True Crime: Streets of LA
Note: This plot synopsis details the "good ending"
The game begins with Det. Nick Kang (voiced by Russell Wong) being recruited into the autonomous Elite Operations Division of the LAPD at the behest of Chief Wanda Parks (C. C. H. Pounder). Kang is the son of Henry Wilson, a detective whose disappearance twenty years previously has remained unsolved. He was recently suspended from the police department for repeated incidents of excessive force, but Parks believes he has what it takes to help the E.O.D. break a case involving a series of bombings in Chinatown. Kang's gut tells him the Triad is behind it. Parks partners him with Det. Rosie Velasco (Michelle Rodriguez), an ex-gangbanger turned cop.
Kang and Velasco head to a diner in Chinatown where they see a Triad member harassing the owner. During the ensuing confrontation, Velasco is shot and wounded. Parks puts out an APB on the Triad's getaway car, which is soon spotted at a Chinese bar. Kang heads there, learning the driver works for Jimmy Fu (Keone Young), a small-time criminal. Kang visits Fu, who tells him "something big is about to go down," and reveals he is working for Big Chong (Keone Young), an enforcer for Ancient Wu's Triad, which is thought by many to be a myth.
At the precinct, George (Christopher Walken), an elderly desk sergeant, tells Velasco about Kang's background; his father, Henry Wilson, was involved in a drug trafficking scandal in the 1970s, during which he disappeared. Internal Affairs believed Wilson skipped town, but George never believed it. Meanwhile, Kang tails Chong and sees him bringing large amounts of money into a building owned by Cyprus Holdings, a company linked to the Russian mafia. Kang follows Chong to a spa, where he observes him meeting a Russian named Rocky (Gary Oldman). Rocky complains Chong is not laundering the money from Chinatown quickly enough. Chong tells Rocky that Ancient Wu is unhappy, but Rocky is unconcerned, telling Chong, "the General is in town looking for his money. That's bad news for all of us." Kang confront them, killing Chong, but Rocky escapes.
Meanwhile, Parks introduces Kang to FBI Agent Masterson (Gary Oldman). The FBI had the spa under surveillance in an effort to build a case against Rocky, but since Kang's raid, Rocky has disappeared. Kang sets out to find Rocky, and Parks fills Velasco in on more of his backstory. After Henry disappeared, Kang and his brother Cary (Ryun Yu) moved to Hong Kong to live with their deceased mother's relatives. They changed their name to Kang, but both returned to L.A. eventually; Kang to become a cop, Cary to open a franchise of martial arts dojos. Meanwhile, Kang traces Rocky to a club, where he observes a Hollywood detective entering the building. Kang meets Rocky, who tells him the money the Triad is laundering is counterfeit. Rocky warns Kang that if he doesn't back off, Cary will be killed. Kang races to Cary's dojo, but Cary is nowhere to be found.
Kang confronts the Hollywood cop from the club. His name is Don Rafferty (Michael Madsen), and he is an old friend of Henry's. He warns Kang the case he is working on is over his head, but tells him where Rocky is holding Cary. Kang rescues Cary and decides to speak to Ancient Wu. In what may be a dream, Kang heads to a restaurant in Chinatown, where he discovers a network of secret tunnels under the streets. Fighting his way through a horde of zombies, he finds Wu (James Hong), who makes him undergo a series of tests, including fighting fire-demons and a dragon, before telling him that twenty years previously, the KGB sent one of their top agents to L.A. However, he soon lost loyalty to Russia, and turned to a life of crime in the United States. The agent was Rasputin Kuznetsov, aka Rocky.
Believing Kang to have lost his mind, Masterson fires him and issues a warrant for his arrest. However, with Velasco's help, Kang tails Rafferty to a warehouse where he hears Rocky tell Rafferty that Kang must be killed. Rafferty protests that he never wanted Henry killed, and doesn't want his son to die as well. Kang attacks them, but both Rocky and Rafferty escape. Kang is then led into a trap at Santa Monica Airport by Rocky's girlfriend Jill (Grey Griffin). Rocky explains that in the 1970s, he and Rafferty were smuggling cocaine into L.A., but Henry found out. Rocky tried to pay him off, but he refused, so Rocky shot him and dumped his body in the ocean. Rafferty then planted evidence to make Henry look dirty. Rocky tries to kill Kang, but Rafferty intervenes, saving Kang's life at the cost of his own.
Rocky tries to escape, but Kang stops and kills him. Kang is then confronted by General Han Yu Kim (Mako) of the North Korean army, the mastermind behind the counterfeit/laundering scam. Rocky had betrayed Kim, electing to keep the money for himself rather than sending it back to North Korea. With Rocky now dead, the only person blocking Kim's plans to use the money for his army is Kang. They fight, and if Kim wins, he escapes before the police arrive. If Kang wins, Kim is defeated and Kang is finally able to put his father's disappearance behind him.
=== Alternate endings ===
Bad Ending
After Rocky escapes from the spa, Velasco discovers there have been four recent bank robberies involving Cyprus Holdings, all carried out by two women. Prints taken at the crime scenes match those of a stripper named Gypsy (Debi Mae West). She tells Kang she is a driver for failed reality TV star Lola Gees (Grey Griffin). Kang goes undercover as Gees' new driver, and she tells him she is working for someone known as "The General," who is taking his money back from the Russian mafia. As Kang arrests her, a sniper kills her to stop her from talking.
Velasco discovers Cyprus Holdings own a jet leasing company at Santa Monica airport. Kang heads to investigate, finding Rocky and his men dead in the hangar. Velasco contacts Kang to tell him a team of East Asian commandos have stormed the bank to which all Cyprus Holdings deposits were recently transferred. They are holding hostages and demanding $500 million. Kang infiltrates the bank and meets General Han Yu Kim of the North Korean Army. He explains he hired Rocky to launder the money, but Rocky betrayed him, keeping the money for himself. Kang and Kim fight, and if Kim wins, Kang is flung from the roof, and Kim escapes. If Kang wins, Kim falls from the roof before providing any information. As he walks away dejectedly, Kang tells Masterson he knows there's more to the case than this.
Average Ending
Kang fails to save Cary, and sets out for revenge. He finds Rocky's bodyguard, Misha (Ron Perlman), who tells him Rocky has gone to see Ancient Wu. Kang heads to Wu's restaurant, but Wu assures him he had nothing to do with Cary's death. He tells him that Rocky has gone to the airport. Kang heads there, highjacking a track full of Rocky's money. However, Rocky contacts Kang, and tells him that if he returns the truck, he will give him information about what happened to his father.
Kang heads to Rocky's S&M club, where he learns Rocky is holding Velasco hostage until Kang returns the truck. Kang gets the truck from the impound lot, and heads to meet Rocky, who releases Velasco. Kang and Rocky are then assaulted by a crew of Asian commandos. Kang fights them off, and as he notices a member of the North Korean Army observe from a roof, he is attacked by Rocky. They fight, and if Kang loses, Rocky escapes. If Kang wins, Rocky surprises him, and is about to stab him when Velasco shoots him dead. Kang laments not finding out what Rocky knew about his father, as he and Velasco leave.
revenge, murder, violence