After a long and arduous journey, Cole Phelps finally arrives at the Arson deck: The final desk of his career as an LAPD detective.
And with some solid Detective Work, we’ll be able to help him through it.
This is where the game’s plot truly begins, and we start to see the web of conspiracies show itself in earnest.
We also begin to really understand the depths of Cole Phelp’s deep-seated personal issues here. As the flashbacks to his time in the war show us, he’s always been someone who obediently follows all the rules and protocols of his station, even when they force him. And as a detective, that’s even more true.
And considering this obsession with obeying the rules, it’s easy to see why it doesn’t make sense for him to fall in love with Else and have an affair, as a married man. As we continue to see later on, self-sabotage is also in line with his nature.
When I first played through the game, I was angry about this twist. Over time, I’ve grown to mellow out a lot more about it. Yeah, it doesn’t totally make sense, but it works for the direction they clearly wanted to go with this story.
That brings us to the Arson desk. A disgraced detective, demoted to one of the lowest position in the LAPD, partnered with a well-meaning but gruff veteran. Despite the odds, his latest case throws him onto the trait of yet another organized crime ring, even greater than any he’s yet to encounter.
Next time, we’ll begin move closer towards this new foe.
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