L.A. Noire is a gem of a game and should be commended for its originality, but it's bogged down by repetition.

User Rating: 8.5 | L.A. Noire PS3
By Liquid-San | Review Date:
You start the game by playing as Cole Phelps, an officer of the law in the setting of 1940's LA. Upon starting the game, there aren't any real tutorials to hinder the gameplay and the game itself plunges you into its immersion. The cases throughout the game all differ with an overarching story in general. This however, is where problems begin in the game. By the third or fourth case, you'll feel as if you've already done what the game is asking of you. While it's entertaining to examine clues and feel like a real detective; after the examination of the corpses, the cases start to go downhill somewhat and it ends up feeling a little too systematic.

However, while it can be repetitive to some, the originality in this game is a refreshing breath of innovation to those who are troubled by the countless shooters this generation. It should also be mentioned that the game's visual design is almost second to none when it comes to the fantastic use of facial technology used to render the character models. The set pieces are also very well placed and the variety in cases not connected to the storyline are plenty.

Verdict:
Graphics - 8.5: Facial technology is fantastic, but some of the bodies of the characters and environments can seem quite bland in comparison.

Gameplay - 7.5: Solving cases and examining bodies like a forensics specialist is very fun, but driving from A to B and the sequential order grows tedious.

Sound - 7.5 : Not much to say here, the sound is great but doesn't quite capture the spirit of the time period as well as games such as Mafia 2.

Story - 8.5: The story is interesting and the tension builds up quite nicely after every case as you continue to be exposed to Phelp's character.

Other Helpful Reviews for L.A. Noire

Load Comments (0)