L.A. Noire's memorable adventure completely immerses you in an authentic crime fighting experience.
THE GOOD
-Extraordinary Facial Recognition System
-Thrilling story with memorable investigations
-Exciting and memorable criminal investigations
-Fantastic soundtrack
-Incredible 1940s atmosphere
THE BAD
-Gun play feels a bit stiff
OVERVIEW
L.A. Noire takes place in the beautiful city of Los Angeles during the 1940s; shortly after World War II. The hero of this game is LAPD Detective, Cole Phelps. Cole is a guy that every 'good' justice department wants because he's lawful, honest and determined. Motivated to rid the world of injustice, Phelps has no problem putting in the overtime just to see another criminal locked up. As our fine, young detective quickly moves up in the ranks, it may seem like his life is perfect. However, as time progresses you'll see that even heroes like Phelps go through difficult times and its in those fallacies that make him instantly relatable. In addition, flashbacks of Cole as a World War II soldier make a appearance throughout the game and these experiences, in the Pacific theater, have been haunting him ever since.
L.A. Noire's story is filled with action, suspense and many memorable moments. Detective Phelps is a very likable main character and walking in his shoes busting criminals is quite enjoyable. The 1940s atmosphere is bursting with rich culture and style from the time period. Everything from the dialog, clothes and even the cars accurately depict the life and times of historic Los Angeles. Exploring every inch of this well-crafted sandbox is fun and well worth your time.
GAMEPLAY
As a detective for the LAPD, your main goal is to put the bad guys behind bars. To do that, Cole and his partner will have to investigate crime scenes, collect clues and interrogate witnesses/suspects. L.A. Noire also throws in some high action scenarios like car chases and gun fights to spice things up and keep you on your toes.
The cases start off simple and progressively get more challenging as you move up in the department. You start each investigation scouring the initial crime screen for valuable intel. Requirements for wielding the sword of justice includes finding the right clues and getting the truth out of the people involved. As you comb each area, there will be vital and non-vital items to examine. Some objects may seem irrelevant at first, but when you rotate it around in your hand you may find that it is extremely useful in your investigation. Finding the right clues will open up more dialog options when it comes to questioning suspects.
Phelps is armed and dangerous with his trusty notebook and pencil. Pressing the 'back' button will pull up this journal allowing you to browse through specific people, clues and places at any time. You can even select your next destination from this menu. To speed things up, you also have the option to let your partner drive to the next location instead of manually doing it yourself. These helpful aids make it easy to pick up where you left off and keeps the story fresh in your mind.
The interrogations are what separate the men from the boys in this game. When you are questioning someone you have three actions available to you: Truth, Doubt and Lie. This is where the fantastic facial recognition system comes into play. Each person makes different facial expressions based on whether they are telling the truth or not. This can lead to some stressful moments because the nice old lady that doesn't make eye contact might be hiding something sinister. Correctly stringing together answers will lead to helpful breakthroughs in solving the case. Incorrect judgements means that you could miss out on important information; thus making your job much more difficult.
The game automatically saves your progress so you won't get a "do-over" mid-case. However, you do have the option to replay the entire mission afterwards. This concept brings a whole new layer to the gameplay because not having enough evidence might lead to the wrongful conviction of an innocent person. This kind of immersion really puts you in the mindset of a true police detective. There were a few times where I was distraught over the outcome and was beating myself up about how I should have done things differently. There really aren't many games out there that play this kind of mind game with you and this is just one of the many things that make L.A. Noire a standout among the crowd.
Being able to sniff out key pieces of evidence and ripping confessions out of people is one thing, but that's not all you'll encounter while walking in Phelps' shoes. You see, not all suspects come quietly back to the police station. There is plenty of action to enjoy as you bust criminals from car chases, to gun fights and even a good old fashioned fist fight. This kind of entertainment livens things up and can really get your heart pumping.
With a plethora of old style automobiles to choose from and solid vehicle mechanics, the car chases are an absolute blast. Avoiding other cars and pedestrians during your pursuit while your partner tries to shoot out the tires is very gratifying; especially when you end the pursuit with your assailant's vehicle in complete shambles.
Unfortunately, the gun play is not as exhilarating. This is mainly due to the stiff controls. Phelps runs, takes cover and shoots like he has a bad case of Rigor-mortis. The auto-aim feature was nice, but overall this cumbersome aspect is a setback for the game.
Aside from tackling the daily grind at the office, there is an entire sandbox city to explore. When you're behind the wheel, police dispatch will periodically ask for your help. If you choose to the participate, an indication marker will appear on your mini-map to guide you. These optional side missions range from simple shootouts to full bank robberies. Every now and again, these refreshing breaks help get your mind right before tackling the main story once more.
GRAPHICS & SOUND
The entire atmosphere from the city design down to the individual clothing is quite impressive in capturing the life and times of Los Angeles during the late 1940s. The facial movements are amazing and really bring this game to life. In addition, there are many well known celebrities whose likeness is uncanny when you see them on screen. Names like Aaron Staton, Michael McGrady and Greg Grunberg fill this dynamic cast list and it almost seems like you're watching a movie from all the recognizable appearances.
The musical score is well crafted and fits the overall 1940s theme. Along with the character's visual likeness, this game as also included the voices of this ensemble cast of celebrities. This game also effectively uses sound cues to indicate important items to examine and whether you've found all the useful clues in the area.
CONCLUSION
L.A. Noire does an excellent job immersing you in the life of a good cop during the 1940s. This game will play with your emotions and make you second guess yourself just like what a normal detective goes through on a daily basis. The overall story is well written and each case brings it's own memorable moments. Throw in plenty of action sequences and a huge sandbox to explore, and you've got yourself one awesome game that I would highly recommend. Over the years Rockstar dominated the industry with its chaotic Grand Theft Auto series, but now this heralded company has proven that they have what it takes to produce a stellar game on the other side of the law.