L.A. Noire musings

Mike Bantick
Monday, 23 May 2011 13:27

Opinion and Analysis

Taking the role of a 40's Gumshoe cop hard at work on the violent streets of Los Angeles is a surprisingly sedentary yet tense experience.  L.A. Noire will tax players with detecting problems never seen in interactive entertainment before.

You can tell straight away this is a Rockstar Games game.  There is a lot about the presentation of Team Bondi's L.A.Noire that will be instantly familiar to recent Grand Theft Auto players. 

And then there is the natural déjà vu players of 2K Game's recent 40's set game Mafia II will feel.  The cars are similar, the shootouts typical, and the setting almost identical.  But, L.A. Noire has a whole other level of interactivity that the excellent Mafia II does not present.

This may be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your demeanour.    My assessment of the game is only partial at this point, having played through only a portion of the game so far - it does ship on 3 discs with the Xbox 360 version.

But of the hours and hours I have already put in, I can say this is no button mashers game.  For the most part the game is about observation and decision making, with only the occasional shoot-out or car chase to add to the excitement levels expected of a video game.

As decorated war veteran Col Phelps, joining the police force seemed a natural thing to do following a couple of year's officer service in the U.S Marines.  And Phelps is good at what he does, with the aid of a significant amount of hand-holding, players can guide Phelps through early cases, looking for clues, questioning suspects and taking out enough bad guys to gain the eye of law enforcement management.

He is soon kicked up to detective status working in the traffic and later homicide divisions.  Once you get to this point the game settles into a rhythm.

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