VIDEO GAME REVIEW: L.A. Noire

Last Updated on July 23, 2021

Published by:
 Rockstar Games
Developed by: Team Bondi
Release
Date:
May 17,
2011
Available on:
Xbox 360, PlayStation 3

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INTRO:  LA Noire puts
you in the shoes of up-and-coming detective Cole Phelps during the
Hollywoodland era. It’s up to you to grab your partner and hit the
street, finding clues and grilling perps to try to find the truth.
Along the way, you’ll even attempt to solve the mystery of the Black
Dahlia murders. The big selling point of this one is the whole facial
recognition system, a graphic overhaul that makes faces absolutely
photorealistic this means it’s up to you to determine whether or not
your suspect or witness is being completely honest, simply by reading
their face.

People give Rockstar a hard time because they are accused of constantly
making the same game ad nauseum and redressing it. I wholeheartedly
disagree and think it’s simply an easy accusation to make. GTA is the
base model, Bully was GTA with kids, Red Dead Redemption was GTA with
horses, and LA Noire is GTA with hats. You’re truly a fool if you think
this way. sure, the engines are similar, but I personally believe that
each of these games delivers a unique experience that really do
separate them from their cousins. 

Here’s the official description: “Amid the post-war boom of Hollywood’s
Golden Age, Cole Phelps, an LAPD detective is thrown headfirst into a
city drowning in its own success. Corruption is rampant, the drug trade
is exploding, and murder rates are at an all-time high. In his fight to
climb the ranks and do what’s right, Phelps must unravel the truth
behind a string of arson attacks, racketeering conspiracies and brutal
murders, battling the L.A. underworld and even members of his own
department to uncover a secret that could shake the city to its rotten
core. Using groundbreaking new animation technology that captures every
nuance of an actor’s facial performance in astonishing detail, L.A.
Noire is a violent crime thriller that blends breathtaking action with
true detective work to deliver an unprecedented interactive experience.
Search for clues, chase down suspects and interrogate witnesses as you
struggle to find the truth in a city where everyone has something to
hide.”

GAMEPLAY:

LA Noire is certainly not GTA
with hats. Instead, it’s one of the most adult games I’ve played in a
long time. By adult, I don’t mean blood, guts, sex and swearing
(although to be honest, that’s in there). Instead of being a game full
of disposable fun to play and forget, LA Noire is a thought provoking,
contemplative and dark game that takes itself pretty seriously and
quite frankly just isn’t for kids. This isn’t to say that no kid could
handle LA Noire, but they might find the pace of the gameplay to be
dull and slower than they’d like.

You won’t find yourself driving all around the city and mowing people
over with reckless abandon, branching off for 3 hours while blowing
things up. Instead, you’ll drive carefully (or just have your partner
drive, which means you’ll miss a lot of the beautiful world created by
the Rockstar team) and you might even find yourself cursing if you
accidentally clip an innocent person. This is a big, big part of what I
like about this game. Although he isn’t perfect, our hero Cole Phelps
is actually a GOOD guy for once, and that’s super refreshing. I don’t
know about you, but I’m getting a little tired of the super macho
anti-hero who’s too cool to be a nice guy. Cole is always on the
straight and narrow, and even in little moments when he can be afforded
chances to veer off the path, he stays true. I like that a lot. There
are a lot of really memorable characters in this game and the dialogue
is sharp and rarely feels forced. You’ll suffer through various
partners, some of whom are fantastic and helpful while others just want
to put you through the ringer and have you do all the work. Much like
Heavy Rain, this game feels like you’re a character in a full-fledged
story that resembles a movie, except this game feels a bit more
interactive than Heavy Rain did.

The game’s story is told in an episodic format, sort of like Alan Wake
or (ugh) Alone in the Dark. The presentation of the game reminds you of
old black and white detective serials from that era and gives the game
a distinctive flavor that’s quite pleasing. Each chapter lasts about an
hour, and the game can take you between 15-20 hours to complete (the
360 version spans across 3 discs!). Each case starts with the crime
being committed, you being assigned to it, investigating the crime
scene, grilling witnesses and suspects and trying to solve the crime.
As the game progresses, you find out more and more about Cole’s past
through brief flashbacks of his military career. There’s also another
story arc that involves a suspicious ‘doctor’ that is told through
various newspapers you pick up which trigger cut scenes as you progress
through the story.

This may all sound very simple, but the game makes things complex and
varied enough to keep things interesting. Sometimes you’ll need to
visit a location 3 times to cross-check your evidence that you’ve found
in your notepad. The way the game works is that any time you meet
someone of interest or come across evidence, you automatically make a
note of it in your handy notebook. This is your bible for each case and
is invaluable. You’ll find yourself searching all around the areas
you’re in, waiting for a vibration from your controller and a
distinctive chime sound that lets you know you may have found an object
worth noting. At this point, you pick the object up to examine it,
manipulate it and try to connect it to the case. There are always items
that mean nothing (never pick up the hairbrush), but stumbling upon a
clue is always exciting. If you don’t like having your hand held
somewhat, you can modify the game so that the notifications aren’t as
obvious and you’ll have to find everything yourself. I wouldn’t
recommend this on the first play through, but perhaps as something to
consider as you play through.

As I mentioned before, the big selling point is the game’s facial
recognition system and it truly doesn’t disappoint. You are going to
spend countless amounts of time staring at the faces of your
opposition, whether it’s the actress who’s trying to pull the wool over
your eyes, the bartender who seems sort of crooked, or perhaps the
distraught wife who’s heartbroken over the loss of her husband..who
beat her every night. It’s difficult to describe how well this works,
but I can assure you that this is the feature that the gameplay hinges
on and it doesn’t fail to deliver in spades. Rockstar used over 400
actors and captured their every moment on camera. If you’ve got a keen
eye, you’ll even notice some familiar faces from TV and Film, like the
dude who played Matt Parkman from Heroes!

This is a system where you notice every single twitch; every twinkle in
the eye, every tic, every furrowing of the brow. Believe me when I tell
you too, you’re going to have two or three friends sitting around and
you will disagree. One will swear they’re lying because the perp
scratched their face, the other will tell you they’re innocent because
they seem so upset and they can see it in their eyes. There are a lot
of tough decision to make in this game and you’ll never get ’em all
right unless you’re an absolute master. This isn’t a flaw but a skill
that needs to be developed as the game goes on. It feels extremely
satisfying to get the right answers and when you can really nail
someone dead to rights, you’ll feel a great sense of accomplishment.

When interrogating or questioning someone, you generally have three
options- you can assume they’re telling the truth, doubt them if you
sense tomfoolery is afoot, or you can outright accuse them of lying. If
you accuse them of lying, be ready to back it up. If they look at the
ground, their eyes shift around and they say they’ve never used a rope
before and you’ve got the proof that they had a bloody rope in their
trunk, call them on it and present the evidence. If you’re wrong
though, be ready for some serious footwork that may require you to run
after the suspect on the street and chase them around or to have to
drive from location to location to try and uncover the truth. The
system might sound simple, but the cases are so varied that the game is
anything but a simple ‘lie detector’ simulation.

In terms of action, the game does pick up the pace when it is necessary
and you’ll have to do some basic hand-to-hand combat and a bit of
gun play from time to time. If you’re buying this game for big
firefights and wall to wall action, think again. With that said, the
action works well using a cover system and a familiar aiming system and
although the hand to hand combat is extremely simple, it is functional
and serves its purpose.

Ultimately, this is certainly a grown-up game. If you’re a
completionist, expect the replay value to go through the roof. I’m not
usually the ‘I have to do everything’ type, but I admit- it killed me
to blow some of the cases and not discover all the clues. Missing an
important piece of information always bothered me because sometimes it
led to the innocent getting fingered incorrectly or the bad guy getting
away. When you care about the characters, the game can certainly become
more rewarding.

Gameplay:
8.5/10

GRAPHICS:

LA Noire sports facial features
like you’ve never seen them before; this is a game that essentially
requires the use of an HDTV. Without a great set, you’ll miss little
details and nuances in each character’s performance. While the faces
will have your jaw drop, the rest of the game looks pretty good. The
textures can be simple and the hair (especially the styles the ladyfolk
sport) doesn’t look great. Sometimes the character animation is too
wooden and although the face might look great, the awkward movement of
some characters can seem jarring and pull you out of the experience
briefly. LA Noire is still a scenic, rich game with well detailed
environments though despite some outdated technology rearing its head
at times.

Graphics: 8.5/10

AUDIO:

LA Noire relies heavily on the
use of music to help guide the player. As you interrogate and find
clues, you’ll familiarize yourself with “good” sounds and “bad” ones
which will let you know how you’re doing. While you investigate, you’ll
notice that the music will stop altogether to let you know you’ve found
everything. This helps eliminate the need for a HUD and keeps the game
immersible. Voice acting is essentially flawless, with a huge cast of
speaking characters to boot. 

Audio:
8.5/10

FINAL VERDICT:

LA Noire unquestionably
deserves the attention of the patient and mature gamer who likes to
contemplate, analyze and solve. It provides an experience unlike any
I’ve had playing a game and breaks new ground with some of its
technology. I loved the straight-laced protagonist and the departure
from debauchery (I love me some wanton destruction sometimes too
though, don’t get me wrong). If you’ve got a couple of days on your
hands to sit and devote to this game, I think you’ll get hooked and
find the time passing by quicker than you thought possible. Plus, some
of the cases are so much fun that you’ll absolutely revisit them simply
to see how reactions would change based on different actions you can
take. Spend some time with this one!

Final Score: 9/10

GET THIS GAME HERE