L.A. Noire (Xbox 360)

L.A. Noire (Xbox360, Playstation 3 & PC)

Tested and reviewed based on the Xbox360 version.
Review by Ben Nacca
(Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/BenNacca )
XBL GT: Darkeyes2k7 PSN ID: Darkeyes2k11

When it comes to open world realism in gaming, I think Rockstar are at the forefront of people’s minds. With experience in that genre with the Grand Theft Auto series and Red Dead series, not to mention the success in those series, it is pretty clear that they know their stuff. So what happens when you put Team Bondi with them on a project? L.A. Noire is born.

Set in 1947, shortly after the World War 2, L.A. Noire follows the career of LAPD office, and later detective, Cole Phelps as the player must find clues, solve cases and rise up the ranks of the LAPD while locking up criminals along the way. So imagine Grand Theft Auto but this time you are the police and the men in blue must behave accordingly. The open world of Los Angeles from the city centre to Hollywood is yours to explore and it is worth doing. With over 100 different vehicles and over 20 cases to solve as you progress through the story, L.A. Noire has more than enough to hold your attention.

So what makes this different? Team Bondi used a new piece of technology, well new in gaming anyway, called Motionscan. This is where the real life actors sit in the chair and have 32 cameras all around them pointing in their direction. It can then capture expressions from every angle so while the actors say their lines, it will pick up, if they can act, lies, doubt, honesty and other emotions pinnacle to solving crime mysteries. The result is that you get some of the most realistic and life like looking characters ever seen in a game and the fact you can clearly recognize some of the actors based on the Motionscan just shows this technology is the way forward.

This technology is integral to the interrogation mechanics within L.A. Noire. Players are needed to question suspects, witnesses and murderers, while needing to find out which one is telling the truth. The scenes are set out nicely so while interrogating someone, you can then choose from your notebook, what question to ask them. Then, you can press A for truth, X for doubt or Y for Lie. Only one, usually, of these is the correct one. At which point there will be a chime of sorts to confirm, you then can subsequently answer more questions and get your answers slowly. There is no going back so if you get a question wrong, the witness will keep quiet about it or potentially leave the interrogation early or start fighting depending on their temperament.

Each case is marked out of 5 stars, so getting all the questions right contributes to this. As does talking to all suspects, visiting the right places, finding all the clues etc. There is a nice replay case feature from the main menu as well so don’t panic if you want to go through later and complete them all because you are feeling a bit detective savvy. With the promise of further DLC cases being made available, L.A. Noire is full of life.

Within these cases and your promotions through the ranks of LAPD, there is an underlying plot of which telling anything about it would potentially spoil the story for you. What must be said is that the L.A. Noire story is fairly linear. There are times where you can charge up to three people for the murder and it does not matter, apart from in game dialogue with your partner, which one. There is no feeling of right and wrong and with that, comes a dire sense of complacency because unless you do so bad that you fail the case, you can always complete it and throw someone in the cells.

Where L.A. Noire gets its open world feel is with the city itself. When in a police car, you can respond to sub missions, which vary from on foot chases to clearing out robbers in a bank and so on. The game really intertwines the interrogation mechanic with hand to hand combat, weapons, car chases, foot chases, investigation and cutscenes to make and all round grossly entertaining cinematic treat. From what I have heard from other people, the reception is so varied that some people get bored of the game and find it too liner, detective games aren’t their thing and they expected GTA but as a police officer. Other people couldn’t put it down and found the game enjoyable from start to finish. It is a personal preference and I thoroughly enjoyed it but it does have its flaws where stuff can be a bit repetitive.

That said, the cases are well thought out and some of them are so genuinely intriguing, plotted with red herrings and false suspects that you actually don’t know and just have to make a judgement call. It’s a perfect blend of investigation, action and interrogation that make L.A. Noire so riveting from start to finish.

The driving is superb as well, with wide turning cars realistic to the era and as mentioned above, with over 100 in the game, there is plenty of variety to keep you going. There are also collection items in the form of movie reels and famous landmarks in LA to find as well once the story has finished. Also, fear not, if you do finish the story, you can go back and select the free roam option to run around at the end of the game doing all these things without the story harassing you.

The audio is sublime, with voice acting from the actors being a particular highlight. It had to be where it is so pinnacle to the game and with so many different actors across the 25 hour plus game, it is a statement of achievement for what Team Bondi and Rockstar have created. The music in game is reminiscent to the era with a jazz edge to the entire game really, playing the noir feel where the game obviously gets the name. There is an option to even play the game in black and white for that extra point of realism.

Achievements comprise of earning promotions, completing tasks and doing certain things in some missions to the time consuming finding all movie reels, driving all cars, earning 5 stars in all cases etc. A nice list that is making you try EVERY aspect of the game and for those completion-ists, as long as you enjoy the game, it should not be a burden at all.

With no multiplayer, co-op or much to do after everything is done, you will be waiting purely on the DLC packs to come out with more cases. At current, there are about 3 or 4 that are available to download and complete and for most part, are as detailed and intricate as the ones on the discs. Let’s hope Rockstar continue to support L.A. Noire with more DLC in the future.

Visuals

9/10

A superb achievement with the Motionscan has made me feel like any other game characters in other games are now not detailed enough and too fake looking for my liking. L.A. Noire has placed real actors into the game environment and it is glorious. Best of all, no lip syncing issues as the actor is speaking when the voice is heard. Bonus! Can have a few rendering problems here and there but overall, very nicely done and well polished.

Audio

10/10

The audio is great, with a decent backing track and voice work that is going to be hard to topple, L.A Noire ticks all the boxes here and sounds thrilling throughout.

Gameplay

8/10

With the driving being smooth, running, covering and gunplay all neat and controlled, L.A. Noire plays very well. The cases are involving and thought provoking but can be repetitive if it isn’t your kind of thing.

Delivery

9/10

The side missions help to add life to the game that already clocks in at around 25 hours and the collection achievements will keep you busy if you are intent on having 100% completion on this game. With a case replay option, free roam mode after the story ends and plenty of DLC on the horizon, L.A. Noire should keep your attention for quite some time.

Summary

9.0/10

L.A. Noire is a new era of gaming, with surely more and more studios taking up on the Motionscan feature in the future when the demand for graphics gets even bigger. Overall, L.A. Noire is an entertaining experience but most of all, it is something different that hasn’t really be done to this level before. You are bound to enjoy it but rent first to see if it’s your type of game.

This guide is the property of Ben Nacca and is for the sole use of www.lanraiders.co.uk, www.dooyoo.co.uk and www.ciao.co.uk. No copying to other websites or other mediums without written permission first.