L.A. Noire

LA Noire is probably the most unique game I have ever played. Its set in 1940s Los Angeles where you play as former Marine now Detective, Cole Phelps. Phelps is a unique character for Rockstar to have as its protagonist, because he's not an immigrant trying to bury his past or an outlaw trying to go straight. The core of LA Noire itself is interrogations and crime scenes. Sure theres shootings but these mainly occur later in the game. Interrogations are simply fantastic for me because theres nothing quite like sqeezing as much information out of the suspect as possible. But these are not a walk in the park. These are very challenging and I get annoyed with myself if I fail on a question. Interrogations vary as you progress to each desk. Patrol, Traffic, Homicide, Vice and Arson are the desks you'll be on and they all impressed me. Those after GTA in LA will be dissapointed however, as you can't simply wield your gun and start shooting. Causing havoc will also severly impact you, as you get less stars at the end of a case due to property damage. The plot is mainly divided amongst the desks you're working on, for example, you'll be invesingating the Black Dahlia murders on the Homicide desk and Army Morphine being sold on the streets on the Vice desk. Replay value is also surprisingly high, as you can replay old cases to get that 5 star rating and there are many collectibles scattered round LA, such as film reels and famous Hollywood landmarks. Overall LA Noire is a gorgeous game due to Team Bondis new facial animation and I would recommend it to anyone. Definetely a contender for Game of the Year.

Not meaning to compare this to GTA or Red Dead Redemption (as I knew this game was anything 'but' when it was announced), I do personally think the aforementioned Rockstar games are much better in terms of gameplay and fun-factor. However, that's not to say I don't think L.A. Noire is fun, because it IS, in my opinion; the game is unique and fun in its own way. This is basically a modern day adventure game along the lines of Police Quest and Phoenix Wright!

The detailed graphics, MotionScan technology, acting, sound effects, music (especially the atmospheric pieces that play when sleuthing around crime scenes and the dramatic pieces that play when chasing suspects), the case stories and the overarching storyline and the way it's told, the investigating gameplay involving: searching crime scenes for clues, interrogating suspects and watching their facial expressions closely - and either doubting them/accusing them of lying with evidence to backup your claims - going over your case notes to review what you've found, getting new information/locations to look into etc; the fighting/car chase gameplay, which tends to spice things up; you can do side missions/cases off the main path (unlike Mafia II), cars handle well, the game caters for both hardcore and casual gamers (thanks to different options you can adjust), making mistakes during interrogations can make the overall outcome of a case different, and therefore the game has replayability - you can redo cases and improve your ratings... It's simply great! And it's different compared to the usual games that come out. And Rockstar are fantastic when it comes to making entertaining, different, mature, and intelligent games in today's market!

However, there are a few gripes I have with it: there are some graphical/technical glitches - such as frame rate issues, the mouths of characters/actors (inside their mouths and around) tend to look blurry, and vehicles randomly disappear sometimes - such as a vehicle that you wish to commandeer that's behind you; gun fighting doesn't feel as good as Rockstar's previous games - they're too brief and tend to be choppy because of frame rate issues; I don't think the 40s music on the car radios are as good as the music in Mafia II; as detailed as 40s Los Angeles is in the game, I don't think it's as fun to traverse through as the open world environments of previous Rockstar games; missions do tend to feel repetitive, the ending is a little bit disappointing, and I just wish there were more side missions... I find the ones available are too easy and they're over too soon. At least the game HAS side missions, unlike Mafia II, but more of them would've made this game even longer, which is no bad thing at all. :P

Unlike Red Dead Redemption last year, I don't think this will be my 'Game of the Year', but it'll certainly be a strong contender!

It seems like telling people you are disappointed with a Rockstar game is much like John McClane's sandwich board experience in Die Hard 3. Someone is going to get upset, very upset and you are going to experience a fair degree of hostility. Which begs the question, how would this game have fared had it been produced by Reality Pump or Remedy? Fanboys get your flaming kit out, I fear I'm in for a hammering.

L.A. Noire seems to have been talked about for eons, a big build up, fawning previews and intriguing set up had interest piqued for a long long time. Postwar LA is as attractive a setting for a game as you can imagine and Team Bondi have done exceptionally well in capturing the feeling of the era. The clothes, dialogue, cars, venues et al are superb it is as good an environment as any, as cliched as it may be you are certainly drawn in almost immediately.

Looks good, feels good, then you engage in conversation with an NPC and you realise something, something epic. Games in which you interact with NPCs can never be the same again, it is incredible. Never before have I felt so much for those people I'm engaging with, the mannerisms, the eyes, the voice acting, the fear, the cockiness, the anger. It's a major leap forward, nay a quantum leap forward. These are as close to real people as you have seen so far.

However, excitement and awe quickly gave way to another realisation, after about 6 cases it dawned on me that I had invested in a one trick pony. Get given a case, go to the scene, have a look around for clues, interview some suspects, maybe chase them, maybe have a shoot out then back to the station for more interviews. This is undeniably enjoyable at first and the homicide desk is without doubt the better period of the game but it's here you realise that that huge immersion you initially felt has fallen away. You're not playing this game, you're being led through it. You can't fail the cases, if you get stuck in an action sequence you can choose to skip it and you have no power to affect the direction of the protagonists career or personal life. You are playing a big cutscene, or perhaps more accurately a big tech demonstration. It's hard to elaborate without giving away spoilers, but you feel cheated at the direction the game goes toward the end, for all the steps forward in character performance, we should be demanding a degree of control and story arcs in the vein of Mass Effect and Dragon Age, not to be thrust in one linear direction to an inevitable conclusion.

L.A. Noire is a huge step forward in one sense, for a while it is an undeniably sublime experience, but as a game it falls short, from the sandbox kings you expect some degree of freedom, you have barely any, in the end whatever you do makes no difference and in a character driven experience, that is unforgiveable.