene of gator wrestling, or said mobsters feeding a live snitch to a pack of the things.

We did not, however, expect them to be an in-game threat, so this is pretty great news.

At this point, Clay has got to be feeling like the whole world is out to get him. An orphan adopted by the local street crew, the poor guy returns from war to discover that, not only has the mafia moved into his hometown, but they've also wiped out his entire second family. Going after that kind of an organization solo is already tricky enough, but now he's got to worry about a gator biting his leg off, too?

You can experience the game for yourself, gators and all, when Mafia III launches this Friday on Oct. 7.