True Crime: New York City

Plot synopsis:
The game begins in December 2000, with gangster Marcus Reed (voiced by Avery Waddell) arriving at the home of an associate who has betrayed him. Reed had been placed in charge of the organized crime empire run by his father, Isaiah "The King" Reed (Laurence Fishburne), who has been in prison for fifteen years. As an attempted hit was carried out on Reed in New York, someone stabbed Isaiah in jail. However, both father and son survived, and Reed now kills everyone who betrayed him. PDNY detective Terry Higgins (Mickey Rourke) then arrives on the scene. He is a close friend of Isaiah, and Reed's godfather, and he offers to cover up the killings, on the condition that Reed gets his life together.
Five years later, Reed is now a PDNY officer, working as a beat cop under the command of Lt. Deena Dixon (Mariska Hargitay). However, he has applied for and been accepted into the Organized Crime Unit run by Chief Victor Navarro (Esai Morales), where he is partnered with Higgins. On Reed's first night, Higgins heads for a meeting at a warehouse, telling Reed he doesn't need to know the details. Moments after Higgins enters the building, it explodes, killing Higgins. In the aftermath, Navarro returns Reed to Dixon's command. She tells him he can keep his recently earned promotion and work plainclothes, but is not to investigate Higgins' death, as Navarro wants the investigation to remain internal to OCU. Shortly thereafter, Reed is contacted by FBI Special Agent Gabriel Whitting (Christopher Walken), who informs him there is a mole in the OCU. Whitting believes Higgins was about to reveal the identity of the mole, which is why he was killed. Prior to his death, Higgins told Whitting to bring Reed into the investigation should anything happen. All Whitting knows about the mole is that they are in contact with four major crime organizations in Manhattan.
Reed's first investigation is the Magdalena Cartel, believed to be responsible for 75% of New York's cocaine trade. Higgins had made contact with socialite and philanthropist Teresa Castillo (Socorro Santiago), who he believed may be able to help him get inside the cartel. She gives Reed information leading him to the Magdalena safe house, where he chases down their leader, Rey (Paolo Andino). However, Rey turns out to be head of the Latin Lords, the main rival of the Magdalena Cartel; the Cartel was using Reed to take out their competition. Reed discovers Teresa's real name is Magdalena Rojas, and she runs the cartel. He arrests her, but she tells him she doesn't know who the mole is, only that as their information was always accurate, she knows it is someone high up in the OCU.
Reed next goes after the Palermo Mob. Whitting tells him that when the last Don was imprisoned in 1995, the mob went into decline. Recently, however, the remnants have begun to organize. Whitting believes a new Don has emerged, but is unsure who it may be. Reed's investigation eventually leads to Vincent Tuzzi (Fred Berman). When Reed interrogates him, he says he never met the OCU mole; all their business was conducted over the phone. All Tuzzi knows is that he has a Spanish accent.
Reed next investigates the Presidents Club; a gang run by five men using pseudonyms of former Presidents of the United States. They control the supply of a new drug called "Pop", a combination of ecstasy and cocaine. Four of the leaders call themselves Lincoln, Hamilton, Jackson and Grant. The overall leader is called Benjamin, who takes ironic pride in the fact that Benjamin Franklin was never President. Whitting sends Reed to a drug den in Harlem run by Lincoln (Phil Morris). Lincoln leads Reed to Hamilton (Richard Yearwood), who tells him the Yakuza have declared war on the Presidents, and Jackson is on his way to kill the Yakuza's leader, Kobi (Jeanne Mori). Reed saves Kobi from a drive-by shooting, and kills Jackson. Kobi tells him Benjamin's real name is Lionel Jones (Cornell Womack), a famed rapper and music producer. Reed heads to Jones' factory, arriving in time to see Kobi's men killed by Grant (Greg Eagles). Grant leads Reed to Jones' building, where Reed fights through Jones' men to his zen garden on the roof, seeing him kill Kobi. He interrogates Jones, who tells him he doesn't know who the mole in the OCU is, except that he calls himself "El Jefe."
Reed next goes after the Shadow Tong, a Triad outfit run by Leeland Shen (Jerry Ying). Whitting has only one way for Reed to make contact with Leeland; his step-sister, Vivian (Jennifer Chu) recently ran away, and Shen has been unable to find her. Witting tells Reed where she is, and Reed returns her to Leeland, pretending he wants to cut a deal for The King to distribute Leeland's merchandise in Harlem. Leeland puts Reed in contact with Lin (James Hong), who handles local distribution. However, Leeland discovers Reed is an undercover cop and orders Lin to kill him. Reed survives, and heads to Leeland's headquarters, where Leeland tells him he doesn't know who the mole is, but he does know a bribe is set to be picked up at a locker in Grand Central Station.
Reed calls Whitting, telling him he believes Navarro is the mole, and asking for a search warrant for the locker. Inside, they find the money, although Navarro claims he has been set up. Whitting arrests him, and, thinking the case closed, Reed heads home. However, in the subway, he is approached by Higgins. Reed immediately realizes Higgins was the mole all along; he knew Whitting was getting close to him so he faked his own death and then set up Navarro to take the fall. Higgins asks Reed to join him, offering him a bribe, but Reed refuses. He pursues Higgins through a subway car, eventually killing him. As a reward for Reed's work, Whitting promises to pull some strings to get Isaiah a hearing with the DA.
In an alternate "Bad ending," Navarro kills Whitting when he tries to arrest him, and Reed pursues him into the subway, killing him. As Reed heads home, he is approached by Higgins. Reed is unsurprised, having realized Higgins had faked his own death. Higgins asks Reed to join him in Mexico, but Reed kills him. The game ends with Reed sitting in the subway station contemplating what to do with Higgins' money.

Tags: violence

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