» Tue Nov 29, 2011 5:11 pm Premise - The game is set in 1947 Los Angeles and you play the role of Cole Phelps, an LAPD detective. You conduct interrogations, arrest criminals, and investigate crimes and crime scenes. This game also features the latest in motion/face capture technology and features real actors playing the PC and the NPCs.
Gameplay - The game is centered on solving cases and stopping criminals. A lot of your time will be spent looking for clues at crime scenes and interrogating witnesses and suspects. The evidence gathering is very hands on and features close ups of each item you pick up with stunning detail. The interrogations are equally detailed and nuanced and can be quite challenging. These mechanics are well-polished, but can get a little repetitive. Every case features the same, gather all evidence, interrogate people, formula, but is broken up with car and foot chases, or good 'ol fisticuffs, but these mechanics do also get repetitive as well since they are featured at least once in every case. Aside from the cases, there is also street crimes. Street crimes vary from suicidal jumpers to bank robbers to hostage situations and everything in between. These offer a nice break from the main case your on and are each semi-unique. My favorite involved a guy wearing a pot on his head and yelling at pedestrians. There is also the gunplay which is polished and simple enough, point and shoot (theres an option to skip the gun parts if you die on them a certain number of times, but this feature can be turned off). All in all, the game plays nicely.
Story - This game is the first of its kind when it comes to storytelling, featuring real facial expressions and emotion. It is a truly gripping thing just to interrogate someone or speak to a grieving next of kin. The story in very complex and sometimes hard to understand, luckily you have a trusty notebook to keep you in order. My favorite thing to do was find a newspaper, which played a little cut-scene that told a story about an up-coming case. There are 13 of these newspapers and they all tie into a great narrative within a narrative.
Graphics - The game looks great with minute detail on evidence and a 90% accurate recreation of 1947 LA. The most stunning thing is the facial animations, which I mentioned before, every little smile and eye twinge displayed realistically and strikingly. There is no game which matches this level of realism. Also, I never ran into the same old house or bar. Each building you go to is unique, and there is a huge number of unique set-pieces, something you don't see a lot of in modern games.
Sound - One of the best original soundtracks in recent years, hands down. The voice acting is just phenomenal and I didn't hear the same voice on two different NPCs once while playing.
Bugs - Little to none during my playthrough.
Replay - This is one of the games biggest flaws, replay is kind of killed when you already know the outcome of every case. Players will have to wait for DLC to add more meat to the game.
Overall - Despite the lack of replayability and the somewhat repetitive nature of the gameplay, L.A. Noire is a great game. It is a truly unique experience and has conquered one of the great faults of gaming with its realistic portrayal of facial expression. 9/10
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