I've heard people complaining about the ending, saying how much it sucked, but I thought the ending was absolutely fantastic. It's not your typical sugar coated ending, and it really shows how the Mafia actually works. Vito knows Leo, so you strike a deal with him, but you and Joe still fucked up real bad. Somebody has gotta take the blame for that. So the only logical way to end the game would be to have Joe killed for his actions. He fucked up bad many times before this, and he has gotten Vito into a lot of unnecessary shit. I think people were expecting your typical "rags to riches" story. Not this, when this is probably what would have happened in real life.
 
How else would have it ended? Vito miraculously helping Joe, and they both ride off into the sunset? Or Vito being a moron and jumping out of the car, killing himself for no reason? Vito knew he couldn't do anything, and he knew things like this would happen when he chose this line of work.
 
What's your opinion of the ending?

Nobody?! Making me sad :'( Did nobody beat it yet or something?

I was astounded by the ending, and not in a good way. What the shit. I hope they have DLC coming that continues the story or something, because that was just one gigantic cliffhanger. Joe "turning" on you and working for Falcone seemed really halfassed and thrown in at the last minute. I didn't think the ending was realistic at all -- one guy against a mob boss's entire squadron of goons in order to redeem himself? If we're talkin' the same "mafia" here then VIto wouldn't have been given a second chance, despite trying to help Leo earlier on. Leo himself said it was dumb of Vito to risk his neck for him like that, so if you want an actual realistic ending, Vito gets driven somewhere and shot, not dropped off with a task. We are talking about a video game here so I guess some concessions had to be made but, man, was really diggin' this game til the abrupt, awful ending. What about killing Derrick? What about the backstory with Vito's dad? So many loose ends.
 
Really, once the screen panned up and faded to black, and actual credits came on, I just had to exclaim, "..the fuck?" Seems like all recent mafia-related fiction ends really poorly.
 
e: With the endgame bitching aside, I really liked it overall. I'd give it, say, 8.5 out of 10. If that ending wasn't so awful and some of the features were better implemented this would've been a homerun.

Wow, what a disappointment. I'm not even sure you can call that an ending, with nothing happening other than Joe supposedly getting whacked. I'm guessing they're leaving it open for a sequel. 

I disagree with both of you, I thought the ending was fantastic.

I liked the ending too.  I'm kind of hoping that they don't bother continuing it with DLC or anything like that.  That would ruin it IMO.
 
I loved the look that Vito gave when he heard Leo say that Joe wasn't part of the deal.  Like he was right on the verge of something really stupid and impulsive, but then quickly realizing that he was cornered.

There were various holes throughout the plot, but the ending makes sense. 
 
They were in way over their heads, and someone had to pay. What's unfortunate is that Joe most likely sided with Falcone so that he could help Vito from the inside when the time was right. He knew Vito was coming, and there was almost no convincing to be done, further evidenced by one of his final lines: "Remember that five bucks you owe me?" The horrible irony is that it was always a question of one or the other, and neither had the intention of doing their friend. Vito unfortunately unintentionally damned his childhood friend. 
 
Really, I'm just glad they didn't have Joe truly turn on Vito for some contrived reason. 
 
The flat and curt ending was very well written. It just happens so fast and there was nothing he could do, and it will likely haunt him for the rest of his life. Much better than simply killing the protagonist, or killing his buddy at the climax and having Vito hunt down his murderers for satisfaction. 
 
 
I think one of the best elements of the story was Henry's position as a rat. Even in the family portraits unlocked at the end, they give no clue to this other than here-say. The closest concrete evidence you get is one line spoken by Vito that was also included in the demo: "If you came straight from Sicily, how come your English is so good?" 
 
In spite of some very, very direct references to Goodfellas, there was a lot to the writing of this game that puts far above similar titles.

" I think one of the best elements of the story was Henry's position as a rat. Even in the family portraits unlocked at the end, they give no clue to this other than here-say. The closest concrete evidence you get is one line spoken by Vito that was also included in the demo: "If you came straight from Sicily, how come your English is so good?"

" So pissed at the ending, knew something like that was gonna happen but so many better ways for it to be handled.     Vitto totally should've pulled out his gun and BLAT BLAT BLAT 3 headshots,  horn honking from the dead driver. He emerges from the car covered in blood, knowing there is still probably nothing he can do for Joe, however still seething.  Then steals the next car and goes speeding off... annnddd Credits.     Know its not the best but I would have been so much satisfied and sets up for Mafia 2.5: On the Run "

"I agree with everything you have said, but with this, I believe there is another piece of evidence, he sends you out to get those stamps, then you magically get caught by the police later. Henry gave you that mission, he probably ratted you out."

" @CL60 said:

"I agree with everything you have said, but with this, I believe there is another piece of evidence, he sends you out to get those stamps, then you magically get caught by the police later. Henry gave you that mission, he probably ratted you out."

I believe Vito said it was a gas attendant that ratted him, but the wording on the phrase escapes me, so you might be right. "

"How would the gas attendant know who you were? The best they could do was get a police sketch done. But that wouldn't have the police showing up at your door the next day. "

" @CL60 said:

"How would the gas attendant know who you were? The best they could do was get a police sketch done. But that wouldn't have the police showing up at your door the next day. "

True. I can see Henry orchestrating the gas attendant fingering him. A federal offense is a big enough crime to get a criminal on without evidence for some of the more heinous stuff, and Vito was only small-time at that point in the story so it would makes sense to put him away then.  Interesting, interesting. "

" He also never actually kills anybody he is supposed to. He never actually killed the fat guy. And if you hide in the wrong place with Leo, Henry lets Leo live instead of killing him."

" @CL60 said:

" He also never actually kills anybody he is supposed to. He never actually killed the fat guy. And if you hide in the wrong place with Leo, Henry lets Leo live instead of killing him."

The plot thickens. "

@CL60:
Read your discussion about the ending and definitely respect the ending and story more. However, to me the overall feeling of the game was one of unpleasantness and depression, which in a game about the mafia makes total sense. Just wanted one bit of happiness or a "Fuck Yeah" moment for Vitto (besides not dying) but really that's just me being selfish and not looking at the bigger picture.    

Honestly I hated the ending because the entire plot of the game after you vouch for henry was BS.  Number 1: Vito vouched for a federal informant.  In the real Mafia that only has one result no matter who you are.   You then go on a deal with this guy to start pushing dope by getting money from a loan shark you don't know, a chinese gang you know nothing about, and you do know the deal is not sanctioned and will be looked down on by your boss.  Are you stupid?  You take one too many hits to the head in jail?  To make it worse every job you have done with this guy so far, EVERY ONE OF THEM, has gone bad, been a raw deal, or ended up with you screwed over.  Why are you working with him?  Hell why are you vouching for him at all?  He gave you the job that resulted in you getting 6 years in jail for gods sake.  
 
Vito has to be a world class idiot for this story to play at all.  And the ending is horrid again because after the events of the game I am sorry but in the real mafia you are not getting forgiven, period.  He had done way more than enough to be marked for death, in fact it is sort of stupid he was even still alive at that point.  To add insult to injury the promise of "rising through the ranks of the mob" never even happens.  Vito is just a low level enforcer at the end of the game, in fact the game is 70% over by the time you finally make it as just a basic made man. 

" Honestly I hated the ending because the entire plot of the game after you vouch for henry was BS.  Number 1: Vito vouched for a federal informant.  In the real Mafia that only has one result no matter who you are. [...]  And the ending is horrid again because after the events of the game I am sorry but in the real mafia you are not getting forgiven, period."

I for one will be extremely put off if they release a DLC package for an actual ending...That would be a messed up way for them to milk more money out of people

" I think one of the best elements of the story was Henry's position as a rat. Even in the family portraits unlocked at the end, they give no clue to this other than here-say. The closest concrete evidence you get is one line spoken by Vito that was also included in the demo: "If you came straight from Sicily, how come your English is so good?"

The ending was great. It's probably how it would work out if it were the real mob, or at least that's what I think would happen. I did feel sad when it turned out that Joe would have to be killed but that's part of what made the game so great. I ACTUALLY felt sad about a character. 
 
One thing that bugs me is after Vito shot up Derrek they never really talked about it again? Do they just let it slide?

  One thing that bugs me is after Vito shot up Derrek they never really talked about it again? Do they just let it slide? "

 @Karkarov: 
 @larryrules138:   
 
I like how so many of the "ending-haters" claim to know what would happen in the real Mafia.
Tell me, how do you know that this would never happen in real life?
You're just making an assumption. No one here knows how the Mafia really works in real life.

Oh yeah! And I loved the whole part where you go whack Tommy Angelo (the main protagonist from the first game)! I thought that was awesome. As soon as they started talking about him being a guy that ratted out the family and how him and the family were from a different city, I KNEW it was Tommy Angelo. As soon as I saw him I was like "Oh shit!"

" @Goldanas said:

" I think one of the best elements of the story was Henry's position as a rat. Even in the family portraits unlocked at the end, they give no clue to this other than here-say. The closest concrete evidence you get is one line spoken by Vito that was also included in the demo: "If you came straight from Sicily, how come your English is so good?"

After you blow up that building, Henry tries to get you to say you did it while driving with him. He says something like "You blew up that building didn't you?" over and over but Vito denies it. That is when I figured out he was a rat.  I think he was wearing a wire and wanted to get it on tape. "

" @Goldanas said:

" @CL60 said:

" He also never actually kills anybody he is supposed to. He never actually killed the fat guy. And if you hide in the wrong place with Leo, Henry lets Leo live instead of killing him."

The plot thickens. "

Yeah, if you go back and play through the story again, you really pick up on a bunch of things about Henry. "

But I agree that  Vito was an idiot and sometimes I feel he should have been killed too. Henry was bad news from the beginning. There were so many strong clues that he was not what he said he was. And Joe and Vito were indeed stupid that they actually believed this guy was their friend. He was using them the whole time, and they were nothing but his pawns from the day they met him till the end.  Although Vito had suspicions about him from early on, he just brushed them off because he really wanted to believe that Henry was his friend. A huge reason though is that Vito's best friend Joe was a bigger idiot. Joe didn't even have the slightest clue about Henry. Henry could get them to do anything he wanted. And you know, that's why Henry picked these guys, because they were so easy to deceive. He played them like puppets on a string.   

 Give credit to Henry for being a conniving s.o.b. and master of deception.  He was very good at what he did, and he was conning everyone. But yeah, Vito and Joe made his job easier for him.  Vito was an idiot to trust him and do what he told him.  The gas stamps later got him sent to prison, then Henry sends them to rob the jewelry store and the Irish gang is there, and the whole thing with the fat guy was so Henry could trick Joe and Vito to pull the trigger for him. Then Henry disappears out of their lives for years, and one day he pops back in again and pretends to be a friend again and wants a favor from Vito and takes him for a car ride where he pushes him into saying incriminating things, then he lures Vito into going into a drug deal that had sting operation written all over it . Come on Vito, use your damn brain!!   But Vito behaves like a mindless idiot and even though he questioned how Henry knew all the info about Falcone and the Tongs, and how Henry knew all these people (the Tongs, the loan sharks, the ghetto drug dealers, etc.) he still goes along with everything and can't see what's right in front of his face because his mindless idiotic buddy Joe is encouraging him and this Henry guy has both of them wrapped around his finger. I knew he was leading them into yet another trap as soon as he gave them this new assignment. That's the game Henry had been playing since the beginning. Everything he did was to bring everyone down, and these two idiots Joe and Vito were way too easy. I knew it was another one of Henry's set-ups, but this was the most elaborate one yet. You feel like you want to punch Vito and knock some sense into him when you're watching Henry sitting in the chair at Bruno's office with that trademark smug look on his face. 

 So yeah Vito was annoying, but Joe was an even bigger idiot than him.  Joe is the kind of guy who wouldn't have survived long in the mafia anyways, because he was very stupid and reckless and therefore a huge liability. He's the one who was charmed by Henry from day one and introduces Vito to him and then every time Vito had a suspicion, he just brushed it off because Joe was so stupid and had complete trust in Henry. Henry was never their friend and he'd always had them right where he wanted them. Them believing Henry was actually their friend and putting their trust in him is exactly what Henry wanted. They would give their lives for a guy who was trying to destroy them all, a guy who was playing them like the fools they are. Despite Vito's stupidity, though I still think there's room for improvement and he has the ability to get wiser. Joe needed to die because Joe was a complete idiot who would always be a clown. Vito at least had potential (and Leo saw that potential in him), so I'm okay with him surviving at the end.  And it made sense that he lived while Joe died. Everything that happened was part of Vito's journey. He is the protagonist. And Vito is now on his way to getting wiser and becoming a smart mafioso. It took Joe's death for him to finally truly learn all those important lessons. He experienced exactly what life in the mafia is, and now he's lost all illusions and knows the truth about it. 

   

I really like the ending, and I'm glad it is that way. It was actually meaningful and summed up the emotions and theme of the story perfectly. 

 I can't believe that there are so many people who don't understand it, and they actually want Joe to be alive and they think the ending is a cliffhanger and Joe didn't die.  The writers don't intend for this to be an open ending. It is not a cliffhanger at all. They assumed everyone would be smart enough to understand it.  They were obviously very wrong because most people who played the game want Joe to be alive and think the ending is crap because they don't show what happens to Joe, and that Joe can just whack the two guys in the car and Vito should go rambo and then Vito and Joe will ride off into the sunset together or something.  Just because they don't show us Joe's death on-screen it doesn't mean there's a chance of it not happening. Joe's death is certain. The story makes that clear from the way the scene was shown, from the dialogue, the somber mood, everything. They are not trying to imply in any way that Joe even has the slightest chance of escaping his death. In fact they go out of their way to give us every clue that Joe inevitably has to be killed, and does indeed get killed.  It's not just those two guys in the car that want Joe dead, it's the entire MAFIA and COMMISSION that want him dead. He knew that. Vito knew that. There was no escape from this one.  No matter what he does, even if he's stupid enough to try and pull off something, he is doomed. 

  This is a story that is meant to be thoughtful, so many things in it are subtle, they don't want to spoon-feed everything and assumed the audience would understand this. That's one of the things I love about it. The way they showed the story makes it clear that Joe dies. It is a technique that is often used in stories with depth. They could have showed us Vito watching Joe get killed, but they didn't. And it's precisely for the reason of making it more powerful and focusing on Vito's thoughts and emotions they chose to have Vito not see Joe's death with his own eyes. The focus is on how Vito feels knowing the inevitable demise of his friend is shortly impending. Vito knows that his best friend has been taken away to get killed and there is absolutely nothing he can do about it. He has no control over any of it. All he can do is accept it, it is inevitable. That's why the ending is so tragic, because it focuses on all those emotions.  

  Leo, Vinci, the Triads, plus the entire Commission wanted Joe dead. He has no where to go, and there is nothing that can be done. If all those powerful people want the guy dead, there is nothing he can do. He and Vito are completely powerless against all the people that wanted them dead. And both of them knew that. Both Joe and Vito accept it. That's why neither would try and pull off some idiotic rambo scene. They were two small-time guys who screwed up big time and now faced the wrath of the entire Mafia, the Triads, and the Commission. They know they are nothing compared to those powers and they know  The only reason Vito doesn't get killed too is because of Leo. Vito was extremely lucky that Leo had mercy on him and pulled strings for him to give him one more chance, and Vito knew that fact and was grateful.  So of course Vito just sits there and accepts the inevitable demise of his friend. Because there is absolutely nothing he can do, he knows it has to happen, and it will happen. What is he going to do? Do a Rambo on everyone and then ride off with Joe into the sunset? That would completely and utterly undermine and ruin the depth and meaning of this entire story and turn it into a load of stinking bullshit. It is a story about the Mafia, and it's meant to be tragic and powerful like this. Not some cheesy happily-ever-after crap. 

  And Joe's death has to happen for Vito to finally get a bit wiser and learn some very important lessons in his life. There are so many emotions, feelings, lessons, thoughts that are going through Vito's mind at the end. So many things told through just that one scene of silence where Vito sits there quietly with that look on his face and come to an epiphany, finally realizing all those things. First, now he realizes he's lost everything. He joined that mafia because he thought it would make his life better. Instead, it caused him to lose everything and everyone he cared about. It's a huge price to pay, and he lost far more than he gained. Second, he realizes that this is life in the Mafia. This is what it's really like. You have to pay a heavy price. No one escapes unscathed in some way. And now he was paying the biggest price of all, that of losing his best friend. Third, he realizes that in the Mafia, your only loyalty is to yourself.  Everything he'd once clung to was just a facade. Some of the people he'd trusted (Henry) turned out to be something completely different from what he thought. Falcone's words were right, that everyone was just using Vito the whole time. They didn't think of Vito as a friend, he was only a means to an end.  Joe was the only one that actually cared about him, and now Joe was gone.  Vito knew he had to accept Joe's death if he wanted to save himself and continue this life. In the mafia, it's everyone for himself. There is no such thing as loyalty in this business. 

   And Vito realizes something that Joe never could realize, that the mafia is all about looking out for number one---yourself. You can never trust anyone but yourself. It's not about friendship and loyalty, it's about taking care of yourself.  Vito now realizes that and accepts Joe's death and is smart enough to not try and argue with Leo or try some stupid rambo move. He knows he is incredibly lucky to be alive, and he knows that Leo saved him because he saw something worthy in him. He is now smart enough to realize he must save himself at all costs. Fourth, Vito has now opened that door to getting wiser, something he could have never done as long as Joe was still in his life. Vito realizes that you can't get by in this business on pure luck, like he and Joe had been doing (till their luck run out and their stupidity finally caught up them). To make it in the mafia you have to use your brain and be manipulative and calculating. That's life in the Mafia.   

  The tragic ending is one of the things that makes the whole story what it is. If Joe was not killed off, then the story would mean nothing. Vito would not have learned a lot of the lessons he needed to learn, and he would have remained the naive, reckless, easily manipulated moron he was. Joe needed to die for all the pieces of the story to come together and make it as powerful, emotional, and meaningful as it is. The ending is what wraps up the depth of this story. This is a story that's meant to make you think, a story that's meant to be deep and powerful. It's not meant to be superficial mindless entertainment, and therefore there can't be any cheesy bullshit endings. The beauty of it is how they showed it. The focus on Vito's face, the music, the rainy, somber atmosphere. It was a great ending to such a meaningful and tragic story. And they made it that way so it could be as powerful as possible.

 

It left me extremely unsatisfied, they could have done a lot better. Say what you will about 'reality' this or that within the mafia, having Joe go like that and not give Vito either a chance to save the guy or at least show him with his family (whom they also handled like dogshit storywise) having some form of closure. I was just left a bit bitter and resentful. Also I think this 'dark gritty reality' fad that means (anti)heroes cant survive a game is getting a bit tiresome.

Sometimes in a game like this with a lot of downbeating and bad luck, having it all end on a slightly high note wouldn't have ruined the experience.

Good ending, but really sad.    :(   I liked Joe.

I thought the ending was pretty shitty not for Vito taking no action to save Joe, but just how it ended... kind of abruptly. Joe's dead and... well that's it then? I wouldn't of wanted a happy ending, but at least give me an ending with some substance. 

I just beat this yesterday. 
 
I think the ending was perfect. Anything else would have been out of place and too obvious. Vito messed up, bad. He made poor decisions, lost his family and all his friends around him. The deal was just for Vito to fix things, Joe was not part of it. 2K did a good thing to get you attached to Vito and Joe, and even though Joe turned on Vito - then came back around in the final hour. Joe still died and it was perfect. Definitely a great way to go.

 
The ending was okay, not from what i expected it too be though. 
 
I thought it was gonna be a ''happily ever after FOR A WHILE'' ending and they both get killed later by either the Tongs or somebody turns on them. Mafia was the same thing. *SPOILER OF MAFIA* Tommy ratted his family out just like Henry, so i thought Tommy would get away with it, but got killed. It was a way worse ending then the second one though.