The release of L.A. Noire has to be the biggest launch of the year so far. It’s Rockstar, so people were expecting big things and as you know, it’s been on my must play list for some time now. Fortunately, I had to go to Paris for a holiday the day after it hit the shops, unfortunately (for me, not you, our readers), it means I had to pass reviewing duties on to our own Dave Tucker, and he only managed to get the game earlier this week.
I was impressed with the presentation – a full color manual (a rare thing these days) and attention to styling to get us in the mood, not to mention the breathy jazz playing over the L.A. Noire logo at the beginning. The first moments of the game begin as every noir should; with a voiceover. Okay, so the writing was a fair few strides away from Raymond Chandler, but it set the tone.
Before I go on, I have to say I haven’t finished the game yet, so these are just my first impressions.
For those expecting GTA retro style or a similar gaming experience to Red Dead Redemption, they need to think again when stepping in the gum shoes of Cole Phelps, our intrepid detective. L.A. Noire is more akin to a point and click than anything we’d expect to see from Rockstar. The city seems familiar and offers that classic GTA feel, but this time you need to stop at traffic lights (or just dodge traffic more nimbly) and avoid hitting pedestrians at all costs.
Of course it looks fantastic. Team Bondi have done an outstanding job on period details, right down to the fabric prints on the dresses. And then there’s the faces. Rockstar has really reached new heights with the faces. You can see the adam’s apple and muscles in the neck moving when people talk, as well as every twitch of their eyes or a slight tensing of the mouth. I even recognized several actors in cameo parts.
All this fancy face mapping comes into its own when you’re interrogating witnesses and suspects. The interrogation scenes are awesome and frustrating in equal measure. Sometimes it’s a complete wild stab in the dark and you throw your hands up, wondering what you could have done differently. But it does make you feel like a proper detective and that’s just cool.
My main problem with the game is it just doesn’t feel noir enough (see my past column for more on this).
So far it feels like The Untouchables the TV show, which is no bad thing, as that is a great movie. If it’s going to be noir though, it’s got to be closer to The Maltese Falcon or Farewell my Lovely. Even playing in black and white doesn’t make it feel any closer to the genre it pertains to be. In fact, that only highlights the lack of dramatic lighting. Frankly, it’s more CSI than Philip Marlowe.
Okay, so we’re dealing with a fairly straight-laced LAPD detective, as opposed to a world weary private eye, but that doesn’t mean we have to lose the other elements that make something noir. L.A. Noire just isn’t cinematic enough – well not in the right way. To be noir you need crazy camera angles, incredible lighting and an overarching sense of paranoia and tension. So far I’m not feeling any tension at all and I think that’s down to a fairly weak storyline, not to mention the repetitive nature of many of the side missions.
Despite all these quibbles, a lesser game would have been dismissed, but Rockstar always manages to do way more right than it ever does wrong. Team Bondi have to be applauded for the technological leap forward alone, as well as creating a world more than worthy of the Rockstar badge. Once again, I’m itching to get back to a fictional city, just to languish in the period detail and cruise the streets of 1940s LA.
L.A. Noire reminds me of Assassin’s Creed. It’s a new player that feels like the prototype of a great game. From AC we got ACII and then the impeccable AC: Brotherhood. And far from being disappointed with L.A. Noire, I’m just excited to see the sequel. If it’s anything like the leap Ubisoft made from the original AC to Ezio’s first outing, then L.A. Noire 2 is going to knock our socks off.
Most played: L.A. Noire
Most wanted: Child of Eden