LA NOIRE
LA Noire -
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Full Review
LA Noire is the newest game from Rockstar who have an uncanny ability to turn games into gold after working their magic. Red Dead Redemption was a fantastic game and Grand Theft Auto speaks for itself in terms of quality. So after working seven years on LA Noire, the company obviously had a lot to live up to. So does LA Noire deliver? Well it does and it doesn't.
Set in the late 1940s and following war hero/LAPD star Cole Phelps after the war, the game plays out like a typical detective story as Cole works his way up the ranks in the police force. Starting at the very bottom, the feeling of progression is felt throughout with more complicated cases coming to the table as you progress through the four different areas of traffic, homicide, vice and arson.
Right from the off its clear that LA Noire is unlike any other game out there. The facial detail is astonishing and is clear to see even from the opening credits. The setting of LA is brilliantly realized and the detail put into the area and the buildings is excellent. The feeling of being pulled into the time and the crazy goings on is really felt here but never truly explored fully. What I mean by that is the one big downside to LA Noire.
The game is strictly linear and although there is opportunity to go off and explore, do street crimes (more on that later) and collect things the nagging feeling that you're supposed to be doing the cases is always felt. There's never a moment away from a case and the only deviation is when you're supposed to travel between crime scenes etc. and you venture off and explore. This is a real drawback as you can't fully get immersed into the world like other Rockstar games and I think personally the game could have been made less linear.
The cases themselves are excellent though and form the main bulk of the game. Every case is handled to perfection with a crime scene always the starting point and then as clues are found by wandering around the crime scene and pressing X, more locations and suspects are discovered. Being thorough is the key to this game and unlike other games not paying attention to the cut-scenes can actually hinder your experience.
The interviews in particular really boast the facial detail put into this game and you'll find yourself staring intently at the screen during the interviews to find the slightest little twitch or eye rolling to try and suss out a lie. Interviews are handled via three buttons to press. Triangle for a lie where you can pin hard evidence against what a person is saying that doesn't quite add up, X for the truth and Square for a doubt. This sounds simple enough but as the game gets going it becomes very difficult and really does challenge you.
The game is made slightly easier by the inclusion of some goodies including 'Intuition Points'. These can be gained by going up a rank and gaining experience points via finding landmarks around the city, finding collectables, finishing street crimes or getting questions right in interviews. These 'Intuition Points' can then be saved up and used during crucial interview sessions to Ask the Community what they did via a percentage marker or removing one answer so its a 50/50 gamble. It's an excellent system and one that is well implemented.
The action is well spaced out and although Rockstar have been given a lot of stick for the lack of action by fans, its not an action game after all and I personally found the different emphasis refreshing and something a bit different and this needs to be addressed as its the one thing that many people have complained about in the game. It's a detective game at heart and the action comes second as it should do in a game like this.
The biggest problem with LA Noire, as seems to be the case with many Rockstar games, is the ending. Without spoiling too much, I found it to almost ruin the whole experience and the infamous "Oh...is that it?" as was the case in Red Dead Redemption and to an extent Grand Theft Auto, is even more evident here and the lack of exploration and continuation after the game has finished also hinders the experience.
Furthermore all the usual Rockstar bugs come into play here including buildings that pop into view as you drive past ruining the experience. It's not a deal-breaker but after numerous games with the same problems, its shocking that the errors are still in play here, especially after seven years of production on this game.
Overall though, LA Noire is a fantastic experience that breathes a breath of fresh air in the videogame market and delivers something fresh and different. The graphics are excellent and the facial design is the best seen in any game. The music and sound design are also very good and although the bugs are annoying and the ending is almost a dealbreaker, the rest of the game is sensational and one of the most unique experiences on PS3. A must have.
Conclusion Scores
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