L.A. Noire

L.A.Noire hits all the right notes for me and managed to sink it's fangs in pretty quick. I loved the setting and the character designs (there's just something about a man in a nice sharp suit). I loved the fact that Rockstar didn't punish me for being bad at driving in games or for occasionally not wanting to replay the same shooting sequence over and over again. I found the story genuinely intriguing; not overly predictable but not needlessly convoluted. I found myself really angry with certain characters at certain points and the ending scene made me want to eat my controller, charge cord and all. At the same time, however, I was forced to conceded that it was in many ways the perfect way for that game to end. L.A.Noire wasn't about happy stories and good times, an ending that delivered fairy tales for all would've been a real let down and cost my rating a star.

There were things that I did find irritating during my run. I had a lot of trouble with the cover system. I fully admit that this might be due to my own ineptitude at shooters, but at times I found myself suddenly dead because I had inexplicably popped out of cover; conversely I also found myself suddenly dead because I hit the button to get out of cover so I could move and for whatever reason I didn't. The interrogation sequences absolutely killed me at first. I couldn't tolerate wrong answers and would have to re-start when it happened. Eventually, however I learned to let it go from time to time and just deal with less than a Von-Karma level of perfection.

Having said all that I don't really know who I can recommend this game to. My sister loved it. Most of my male gamer friends couldn't deal with the pacing. @Zommunism seemed mildly interested in watching me play but not playing himself. It's a strange... I don't know stew of a game I guess that probably doesn't have the mass appeal of a traditional shooter or RPG but it is a refreshing change from the same old game. That fact alone might make it worth checking out.