L.A. Noire Review

L.A. Noire is the newest game published by Rockstar and developed by a new studio, Team Bondi. Modeled after the film genre of the same name, this crime drama takes place in post war 1940s Los Angeles. Focusing entirely on story, this semi-open world game plays more like an adventure game or puzzle game than the Grand Theft Auto games Rockstar is famous for. With the addition of a brand new facial mapping technology, L.A. Noire creates faces more realistic and lifelike than has ever been seen in a game to date.

L.A. Noire takes place in 1947 Los Angeles, a city built on movie stardom, the automobile, and a general lust for fame and fortune. The story of L.A. Noire revolves around the themes of the times, and the conflict and corruption that sprouted from post-war mentality. These mentalities, as well as the issues of the time period are personified by the game’s main character, Cole Phelps. Cole is a war hero who returned to L.A. and become a street cop who maintains a tenacious reach for perfection in a world that wants to forget him. Throughout the game, Cole goes from street cop to traffic detective, all the way to homicide and vice. Through Cole, L.A. Noire tells a period piece ripe with political commentary and historic value. Cole is an incredibly well developed character, who only continues to evolve through the course of the game. And it’s in the incredible characterization that L.A. Noire’s story comes together.

L.A. Noire is told episodically, in the form of cases. Each episode focuses on a new case based on the current desk Cole is currently working at. Each case is different, and tells a self contained story. There are 21 cases in the game, and each is about 1-2 hours long. Players are given the opportunity to know Cole, as well as his partners, during these cases. As the characters develop, the overall story unfurls. This method for delivering the story worked very well. I enjoyed how I could play a case, and put the game down, knowing that next time I played I’d have a whole new mystery to solve. Players can also choose to accept street crime cases during the main cases, which are essentially side missions, but still have their own mini-stories.

The city is well detailed.

 All of the stories in L.A. Noire, from the street cases up to the main overarching story are told beautifully. Every single character is well realized and provides an aspect of commentary on the times. The game tackles various issues such as racial inequality, the exploitation of returning troops, and even the emerging middle class. And unlike previous Rockstar games, there is very little parody of the subject matter. L.A. Noire is a very serious game, with serious issues. But it never feels preachy or educational in its perspective. Using Cole as a conduit for these issues was a brilliant move by Team Bondi, and really brings the player to identify with the issues of the time 60 years ago.

With such a heavy emphasis on story, it’s a wonder the gameplay didn’t suffer. In fact, Team Bondi developed the gameplay around the story. There are several modes within the game, creating the feeling almost as if they are a collection of mini-games. All of which appear within the various cases. When you start a case, you are provided with a cutscene to set up the case. From there, you enter free roam mode.

Unlike other Rockstar games, this free roam mode is more limited, and the game directs you toward your objectives very clearly. Additionally, you can’t go on a killing spree or run over pedestrians with your car. Cole is a good guy, he isn’t going to pull his piece and start blasting every Tom, Dick, and Harry in sight. In fact, the game doesn’t even let you pull your gun, unless the story permits it. You can drive any car you see, but instead of “jacking” the cars, Cole tells the driver that he is a police officer, and that he requires use of the car. These restrictions on the open world formula are actually quite welcome. To me, open world games can become very overwhelming, and focusing the world around me aided in connecting me to the character and the story. I mean, it wouldn’t make sense for Cole to go joy riding around before heading to investigate the crime scene of a young Hollywood starlet.

Investigation isn't always at a crime scene.

 When investigating crime scenes, the game plays much like an old school adventure game. You walk Cole around the scene looking for clues, which are indicated by the controller vibrating and the game playing a little piano chime to cue you that something can be investigated. Cole will pick the item up to be investigated further. Some items that can be investigated aren’t clues, and are provided to throw the player off. But when a clue is found that is important, the game pops up a little message that a clue has been found. This makes the addition of the red herring clues pointless. However, finding all the clues on a crime scene is hard. There were times where I had felt I had thoroughly combed a place over only to find out later I had missed something important. To me, this was my favorite part of the game. I really had to use my head to gather clues and decipher what they meant. It was a ton of fun to put the case together in my mind about what was really going on.

Eventually when all the clues are gathered, you’ll find yourself with a suspect. Using clues and case information, Cole interviews suspects. Based on what they say, you can decide if the suspect is telling the truth, lying, or to doubt their statement. It’s in this aspect that L.A. Noire blows every other game out of the water. Very rarely is the correct response to a suspect’s statement based on what they say. It is based on what they do with their face. L.A. Noire displays the most convincing facial animation I’ve ever seen in a game. You’ll see that little tick of the eye when he mentions he didn’t know her or the hard swallow when she says that she’s never been to that nightclub before. And that’s how you know when the person is a bold faced liar. It’s an incredibly well realized gameplay element that wasn’t ever possible in games before, and it was a ton of fun. But, unlike other games, you have to be paying attention. This isn’t one of those games where you can check your phone or get some food when people are talking. You need to be reading their every move. Only then can you know who is guilty when you make your arrest.

Your partner will provide helpful input.

 The final parts of gameplay in L.A. Noire are the action scenes, or the shooting and chase scenes. The shooting is typical of any third person shooter, pick your weapon, get in cover, and blast away. It wasn’t perfect, but it was standard fare for shooters. Chase scenes to me were hit or miss. On foot you hold down the right trigger to run, and the game helps you by guiding your character in the simplest way possible, making it less frustrating and harder to lose your suspect. You can end a foot chase by tackling a suspect by rapidly tapping the button when you get close enough, or by firing a warning shot into the air. The last action sequence is the car chase sequence. These were my least favorite because, in general, the cars handle like crap. It was very hard to keep on your suspect, let alone run them off the road. It became very frustrating at times. Luckily, if you keep up with them, eventually the suspect will crash or bail out of their car, and you can make the arrest. Team Bondi really made a smart decision with these action sequences by letting you skip them entirely if you fail them three times in a row. This allows more casual players who are interested in the detective work the ability to continue playing regardless of skill level.

Another aspect of L.A. Noire’s detective gameplay I really enjoyed was the issue of living with your failures. If you fail to find all the evidence or ask the wrong questions in an interview, you can end up accusing the wrong person. There is no game over or re-dos with this. The game forces you to live with your mistake as you move on to the next case. To me this was great as it added a sense of importance to really thinking things through and ensuring I was making the best decisions.

As mentioned, L.A. Noire has some impressive graphics. The facial animations are uncanny, and coupled with motion capture body performances, all characters move in a very convincing way. Each character in the game was not only cast for their voice, but their face and body as well. For the first time I can say that not only is the voice acting in L.A. Noire superb, but the performances of the characters were as well. There were instances where I would literally recognize characters from earlier in the game by face alone, where most games rely on making characters identifiable by clothing or standout qualities. My only complaint was that sometimes the faces looked disjointed from the bodies they were connected to, like a superimposed face on a puppet or something. But that is a small complaint, and this technology is quite remarkable.



Carefully read the facial expressions.

 Overall, the graphics in L.A. Noire were great. The world is very believable, and everything looks unique, lived in, and real. For an open world game, I didn’t notice any repetition in environments or characters on the street, which is impressive. I would like to add that I tried out the black and white mode for the game and fell in love with it. The 1940s film noir style the game is shooting for is only made better viewed in black and white, and gave the game a more moody feel to me. I highly recommend it be played in this mode.

L.A. Noire, while not totally perfect, is one of those games that come along once in a generation. Its technology allows for gameplay never before in a game. It tells a mature, compelling character driven story that provides insight into the issues and conflicts of the 1940s. The gameplay is fun, and encourages and rewards the player for thinking critically. It’s a game where the way to beat the level isn’t how fast you can hit the buttons or having the right weapons, but how well you can trust your instincts and intuition. L.A. Noire is a marvel of modern gaming, and really is a game that everyone should play. It’s an instant classic.