L.A. Noire (PS3)

Introduction

This game was created by Rockstar Games and released in May in 2011. La Noire is set In LA in the late 1940s. It has been made to look exactly like actual locations in La and to be historically accurate. There is an extensive range of downloadable content for this game. The Rockstar Pass is in my opinion the best value DLC currently available for it because you get access to a lot of extra cases for a reasonable price. There are very few games on the PlayStation 3 that have ever really impressed me. When I am searching for a new game, I look for a thought provoking game, one that can really make me think. I look for a game that is a challenge and one that manages to keep me intrigued and excited for what lies ahead. This game is one of the few that managed to do all of that and because of this I think it is truly amazing. My brother recommended this wonderful game to me, if he hadn't I probably never would have given the game a chance. I was astonished by how real the characters look and the special, incredibly realistic detail that has gone into creating their facial expressions. The storyline for each case was incredibly interesting and never got tedious or lost its intrigue. It didn't matter how many cases I closed because I was always eagerly anticipating the next one.

Gameplay

This game was so much fun to play! I literally did not sleep for the duration of time that I was playing it. I just could not bring myself to put the controller down. Inability to sleep because of my enthusiasm towards a game is something that rarely happens to me. This game just kept me completely glued to the screen. Everything about it is so realistic and believable. As I was getting to know each character, I began to feel as though I was getting to know actual people and the cases started to seem real. I really liked the main character Cole Phelps role in this game. I specifically got caught up in his parts in the storyline. When the character of Cole Phelps was in sad situations, I really felt really sad too. When he was lied to, I felt angry at the characters who deceived him and then something totally unexpected happened. I suddenly went from emphasizing with the troubles his character faced in the game and began to feel a loss of respect towards his character later in the game due to an unexpected twist in the storyline. I cannot recall any other storyline that has ever managed to capture my attention quite as well as this one did.

I believe the reason for this is that they allow you to choose how you respond to the characters that you encounter in the game. Success in this game relies largely on your ability to read the characters facial expressions, listen to the tone of their voices and the things that they have to say. Then you have to judge whether they are telling the truth or not and that is actually a reasonably difficult thing to do because some of them are extremely talented liars. It really is a game that requires your undivided attention. If you play this game and decide to skip past the cut scenes, do not pay attention to the subtitles or listen to what is being said. It really is odds on that you will end up incredibly lost. You will also miss out on the best parts because the cinematic parts are really well done and the storylines are incredibly entertaining to watch.

I played this game quite a few months back but it is still fresh in my memory. That to me is a sure sign of a game that I really enjoyed playing. It wasn't just Cole Phelps character that shined in this game though. The character of Phelps just happened to be the one that I found particularly interesting. Each character in this game had their own unique personality and stood out on their own merits. Each character you meet as you progress in the game is part of a bigger picture and most of them can provide you with vital clues to help solve your case. You just have to listen to the things they say, observe their expressions and ask the right questions. In this game there is some very fun puzzles to solve also.

Visiting Crime Scenes

When you visit a crime scene it looks very realistic. Well as realistic as crime scenes in games possibly can. Rockstar really know how to set a scene. As you approach each scene you will meet new persons of interest. These people are mentioned in your notebook. I really sensed the atmosphere of something tragic having happened and each crime scene seemed to feel eerier than the last. All of the detectives and forensic characters can be seen and you get to go behind the tape that keeps the general public from accessing it. You can walk towards people who are coming too close to the crime scene and ask them to move away. You can pick up clues which have been highlighted. It is obvious that Rockstar have highlighted the clues to make them easier for La Noire players to find. Eerie music plays while there is still clues to be discovered and once they all have been found it stops. You can use your intuition points to help you find clues that you are struggling with. These are awarded for correctly distinguishing who is a liar and who isn't by asking the correct questions at the correct times.

Examining Dead Bodies

If you are squeamish you may not like this game. The bodies look quite realistic and you have to actually walk over to them, move them and examine them very closely for clues about how they died. They are usually covered in blood, scars, bruises and are what you would generally expect of seeing someone who had been gruesomely murdered. Plus when moving them you can hear their bones crack and crunch which isn't too pleasant to say the least.

Can I Change Vehicles?

You can drive in a police car and choose whether you want the siren on or off. Perhaps you will get sick of the police car though. In that case you can drive in any other vehicle that you choose. All you have to do is get out of the vehicle that you are currently in and walk up to another one. At the door of your chosen car press the correct button and Cole or whichever detective you are at the time will confront the passenger or passengers and ask them to exit it. Once this happens the passengers exit their car in a timely manner and leave it for you to drive or wreck if you choose to or just can't drive it.

Do I Get A Crime Fighting Partner?

Your partner is assigned to be by your side in each case. Your partner will be different depending on who the captain of the department you are serving chooses.

Tell Me More About Intuition Points

Intuition Points as previously mentioned are awarded for correctly interrogating a suspect. You can use them to show you all of the clues that you are struggling to find. You can use them to eliminate one answer making it easier for you to find out which one you believe. You can also use them to use the Ask the Community feature. This works similar to how the ask the audience option works on Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

Notebook

Your notebook is essential to assist you in solving cases. You can refer to this if you need to analyze a suspect, clues or locations further. You can use the evidence stored in this against a suspect during interrogation. If used correctly it can make finding out who the culprit is significantly easier to do.

Driving

I found driving to be rather difficult to do in La Noire I always crashed constantly no matter how much I tried not to. This has nothing to do with the controls. They were rather simple. It was just something to do with my coordination. When you are on the way to a Crime Scene your partner will talk to you.. You can choose to let them drive if you struggle with it. For the first while playing the game I always drove but as time went on I just decided to let my partner drive instead. The benefits of that were I did not have to crash into everything and we got to locations much faster too. Also I did not have to listen to the moans of my partner every time I crashed. While driving you can see a map on the bottom left hand side of the screen. This helps you find where you are going and also shows you the route to Crime Scenes.

What is the Rockstar Pass?

The Rockstar pass gives you access to a lot of free content. You can get access to it via the PlayStation Store or in game. If you buy this you get access to more than 7 new cases and each case is very interesting and lasts a while. It really is good value for money at just 8.99. I should mention downloading them can take some time. Perhaps it would be best downloading them all one by one and in the background so you can do other things while you wait. This is what I did and having purchased and enjoyed playing through all of these extra cases I can thoroughly recommend the Rockstar Pass.

Graphics and Sound

I do not usually care about graphics but in the case of La Noire I am more than willing to make an exception because it looks a million times better to me than most games that I have played. In this game the characters you look at have been created by Team Bondi who actually animated the faces of real life actors. The results are so impressive! You really have to see them to believe just how good they are. IGN gave La Noire on the PS3 a rating of 8.0. The graphics vary in quality slightly based on which gaming platform you choose but not my very much at all. The music used in this game is very fitting and I quite like it. The sound effects if say a gun is fired are very loud and clear. I just looked at a YouTube video showing pictures of the characters beside pictures of the actors who played them and it is really hard to tell the difference because they really do look fascinatingly real. I can hardly believe they managed to make animations look so true to life. This is the link to the video and should give you a clue of just how remarkable the facial recognition used in this game is. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qytTSilIc​5M The game uses every camera angle possible so you see the scenes from all different angles and see close ups of the characters faces which only further shows how amazing the detail is.

Price

This game can be purchased on Amazon for the very reasonable price of 17 pounds with free delivery.

How Difficult is it to Play?

La Noire can be quite difficult if you do not pay attention to what all of the suspects and persons of interest are saying. It can be difficult even if you do pay full attention. It can be made a lot easier with the use of your intuition points. I completed this game and even got trophies including the one for collecting all of the cars. I am not exactly a gaming expert and I was able to complete it but I did have to restart certain cases because I misread expressions and accused people of being guilty without enough evidence. I did struggle with it at certain points but never enough to make me give up on it or lose interest. I did however at one point have to resort to looking at a guide to one case on YouTube. Sometimes the characters who are liars make it almost impossible to tell that they are. It didn't matter how much I looked at their expression because I was still puzzled. One thing that helps is to make use of the feature in the game that lets you glance up from your notebook and study the suspects face. Some of them seem to panic when you do this and it can give them away if they act suspicious when you do that. Some just get nervous though and again it brings you back to square one and looking at them wondering are they guilty or are they just nervous.

Action

As well as the amazing stories that unfold with each case and new clues that are found. In this game you will also have fist fights and shoot em ups. My favorite part of this was on top of a building on the set of a film. As Cole Phelps you had to jump as the set started to fall away beneath your feet and make your way to the bottom before it all collapsed. It was a very high height and you had to also engage in a shoot-em up while up there. There are also car chases which are fun but I found them difficult because as previously mentioned steering the cars in this game wasn't my strong point.

Side Missions

Side missions you can take part in as long as you are in a police car because if you are not you will not be notified of them and they will not show up on your map. When you are near to an area with a side mission you will get a message telling you. You then get to choose whether to accept it or carry on with your mission instead. If you do leave these to later it means you have a lot of extra stuff to do once you have completed the game. Side Missions consist of shoot-em ups, car chases, chases on foot and things like that. There is also a mission which I completed in which you find all of the hidden cars locked away in garages around the massive city. In such a big city they are not easy to find! There is another mission which I have yet to complete where you find and collect all of the golden film reels hidden around the city.

Trophies

For all of the Trophy Hunters out there there is a total of 60 achievements and 61 trophies to be earned with the complete addition or all downloadable content.

Overall

I was completely amazed by this game and I cannot recommend it enough. Anyone who likes a thought provoking, complicated, puzzle solving game with interesting storylines and cinematic cut scenes this one is for you. It is not usually my kind of game if I am being honest but I am so glad I discovered it. I was very entertained while playing this and my only regret is that I completed the game so quickly because I just could not wait to see what happened next. I love everything about this game and I liked the 40s style music. I really hope Rockstar make a sequel or more games similar to this one.