Rockstar show off new technology in a dark, 1940's L.A. setting. The results? Amazing!
L.A. Noire deserves to be on that shelf. Let me tell you why.
Set in late 40's Los Angeles, the story follows War Hero and father of two Cole Phelps. As a newly minted patrol officer in the LAPD, you take control of Phelps as he slowly makes his way up through the ranks; a seedy story of corruption, betrayal and intrigue slowly unfolding with each new case. Cole is a hardnosed son-of-a-gun with a very straight view of the law. Lies, half-truths and obstinacy will not be tolerated and it's up to you to sort out the story as you study each case and collect evidence. The game mechanics here are reminiscent of old point-and-click adventure games like Monkey Island and DoTT but presented in a wholly new and modern format. Clues must be found and put together so that you can wring the truth out of the people involved, which is often much harder than it seems even with a case file of evidence.
What makes it all possible and adds that top shelf factor are the interrogations, brilliant voice acting and clever script. Rockstar has used two technologies to bring Phelps and the rest of the cast to life. First is Lightsprint's Global illumination technology which is used to provide more photorealistic lighting effects, giving the game a better cinematic feel. Second and central to the game is Depth Analysis's MotionScan technology. MotionScan works by using 32 separate high definition cameras to capture an actor's face and movements. It gives an almost surreal realism to the cast of the game. Actors are easily recognizable (John Nobel - Denethor from LOTR, Greg Grunberg - Lost, Heros) and the performances almost lifelike.
There are of course some Uncanny Valley moments. Eyes still look a little lifeless and the female faces look a bit off due to their flat, textured hair. However for the most part MotionScan allows you to read the expression on the characters faces and that is what this game is all about. You'll need to rely on those innocent blinks, shifty looks and smug expressions to help you decide whether a character is telling the truth or hiding something.
Once again Rockstar have provided a huge and richly detailed world to set their game in. The City of Angels has been rendered in fine and loving detail. Landmarks dot the city scape and can be fully explored. They feature enough detail to closely resemble their real life counter-parts and also provide some replay value as finding them all will net you an achievement. The city itself is comparable to GTA IV. It is completely full of life and a stunning amount of fine detail has been added. People drink at bars, shop at their local stores and wander the main streets. Inside lights switch on in cars when you open the door, licence plates on cars are unique and the city has a definite lived-in feel. Another reason to explore Rockstar's L.A. is the street crimes, which will be radioed through to Phelp's patrol car as you cruise the streets. They provide fun little side missions and come complete with their own small intros and storylines. While most of them are fairly standard missions (shootout, foot-chase, car-chase etc.) they are handled tastefully and are generally very fun to play and reward the player with experience when completed. It's often useful to complete a few of these to grab yourself an extra Intuition point, which will come in handy later in the game.
L.A. Noire does have its downsides though. Questions and evidence sometimes don't seem to fit and can make it difficult to find the right answers during interrogations. Street crimes can sometimes be very, very far away from the players' location removing the sense of urgency to respond when you need to drive right across the map. Shootouts are quite generic as the player hops into cover and blasts away without any real sense of danger. The camera can also become an issue during gunplay and trying to get an angle on someone who is reasonably close can be a nightmare. Small graphical glitches and frame rate issues occasionally break the immersion, especially during conversations and the game occasionally fails to recognize when you've located all the clues. These are all technical issues and are frequent enough to be a small annoyance.
Despite the technical problems, L.A. Noire provides a refreshing change of pace from your typical open world action game and deserves its place on the top shelf. Choosing to focus the game more on the detective work rather than action and shooting has allowed the story to be the centre of the game and what a story! Fans of the hardboiled crime genre will be delighted with the twists and turns the plot continually throws at the player and the ending feels tragic, yet fitting. Rockstar have delivered yet again, exposing the dark underbelly of 1940's L.A. and giving us a game which feels genuinely new and fresh.
This gamer gives L.A. Noire 8/10.