Mafia III
I really enjoyed the end of Mafia III, it has a satisfying conclusion that also ties in your decisions up until that point in a way that makes sense. But I’m not here to talk about Lincoln Clay’s war against the Mafia, its bosses, or his decision to stay and run the city or leave it all behind. No, I’m here to talk about a scene that takes place after all that.
Mafia III’s framing device is a documentary that mixes interviews, old news clips, and other bits of footage from the past to tell the story of Clay and his fight against the mob. It’s very well done and gives the open-world action game a unique feel compared to other GTA-likes. And during the game, you see clips of your best friend and CIA operative Donavan being grilled in a secret hearing in the US Senate. And at the very end of the game, something wild happens in this hearing.
Donavan, having told the story of the game to the senators and his involvement, begins asking the lead politician questions about the assassination of JFK. He tells them all a horrible story of how he cut up a person in Vietnam to get info to save lives. And how, when he was stuck in the mud and blood, doing anything and everything for the United States, he learned the President had been killed. It fired him up and he promised to figure out who really killed JFK.
It’s at this moment that the former CIA operative and war vet reveals why he was so eager to help Clay take down the mafia. He reveals that Sal Marcano, the mob boss who you killed after destroying his entire empire, was connected to the Kennedy assassination. And then he reveals the final wild bombshell: The senator running this hearing, who’s been asking him questions the entire game, was also involved with the murder of JFK and working with Marcano. At this point, Donavan takes out a handgun, promises he’ll track down all the others who were involved, and shoots the senator dead.
I have no idea what the developers behind the game had planned for a future sequel. This moment comes out of nowhere. The rest of the game is all about a gritty story of revenge and street-level crime bosses fighting each other. And then, bam, the game ties it all to a JFK conspiracy theory and kills a senator. It’s one of the wildest endings I’ve ever experienced in a game. – Zack Zwiezen
