L.A. Noire is a game that has so much potential, but leaves me feeling shortchanged and unsatisfied in the end.  Graphically speaking, L.A. Noire is second to none in facial animations--vitally so given that much of the game revolves around the reading facial expressions.  Though some say the character models look rough compared to the faces, this seems to me a bit nit-picky and mostly untrue.  At times character movement can appear slightly awkward, but this only seemed to occur occasionally and overall I was very impressed and satisfied with the character models.  The same cannot be said for the environment itself, however.  Though most of L.A. Noire features quality graphical design, the city itself is quite mundane.  While driving around the city, buildings begin to run together and feel recycled quite frequently.  I do not know if this is the case for certain, but it definitely feels repetitive when the environment doesn't seem to change as you explore.  In the end, it feels like the quality of the graphics beyond the facial animations and character models is somewhat lacking.  I feel as if the environments in Grant Theft Auto IV appeared more appealing. 
 
Gameplay in L.A. Noire is quite unique in its ability to mesh what is appealing across many genres:  third-person shooters, free roam games, adventure games, and to some extent, rpgs.   Shooting weapons in L.A. Noire is quite satisfying and plays out very smoothly and enjoyable.  The familiar GTA-style cover system used in shooting sequences makes fans of Rockstar shooters feel right at home.  Having the freedom to roam the huge city of L.A. is a promising feature, even if there is little to see beyond popular landmarks one can log through exploration.  The standout features of the gameplay include the investigative sequences in which your character can manipulate objects in the environment while searching for clues and examining evidence.  Thorough searches are rewarding to those willing to take the time to examine each object carefully.  This investigative gameplay is strongly connected to the other standout feature of questioning witnesses.  Thorough investigations of crime scenes offer more evidence to aid the player in determining the facts of the case.  This, coupled with the reading of a suspects facial expressions offers an extremely well done and satisfying way of interrogating individuals and progressing the story.  Having the proper evidence to back up an accusation of an individual is vital for success in the game.  Intuition points add a very RPG-like feel to the game as well.  Intuition points are unlocked by investigating thoroughly, choosing effective dialogue paths in questioning and accusations of suspects, and for completing side missions that are called in over the radio as you explore the city.  These points can then be used to aid the player in subsequent investigations either by revealing the location of evidence or aiding one in an interrogation by removing particular accusation choices or using the "ask the community" selection in which the most popular dialogue choices are revealed in a percentage for the player to choose from.  
 
Despite these promising and effective gameplay features, L.A. Noire is not without its flaws in this regard and the game suffers as a result.  Though the game is technically free roam, at no point does the game promote this feature at all.  After completing a case, a new case is immediately loaded and objectives assigned.  Though these objectives can technically be ignored until you are ready, unlike in GTA, there are no 'lulls' in the story during which one can simply relax and enjoy the environment.  As a result, I felt quite constrained and pushed to continue the main storyline.  Ultimately, however, the even bigger problem is that the free roaming is not very enjoyable.  As previously stated, the environment, though vast in size, feels frequently recycled and offers nothing more to do than roam the city looking for particular landmarks, cars, or badges that are scattered throughout the map.  Though this can add to the game in some ways, it feels more like a nuisance than anything, especially considering random crimes occur virtually every 3 minutes, practically forcing you to either do them for intuition points or proceed with the main story in order to stop hearing the calls.  The random crimes are almost as redundant as the environments themselves.  The same few templates are used over and over for these side missions.  They usually involve chasing a suspect through an alleyway and onto a rooftop and then either shooting or tackling the suspect or allowing them to die.  This gets mundane quite fast, and with the slow developing main plot, these side missions do nothing but to further drag on the tale.   
 
Though the storytelling in the game is appropriately noire style, its slow pace can be quite a drawback.  At one point in the game, average players will spend a good 3-5 hours of main plot gameplay time investigation roughly the same crime across several cases.  Though the story eventually picks up and becomes interesting, it takes quite a while to reach this part of the game, and I fear many people will have already grown frustrated and bored before this occurs.  However, the characters do feel like they all have their own personalities and are voice acted very well.  Lines are delivered believably and generally with proper tone and enthusiasm, adding to many of the intense sequences in the game during interrogation. 
 
L.A. Noire does many things well and offers an experience that no game prior has crafted, incorporating various gameplay modes.  However, the game feels quite lackluster in some key respects, leading me to believe that hype got the best of me with this buy.  What L.A. Noire does, it does quite well, but it is very lacking in others.  Overall the game left me desiring something and often began to bore me.  The game is definitely worth checking out, but my advice would be to stick to the main storyline and definitely do not pay $60 for what feels like a game that could have been so much more. 
 

L.A. Noire is a game that has so much potential, but leaves me feeling shortchanged and unsatisfied in the end.  Graphically speaking, L.A. Noire is second to none in facial animations--vitally so given that much of the game revolves around the reading facial expressions.  Though some say the character models look rough compared to the faces, this seems to me a bit nit-picky and mostly untrue.  At times character movement can appear slightly awkward, but this only seemed to occur occasionally and overall I was very impressed and satisfied with the character models.  The same cannot be said for the environment itself, however.  Though most of L.A. Noire features quality graphical design, the city itself is quite mundane.  While driving around the city, buildings begin to run together and feel recycled quite frequently.  I do not know if this is the case for certain, but it definitely feels repetitive when the environment doesn't seem to change as you explore.  In the end, it feels like the quality of the graphics beyond the facial animations and character models is somewhat lacking.  I feel as if the environments in Grant Theft Auto IV appeared more appealing. 
 
Gameplay in L.A. Noire is quite unique in its ability to mesh what is appealing across many genres:  third-person shooters, free roam games, adventure games, and to some extent, rpgs.   Shooting weapons in L.A. Noire is quite satisfying and plays out very smoothly and enjoyable.  The familiar GTA-style cover system used in shooting sequences makes fans of Rockstar shooters feel right at home.  Having the freedom to roam the huge city of L.A. is a promising feature, even if there is little to see beyond popular landmarks one can log through exploration.  The standout features of the gameplay include the investigative sequences in which your character can manipulate objects in the environment while searching for clues and examining evidence.  Thorough searches are rewarding to those willing to take the time to examine each object carefully.  This investigative gameplay is strongly connected to the other standout feature of questioning witnesses.  Thorough investigations of crime scenes offer more evidence to aid the player in determining the facts of the case.  This, coupled with the reading of a suspects facial expressions offers an extremely well done and satisfying way of interrogating individuals and progressing the story.  Having the proper evidence to back up an accusation of an individual is vital for success in the game.  Intuition points add a very RPG-like feel to the game as well.  Intuition points are unlocked by investigating thoroughly, choosing effective dialogue paths in questioning and accusations of suspects, and for completing side missions that are called in over the radio as you explore the city.  These points can then be used to aid the player in subsequent investigations either by revealing the location of evidence or aiding one in an interrogation by removing particular accusation choices or using the "ask the community" selection in which the most popular dialogue choices are revealed in a percentage for the player to choose from.  
 
Despite these promising and effective gameplay features, L.A. Noire is not without its flaws in this regard and the game suffers as a result.  Though the game is technically free roam, at no point does the game promote this feature at all.  After completing a case, a new case is immediately loaded and objectives assigned.  Though these objectives can technically be ignored until you are ready, unlike in GTA, there are no 'lulls' in the story during which one can simply relax and enjoy the environment.  As a result, I felt quite constrained and pushed to continue the main storyline.  Ultimately, however, the even bigger problem is that the free roaming is not very enjoyable.  As previously stated, the environment, though vast in size, feels frequently recycled and offers nothing more to do than roam the city looking for particular landmarks, cars, or badges that are scattered throughout the map.  Though this can add to the game in some ways, it feels more like a nuisance than anything, especially considering random crimes occur virtually every 3 minutes, practically forcing you to either do them for intuition points or proceed with the main story in order to stop hearing the calls.  The random crimes are almost as redundant as the environments themselves.  The same few templates are used over and over for these side missions.  They usually involve chasing a suspect through an alleyway and onto a rooftop and then either shooting or tackling the suspect or allowing them to die.  This gets mundane quite fast, and with the slow developing main plot, these side missions do nothing but to further drag on the tale.   
 
Though the storytelling in the game is appropriately noire style, its slow pace can be quite a drawback.  At one point in the game, average players will spend a good 3-5 hours of main plot gameplay time investigation roughly the same crime across several cases.  Though the story eventually picks up and becomes interesting, it takes quite a while to reach this part of the game, and I fear many people will have already grown frustrated and bored before this occurs.  However, the characters do feel like they all have their own personalities and are voice acted very well.  Lines are delivered believably and generally with proper tone and enthusiasm, adding to many of the intense sequences in the game during interrogation. 
 
L.A. Noire does many things well and offers an experience that no game prior has crafted, incorporating various gameplay modes.  However, the game feels quite lackluster in some key respects, leading me to believe that hype got the best of me with this buy.  What L.A. Noire does, it does quite well, but it is very lacking in others.  Overall the game left me desiring something and often began to bore me.  The game is definitely worth checking out, but my advice would be to stick to the main storyline and definitely do not pay $60 for what feels like a game that could have been so much more.