[Timgt5]

LA Noire, a Review by Timgt5

Law and Order in the Post War Era

A few years ago during E3 Rockstar gave us an interesting glimpse for a new IP called LA Noire, a crime story under development with a small Australian firm called Team Bondi. Originally set to be a PS3 exclusive the game was a dark thriller meant to convey the film noir style popular in the late 40’s and early 50’s. So how does “film noir” translate into a videogame? Read On…

LA Noire
Released May 2011
Developer Team Bondi
Publisher Rockstar Games
Platforms: PS3, Xbox 360. PC (Windows)
Type Action Adventure
Genre crime drama/in a historically accurate setting
ESRB Rating M

Highs: Fantastic Graphics, well written narrative, solid overall mechanics, great voice cast, outstanding soundtrack.

Lows: Some Mechanical issues, intuition elements need some tuning. More linear than previous Rockstar titles, requires patience to complete.

The Plot: The year is 1947; America is emerging from the shadow of World War 2. The setting is Las Angeles California. GIs are returning home to rebuild their lives and start families, the film industry is starting to rapidly expand and the city is booming. Underneath the optimism and prosperity, the city is rife with corruption, greed and malice.

As our story opens we meet Cole Phelps, a decorated Marine, who had fought in the Pacific during World War II. Cole has left the military to settle down start a family and work in law enforcement. Cole starts out as beat cop, but his intelligence, dogged persistence and investigative skills quickly come to the attention of Capt Donnelly, the head of the Homicide Division of the LAPD.

Cole is quickly promoted from officer to detective. His first desk is Traffic, and he continues to impress his superiors and is promoted to burglary, homicide and ad vice. Cole’s life however begins to fall apart and we learn that he is not all that he seems to be. The game frequently makes references to Cole’s past in the Marines via a series of flashbacks.

Overall LA Noire has a well written and gripping narrative. The player is presented the story in the form of cases which play out like chapters in a crime thriller novel or TV episodes. Ultimately the individual cases tie into a larger arc which adheres to the plot structure of Noir film.

Gameplay:

LA Noire is a third person action adventure game. During most of the game the player takes on the role of Cole Phelps, a newly minted LAPD detective. The missions come in the form of “cases” which the player must gather evidence, interview witnesses and ultimately make arrests. There are the usual fist fights and gun battles found in this title. Overall the movement mechanics are good and the controls are responsive. The only real sore point is that the pop and cover mechanic is not well designed and Cole can only “blind fire” around corners. Also some of the movement is occasionally stiff and unforgiving.

The AI is competent for the most part, with enemies taking cover and using evasive maneuvers in driving sequences. On each “desk” Cole is teamed with a different partner. The partners for the most part are smart enough to stay out of the line of fire and can give useful hints if the player gets stuck.

Cases are broken down into different elements.

Evidence: Cole must inspect the crime seen and look for clues. This is usually pretty easy but some of the more elaborate crime scenes require a through search or Cole will miss evidence. Gathering as much evidence as possible helps Cole to be more effective at conducting interviews and speeds up solving the case.

Interviews: A good cop has solid instincts, especially when it comes to listening to people and Cole must use those to disseminate whether the witness is telling the whole truth or hiding something. If Cole accuses a witness of lying, he must be prepared to present evidence to that effect. As Cole advances in rank he is given “intuition” points which help him narrow down answers or find clues.

Overall the investigation system works well. Thanks to some rather unique motion capture technology and top notch voice acting the interviews feel like very natural conversations. The facial cue system is not always reliable though and sometimes leads the player to pick the wrong answer. Once Cole has enough evidence he can make an arrest and interrogate the suspect at the policy station. Once a suspect is charged then the case is closed. A quick load screen comes on to tell the player how well they did based on the clues found, the successful gathering of evidence, and how many “right” answers the player was able to gather from witnesses. Better performances move the player up higher in rank more quickly.

In addition to investigating cases, Cole can combat street crimes. These are random events that pop up around the city. Cole can acknowledge a call for assistance and he and his AI partner will help the uniformed officers and civilians deal with the miscreant. Cole is rewarded experience points for effectively resolving a street crime. Cole can solve street crimes during an ongoing case without affecting the progress in the case itself.

Sights and Sounds:

The visual presentation in this game is really marvelous with an uncanny level of detail. Texture mapping is first rate, as is the global lighting engine and particle effects. A new type of facial capture called “Motoscan” was used to develop the character models. Actors had their faces scanned extensively and programmed into the game. The lip synching is only matched by Uncharted 2 and 3.

Here are a few of the actors alongside the characters they play







As I said the detail is uncanny.

Los Angeles itself is an incredible sprawling backdrop. Unlike other Rockstar publications which use fictional locations loosely based on the real world, LA Noire is the product of meticulous research. As part of its lengthy develop the team culled photos, public records of the era and archival footage to create a convincing 1947 LA. For you fans of post war autos, this game will be a dream as cars like the Hudsons, Packards, Chevys and Fords etc from the era are faithfully recreated here, right down to the horn sounds. The style of clothing and hair has been faithfully reproduced as well.


The sound effects are equally convincing and highly detailed. From period correct engine sounds, to the tap of the hard heeled shows on concrete. The voice acting is top notch, even the minor characters are done well (that does not happen often in a game) Many of the actors are veterans of TV including several leads from the AMC TV series “Mad Men” One of the voice highlights was the cameo by John Noble (Walter Bishop, Fringe, Denathor, Lord of the Rings Return of the King) playing crooked real estate developer Leland Monre.

My favorite aspect of the presentation however is the game’s wonderful soundtrack with and eclectic mix of jazz, blues, swing, country … (Sorry folks we were still several years away from Rock N Roll) The radio commercials and news reader bits (heard in car) were also well done. Throughout the game, there is “incidental music” which is flawlessly calibrated to the action. Overall a lot of thought and effort was put into this title’s soundtrack.

Put all of it together and LA Noire could be best described an old school detective TV show, uncensored and then colorized by Ted Turner (the concept actually works far better in a game than it does on TV, sorry Ted, it is just true)

Kids Corner:

LA Noire is rated M (Mature) for several good reasons. The game’s plotline revolving around graft, corruption, the introduction of morphine is too dark (hence the “Noire” in the title) There is quite a bit of harsh language, scenes alluding to drug use, and alcohol consumption. There gun battles and fist fights present with displays of blood and injury. There is no actual sex depicted in the game, but Cole does investigate murders in which some of the victims are found naked. Overall I cannot recommend this one for anyone under 17.

In Summary:

If you are looking for quick visceral payoff, you can skip this one. The one thing this title requires is patience as aspects can seem a bit tedious. Much like Alan Wake and Heavy Rain, LA Noire treads off the beaten path of gaming. If you happen to be a fan of Noir film, this is a game worth playing and to keep the game going extra cases are available via download at Xbox live and PSN. If you really dig the look and feel of this era, this game would also be worth getting.

A Few Videos:

Plot Trailer

Gameplay