L.A. Noire

It took some dedication this weekend, but I played through L.A. Noire and found the end credits. What a fantastic story. I loved every minute of it. This proves I can sit through hours of well built, in-engine cut scenes. The dialog track is excellent and I wish I could watch a TV series of this. Just a season, nothing more. But, I'm talking the narrative here. The story. Not the game play.

I am assuming you have played sandbox games before so you understand the language of Grand Theft Auto controls. It's that game play laid out on such a tight framework of story that argues against it being a sandbox. This may seem a harsh criticism for a title likely to make game-of-the-year, but the controls are just controls and when they fail to work, you notice it. In fact, the makers of the game knew people might not like the bits in between the story points so you can skip them if you want.

What does this do to the game? It makes it a series of events about looking for clues and interviewing people. These moments are so good it will carry you through the many hours of play you will need to dedicate. Sadly, there comes a point as you play that you realize you don't have to be good at anything, just poke buttons and you'll get to the end. That doesn't sound appetizing, but if you don't care about the story and just want to play a game, this might not be for you.

I was wrapped up in the main character from the start, and his wholesome value system contrasted with the corruption and bigotry of the LAPD, the underworld, returning vets, Hollywood and the business elite. He's trying to do good on the streets of LA and I could feel it as I played. But there is a deep seated darkness to the game that will take some willpower to suss out if you wish to take the game to its fullest. It's like reading a book, if you don't really care about it, why read it. You aren't playing L.A. Noire to race through the streets and gun down everyone in sight. You have GTA and Saints Row for that. This is a well realized work of fiction designed to show off the greatness of film noir story telling. And I felt like I learned something about LA.

L.A. Noire should be played by people who like the immersive world of games. This shouldn't be your intro into gaming, but it shouldn't stop anyone from at least watching it. I never felt irritated whenever a cut scene showed up. These were what I was working for, to learn the mystery. Or, like text adventures from the '80s, what did the writers want me to learn? How did they want me to jump?

All the focus of the new technology really comes down to The Interrogation. Almost every case has several moments where you have to question someone and decide on your own if they're telling the truth or lying. This is accomplished with the most sophisticated facial rendering hardware and processing to date. I haven't seen facial expressions from characters with this level of meaning since Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. I always felt everyone was lying, but you have to have evidence of a lie or you just doubt them. I could never seem to get it right. I refused to look online for the proper branching discussions because even in your failure it still seems to affect the world in some way. So I intended to live in the world I was shaping through lousy police work. But, when you nail a suspect it feels phenomenal.

Midway through the game I felt it was dragging a bit, once you get through the doldrums of murder investigation, the game perks up and I couldn't drop it for hours. You could sit there and tap whatever button they want you to press until the end. If that's what you're doing you're wasting your time. Sit up and take notice of 1947 LA and try to live the detective life to the fullest. Even if you fail sometimes, own it. The interactions when you get it wrong are as good as if you got them right. The experience of L.A. Noire is worth every penny.