Written by: Alex

 

 

 

From the beginning L.A. Noire’s connection to Rockstar is clear. Albeit with a 1940’s Los Angeles skin (complete with period music and casual sexism) it still feels like a Grand Theft Auto game, will all of the cumbersome elements it open-world creates. But unlike its siblings this Team Bondi-developed game uses these action elements only as bookends to the investigative police work that is the game real focus.

 

 

L.A. Noire can be broken down in to a number of levels. The main plot follows Detective Cole Phelps as he bounces around the LAPD. Each move shifts his investigative department giving him a new variety of cases to take care of. Each of these cases have their own story arch but also tie in to a wider arch. It is a mix that causes issues at times (with previous efforts sometimes feeling pointless), but means that on the whole the game can be digested in small, complete chunks while also having a single plot to bring it all together.

 

 

 

For the more open sections of play L.A. Noire could just as easily be called GTA 1940’s. All of the issues associated with Rockstar’s main series are present; small issues navigating as NPCs block the path, floaty car controls and poor gunplay. They are accepted issues for the genre but when so much of the focus of the game isn’t the action these sections facilitate it feels harder to forgive and breaks the immersion. Indeed while many may enjoy these sections, with side missions offering a good extension to the games content, for my money L.A. Noire would lose little as a product by eliminating these sections.

 

The other issue with the freedom of these sections is the duality they introduce to Detective Phelps as he goes from hard-nosed cop to perpetrator of automotive genocide. Yes, maybe this was my fault for not driving cautiously enough, but pedestrians seemed all to willing to constantly leap in front of my car offering themselves in sacrifice to my chrome bumper. It introduced an alarming sense of schizophrenia to Cole that fit even less with his character than other Rockstar games protagonists.

 

 

Stepping into the loafers of LAPD detective Cole Phelps demands more than the standard gaming reactions needed in the open world sections. Investigation of the cases requires both logical thought and intuition. Presented like an old cop drama action is broken into cases. Each case sends you to the scene of a crime with little to go on, forcing you to build your own account of events. This thoughtful pace means there is little emphasis on chasing down criminals, with the bulk of the time spent collecting evidence, interviewing witnesses and interrogating suspects.

 

 

Discordant music accompanies the entrance to each crime scene. As you investigate a piano cord and vibration of the controller signal evidence is close at hand in an attempt to prevent the hunt becoming overwhelming. However, even with these indicators in place frustrations can arise with investigations sometimes devolving into an aimless search. Fortunately it is only once every piece of evidence has been gathered that the music stops, providing one final failsafe before Phelps begins following up on leads or interrogating suspects.