Brain activity during LA Noire: "What happened? But that...why? Why did he say that? Why did he do that? Huh?"
Months before L.A. Noire was released there was so much hype around the game. And hype can be good-only if you can actually live up to it. L.A. Noire is one of those games that promised to give you an experience like no other game could. With it's groundbreaking facial capture technology, all the characters' expressions are represented accurately. In fact, it may even take you a little time to get over it, as there is no other video game out there that really depicts what a character is thinking or feeling quite like L.A. Noire. L.A. Noire is set in 1940s Los Angeles and you play as detective Cole Phelps who previously served in World War II and is (apparently) well known to be a bit of a jackass. Throughout the game he is determined to bring justice and keep the city of L.A. safe. He takes on murder cases in which he has to hunt down suspects, engage in awesome car chases, inspect crime scenes, and interrogate witnesses.
The gameplay, in terms of sprinting, climbing, shooting, and driving, is just what you'd expect from previous Rockstar games such as Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto IV-smooth and simple overall. Taking cover takes a press of a button, shooting can be made however easy or difficult you may want by switching the aim assist option to off, low, or high. Car chases are a heck of a lot of fun, having fistfights is cool, and chasing down suspects is…well, interesting. There are times where you can fire a warning shot providing you time it properly, which makes the runner stop. However, it makes no sense that there are so many other times where firing a warning shot can't be done. It might seem like a petty complaint, but while you're playing you will find that by instinct you'll want to fire but you can't and you will not be told when you can or can't; you'll just have to find out on your own. There are also other options that can make your gameplay easier if you wish to just breeze through (not that you wouldn't otherwise). For example, when Cole is inspecting a crime scene there are a certain number of clues that you have to find. So, you can choose, through in-game options, whether you want the "clue music" to be played the whole way through or start to play and then stop when you've found all your clues so that you may leave the area and not worry whether you've found them all or not. "Clue hints" may also be turned on or off if you want a little sound to be played when you're nearby a clue/object that you can pick up to investigate. Not only that, but you also have the option to skip the action sequences (such as car chases or shootouts) if you've failed several attempts. To give this much freedom to the player is great and you really feel like you can customize your game difficulty in an entirely different way.
But, and there's always a but, the problem with the "clue music" is that there were many times where I was sure I found everything because the music stopped. However, at the end of the case it would say that I found 10/13 or something like that. It's like…well you told me I was done. So, in effect, you should keep looking anyway, and you might find something else. The problem with "clue hint," on the other hand, is that you would think that turning this on will make Detective Phelps only pick up things that will help his investigation, right? Wrong. I'm pretty sure Cole has an obsession with picking up beer bottles and telling you how stupid he is for doing so. There are these same bottles in almost every single crime scene. And every single crime scene, the "clue music" and "clue hints" will keep playing for you until you've picked that Godforsaken bottle up and have Cole tell you, "It would take a smarter man than me to connect that." Yes, and it would take a smarter man than you to not pick it up in the first place. This will aggravate you, as it not only happens throughout the entire game, but it also takes so long for Phelps to get down and pick up the bottle and even longer for him to put it back. Obviously beer bottles are not the only things that don't pertain to the case that you'll pick up-statuettes, laundry soap boxes, and pens are among Cole's favorite everyday household items that have absolutely nothing to do with the case.
Interrogating suspects and witnesses the way you do truly is something completely unique to L.A. Noire. You will not only have to ask the questions but you will have to decide, based on their facial expressions, if they're being honest with you. The interrogation system, however, is slightly flawed. When interrogating a witness, you'll have a notebook with questions you need to ask and evidence you can sift through. When you ask a witness or suspect a question you can choose "Truth," "Doubt," or "Lie" in response to their answer. You will not get any help of how it works and what these things actually mean or do. And you might be a genius and won't need any help. But for most people, you might go wrong a couple of times because the system is not explained. Most importantly, you will never know what comes out of Cole's mouth when you choose what you choose. It would've made a lot more sense to choose between three sentences that represent "Truth," "Doubt," or "Lie," simply because Cole is the most mentally unstable and unpredictable detective you could ever encounter. His behavior will shock you again and again. He's aggressive, rude, and socially awkward, which turns off witnesses and they just don't want to speak to you anymore. Worst. Detective. Ever. But that doesn't even matter. No matter how awful you do, you'll still get promoted. The boss will tell you how great you're doing and how special you are. Your actions will not affect your position in the LAPD, which makes me feel scared. TIP: If you choose "Lie" you'll always, always, have to prove it with evidence in your notebook. Do not choose "Lie" if you don't have evidence.
Throughout the game, you'll notice several hits and misses in relation to story. To be fair, there are quite a few times where L.A. Noire pulls you into its story. But it is important to take into account that L.A. Noire hyped itself up as something new and different. It has also boasted its 2,200-page script (I'm sure if they took out all the incessant different ways that Cole says a certain object doesn't pertain to the case, they would've ended up with 200 pages tops). In effect, L.A. Noire has promised a gripping and complex story. Big fail. Throughout the game you get flashbacks of when Phelps was in the war, and the game hopes that that will be enough to show us who he is. Sadly, you'll never understand Cole (and why he's psycho) or anyone else. Rockstar and Team Bondi seemed to just opt for adding a lot of characters rather than really explore a few characters. Basically, all the characters have no depth. You never get attached to any of them because of that. There are too many plot holes and loose ends.
For example: *SPOILER ALERT* Cole interrogates this woman at a bar-ish place (not sure what it's considered) and it seems like it's the first time that he's talking to her. After that scene, however, he goes to meet her at her place and you get that he's basically cheating on his wife, which you only see once throughout the entire game, when she throws him out of the house once his actions are made public. Why did he cheat on her in the first place? He spoke about how he loved his family a couple of times during his car rides. No hint of marital problems. We barely knew this woman. In fact, this happens not so late into the game, which makes us not feel sorry for either Cole or his invisible wife and kid. *END OF SPOILER*
All the efforts went into graphics and almost none went into story. There are many games out there that have okay graphics or even terrible ones but have a great story and they'll stay with you for a long time. Sadly, for L.A. Noire, you only enjoy gameplay, which is not enough to put it on your favorites list. After you finish the game, you're left wondering what exactly happened.
On a positive note, the graphics are phenomenal. The city is well designed and you really feel like you're in 1940s Los Angeles. The clothes, makeup, and buildings (inside and out) fantastically depict that era with vibrant colors, excellent as well as accurate use of lighting and shadows. Interestingly, you're given the option to play in black and white if you wish through in-game options. The facial expressions are outstanding and accurate. The facial capture technology truly captures all the nuances of facial expressions so that it is easier for you to determine whether a witness is lying, holding back, or telling the truth. Rockstar, to me, is well known to sacrifice graphics for open world gaming. For example, John Marston from RDR looked good but general character graphics were a little on the downside because the environment they were in was so vast, endless, and visually stunning. L.A. Noire is also an open world action game, but it does a good job of sacrificing very, very little as it features breathtaking environments, car models, great-looking characters and lots of side missions. You even get to appreciate the attention to detail that Rockstar and Team Bondi have. When Cole goes up the stairs, you literally see his feet touching each and every step, unlike most games where characters casually glide on them. The music and its sound effects are also amazing. The mood is set just right with the music fading in and out at the perfect time in a truly cinematic way. A lot of the time with music in games, they sometimes can overshadow the game. However, L.A. Noire does a perfect job of just letting you enjoy the game's surroundings and situations without noticing that it's the music that's getting you there.
The fun in this game lies not only in running people over with your car (which strangely enough you don't get arrested for) but mostly in crime scene investigations. The way the dead bodies look is realistic, and the evidence that you find is intriguing and it truly feels like you're a detective no matter how unperceptive you may actually be. You will not be too interested in pursuing the secondary missions, in my opinion, as they just deter you from your primary ones; but finding hidden vehicles and locating landmarks is good fun. I believe this game is truly overrated. People are too in awe of the graphics that they forget the foundation of good games: story. A long time ago, graphics sucked big time. So, adventure games felt the need to develop a story worth playing. Even Crash Bandicoot had a story and it didn't even aim that high. It feels like now games try to get away with great looks and no substance. Unfortunately, more often than not, they do.
L.A. Noire is considered a long game. I'm a sucker for long games just as I'm a sucker for road trips. But when you take a road trip and your destination is McDonald's, you just know there was a shorter way of getting there. The only difference is McDonald's promises good burgers…and that's what you get.