L.A. Noire

Where to start on a review of a game that I scored 10 ? Is it the perfect game and will you expect nothing but praise from this review ? Well, rest assured, there is plenty that is wrong or not at its best in LA Noire and while it is far from being the perfect game, it is the perfect game for me.

I love the setting of the game and just like with films or books set in the 30s, 40s or 50s, I am immediately interested and engaged in the 'world'. I adore the music, costumes, characters, stereotypes, architecture, design and all that goes with your typical film noire and gumshoe fare. So to me, playing through an adventure/story based in LA of the 40s is a rare treat and driving around, changing costumes and enjoying the scenery alone was worth picking up this game. Yet, there is the incredible interesting story too that you can live through and play out as Detective Cole Phelps. Sometimes, the story can be hard to follow, make sure to read the objectives and alas, it is quite linear too which is one of the things I would like to see different in future titles in the series (if there ever will be any), but more about that later.

Apart from the visual style and design, the game does lack some technical merit when it comes to the graphics. As much as I love the art direction, I do have to admit that some of the animations are clunky and textures are not the best either. Of course, the most fascinating thing about this game is the facial expression, making this an even more immersive experience, purely based on the fact that your are watching half the cast of Mad Men playing out the story in front of you. All this is wrapped up in solid sound design and an amazing OST and songs from the era. I bought the soundtrack and its well worth listening too, if you like the era or similar soundtracks to films (think Chinatown etc.).

Now the gameplay is good enough for me. Yes, it is very linear and most of the game boils down to reading peoples' faces, but the fact that those faces are the faces of actual actors makes the game very engaging and realistic. Instead of silly mini-games, you just have to trust your human instincts. I have never seen a game in which my natural ability (or inability) to read people has been tested so much, given the fact that you usually cannot really on facial animations to be representative of a character's motivation (Skyrim being a good example here). Searching for clues and piecing together the cases and solutions is great fun and very intriguing.

Many people complained about the ending but I thought it was great. The only alternative would have been a bland, generic Hollywood ending but this one was much more interesting. I wont discuss it any further, just put me down as someone who thinks that the ending is just as brave as the game concept as a whole.

Now, there are quiet a few things I did not like about this game, but my rating of 10 still stands as this game entertained and excited me to no end, I am lost for words.

The designers spiced the game up with many mini-games / action-scenes, car chases, tailing suspects and shootings. While I can see why they did it (pleasing the GTA-kids anyone?), you can also tell that not a lot of work went into those segments of the game and while they are mildly entertaining, they usually serve as fillers and you pretty much want to get on with the story and tolerate them as you go along. I don't mind and I know that in the high-octane world of today, it is necessary to create action scenes in games, I just did not enjoy them and wish that the team would have stuck to their strengths, telling stories.

Talking of which, the story is interesting and nicely interwoven, although I would have loved a few more independent, 'Monster-of-the-week' - cases that you can solve and be done with it. Some of the case-chains are a bit long and just go on and on and on. The linear nature of the game is a necessity to create a compelling story (again, Skyrim being an example for a game, in which the amazing freedom comes at the lack of a coherent storyline)., then again, I wish there would have been a few more meaningful choices I could have made with my character. For example, at one point I had figured out who the culprit was almost a few cases before the storyline ended but I had to play through all the cases and make the character's mistakes to get on with the game. I did enjoy it but why not trust the player to be capable of solving the cases properly, instead of railroading it ?

All in all, I found this to be one of the best gaming experiences I had in my life. I can see how some people might not like this, given the fact it is something very new and brave but this is exactly what I want from a game and why I am a gamer. Storylines, characters, atmosphere . . .