Innovative and solid title that should be picked up regardless of price (or its flaws).
L.A. Noire has entertaining plots here and there. It contains a well-written story which is paced rather well but lacks any solid complexity. Each individual case sound cliche to the point that about 30% into the investigation, the perpetrator can be identified and from that point it is a matter of collecting evidence to get the right answers from them. Apart from this L.A. Noire is your fun detective novel which you can't take it with you on the bus to work.
-7.5/10
Gameplay
The very dough in which it makes this "novel" into a game. L.A. Noire incorporates investigative gameplay which lets the player decide on the course of action towards finding out the real suspect among a few that's available. The good part is that this type of gameplay has not been used in earlier games hence it feels fresh. However due to the laid out story that it has, there is not a lot of variety in which to conduct your very own investigation. This means that no matter how well or how poorly the investigation take place, the same suspect is arrested. This is unfortunate as the game should force the players to try their hardest to do well in the game. Due to this linear progression in the game outcomes, replay value of the game takes a huge hit and the feeble attempts at grading the performance doesn't do much to help. The other gameplay featured in the game is the "free-roaming action" which had a lot of promise following Rockstar's previous games, GTA IV and Red Dead Redemption. The game does not follow its predecessors in regards to this particular genre or doesn't do very well so. The movement, the interactions and the shootings all feel very scripted and restricted. The movements feel very scripted and royal to the one situation of a particular case. The game doesn't give you the freedom and in most cases, you only ever need to hold the R2 button with slight variations in the analog stick. Following Red Dead Redemption the promise of the open world full of interactive opportunities probably rang up in most minds during promotion. Uninteresting side mission and pain-staking collectibles awaits those that thought the same, but for others, Happy Hunting! Red Dead Redemption introduced the ability to disable opponents by shooting body part (or the gun). L.A. Noire would have been awesome if it had included and upgraded this feature gameplay. Yes, this means the feature is absent and the game isn't awesome, sorry Rockstar fans... In L.A. Noire shooting feels clunky and shooting anywhere on the body is fatal. It definitely would have been something if they gave you the option to subdue and arrest every fleeing suspect in the game and killing them would be detrimental to the case.
-8.0/10
Presentation
The city of L.A. in the 40's has never looked so beautiful in a video game (never been there so can't say anymore than this but I'm sure it was beautiful like it is in the game). Graphics in the game are great (so great to the point that it chugs sometimes). Facial expressions are recorded that features every facet of the actors face using the latest in reproducing a video-gamey perfect replication of the actors real face. We still have a long way to go... This helps with the interrogating parts of the game but not a huge step forward than a rendered faces. Yeah a long way...
Music in the game are very cliche found in large numbers of detective media which is actually to the benefit of the game, Duh! Wonder what the game will feel like when porn groove is played at every crime scene (Rockstar should include this in the update).
-9.0/10
Conclusion
-Enjoyable story which could have been better if there were multiple outcomes.
-Disappointing "Rockstar" game but solid nonetheless (if not only for its Rockstar brand...).
-Few notable improvements present but entertaining without them anyway.
-It is still recommended to pick this game up as it is the first and best of its genre.