CHENNAI: If they never put out another game, Rockstar Games’ legacy will still be untouchable thanks to the GTA and Red Dead Redemption series. Today, however, we’re taking a look at one of their less famous efforts — L.A. Noire.
L.A. Noire, as the title indicates, is a crime-based action-adventure game that draws heavily on film noir for its inspiration. Set in post-war Los Angeles, the narrative follows the rise and fall of Detective Cole Phelps, a decorated war hero, who finds out that both civilian life and the treacherous waters of the LAPD prove harder to navigate than he expected. Easily one of the most memorable aspects of the game, the story of L.A. Noire is well-written and genuinely brilliant.
Portrayed wonderfully by Aaron Staton of Mad Men fame, Cole Phelps is one of the more engaging lead characters in recent memory. With the help of MotionScan technology, every character in L.A. Noire is a highly-detailed and accurate facial representation of their respective motion-capture actor or actress. Staton’s performance really comes through, and is easily one of the highlights; however, every character- no matter how minor their role may be — truly comes to life, making L.A. Noire’s gorgeous representation of 1940’s Los Angeles as fleshed-out as it deserves to be.
Apart from the merely aesthetic, this technology is deeply integrated into the gameplay itself; you, as Phelps, will interview witnesses and suspects and have to decide whether to believe them, doubt them or accuse them of lying — all based on their facial expressions and other mannerisms. This is undeniably immersive, but is sadly let down by other aspects of the game — it’s all too easy to be engaged in a staring contest with a suspect about his whereabouts on the day of a crime, see a hint of guilt and press the button to accuse him of lying...only for Phelps to accuse him of lying about something completely different, leaving me frantically scrambling to find any shred of evidence that backs up ‘my’ accusation as the suspect angrily demands proof.
Another blemish is L.A. Noire’s action sequences, and this is perhaps a case of being a victim of your own success — they’re just nowhere near as much fun or as smooth as you would expect from a Rockstar game. Despite its open-world nature, it’s actually a quite linear game; you can get to the end of the game in a multitude of ways, but there’s only one right way to properly solve each case.
The general consensus on L.A. Noire, and the reason it isn’t still spoken of today, is that it feels like a missed opportunity. Rockstar was so close to designing something that could’ve been one of the best games of all time, and what they ultimately produced was a fantastic, absorbing and gripping game...except when it isn’t. Still, for the sake of one of the most immersive gaming narratives around, L.A. Noire is still one to experience.
http://goo.gl/uNBWN3
(Arjun is a gamer, book lover and an all-round renaissance man)