L.A. Noire will draw you in with its unique style and gameplay antics
GRAPHICS:
One of the biggest buzzes this game had before it came out was its motion capture technology. And truthfully, you will most likely not find a game with characters as realistic as in this game. Facial expressions are almost genuine, and normaly convey emotion and help to make this game feel as realistic as it is. However, words like "almost" and "normaly" are needed, since, while for the most part this game is well done, there are the ocasional models that look quite out there, or flat out lifeless, and it just becomes jarring. More often than not, three or so characters feel like they have the same faces, and it often leads to an uncanny valley effect. Still, for the most part, it gets the job done. 3.2/5
The graphics as a whole are pretty spot on, though. It really does look like Los Angeles on the 40s, and it helps to imerse you into the action. So much detail has been put in, you do have to often stop just to look at some of the backdrops. Really a fantastic looking game. 5/5
SOUND:
The jazzy music also helps to make you fit into this world, and it is generaly well composed and enojable to listen to. Just as important as the motio capture, however, is the voice acting in the game. And this is really where this game is flawless. This is the best voice acting I have ever seen in a game. Every character delivers its lines really well, put so much emotion on it, and, again, helps you to get into this story. 5/5
STORY:
L.A. Noire tells the story of Cole Phelps, a veteran from World War II, who is now making his way into the Los Angeles Police Departament. The game chronicles his adventures as a patrol cop, and as a detective on four desks of the LAPD: Traffic, for driving related crimes; Homicide, self-explanatory; Vice, for drug-related crimes mostly; and Arson, for fires. Each desk at least three cases, each with their own stories, and as the game goes on, you undercover more about what happened at Okinawa, where Cole served.
Important to mention is that only the Homicide and Arson desks have a main story between all the cases (although Arson is somewhat a continuation of Vice), which does make the game feel disjointed at times, with no relation between the cases. Despite that, the stories in this game are very good, and the Vice-Arson one in particular is fantastic, despite an awful plot twist that comes out of nowhere and is unecessary at the end of Vice, and each case separetely is very entertaining to see how they play out; some are very predictable, some have a turn for the unexpected.
The characters also are generally likeable and you want to follow them. Cole's partners on the desks especially bring a lot of fun (or, in a specific case, anger), and a war buddy of Cole named Jack Kelso also plays a big part, and is also quite a nice character. Villains also have real, believale reasons, with only the ocasional goofball being weird.
A story that draws you in, this game will have you keep playing just to know what is going to happen. 4.7/5
GAMEPLAY:
The game is a detective game. As Phelps, you have to investigate crime scenes, talk to witnesses, and arrest culprits. For sake of comparisson, let's take the most similar series I can think of, which is the Ace Attorney series.
Most cases begin with you investigating the crime scene. There, you have to look for clues and, if there is any, talk to a witness to have a better understanding of what has happened. In the AA series, you had to collect all the clues in an area in order to proceed, a particular factor that made the game very linear. In L.A., there are many pieces of evidence that you can miss, which can often screw you latter in interrogations, but it is a good mechanic, since it means you hav eto pay extreme attention to your surroundings and pay attention to the sound cues which play when there is something nearby. It is very rewarding to finish a case without missing any evidence, but at the same time it can be annoying to keep looking for that one tiny piece of evidence that is just out of reach.
After you have your evidence, you have to interrogate witnesses and suspects. Definitely the most tense moments in the game, here you have only one chance to get a question right. Think the person is telling the truth but he is actually lying? Tough luck, you are denied of that correct answer and some vital information, which can lead in the long run to you arresting the wrong person. That makes these sequences the most gripping and exciting to get right, but also the most frustrating to get wrong. Besides truth or lie, you also have the option to say doubt on what a person is saying, if you don't have proof of lie. Much like in Ace Attorney, this is the main bulk of the game, but unlike that one, you only get one choice to get right. On the other hand, that game gave you five chances, and if you got them all wrong, it was game over. Here, you are only screwed on the case. So yes, much like in AA, it leads to many trial and error moments, since often a piece of evidence may make perfect sense for you, but not the game, but it still is a lot of fun to interrogate.
Of course, since this is a Rockstar game, it had to have some kind of shooting, combat and driving. The first two only appear at specific moments of the game, so no pulling your gun at the public. They are well handled, and shooting with good controls is always fun, but they are normaly too short, despite being rather frequent, and leave you wanting more. You also have to drive from location to location, and since LA is frickin' huge, it can take a while. While it is fun to drive around and cause some mayhem, the controls are a bit weird on the cars. It's hard to explain, but they are much like GTA IV's controls, which are supposed to be more realistic. You get used to them, but often you will hit many things by accident.
Besides the main cases, there are also small street crimes to complete, DLC to download, and hidden items to find. So, besides the main story which will take around 20 hours, there is still a lot to do. The game also keeps a record of how you did in each case, so there is also the incentive to go back and do a better job. Doing street crimes and well on the interrogations will give you experience, where you can level up to level 20, and in each level you get either an alternative costume, a hidden car, or an Intuition point to help you if you are stuck. There is definitely great value to be had here. 5/5
OVERALL:
L.A. Noire is a jack of all traits and master of none. The combat and driving is worse than GTA's, and the interrogation and exploration parts are about the same level as Ace Attorney's. Where this game succeed is creating something unique, with a seeting well constructed, with a unique story, and gameplay mechanics that, together as a whole, work really well in the long run. If you are itching for something diferent, definitely give this game a chance.
The good:
-Looks amazing, and most importanly, genuine
-Motion capture does a good job for the most part
-Sound design is flawless
-Story is unique, and each cases unfold in interesting ways
-Investigating and interrogating never get old
-Shooting is always a blast (pun intended)
The bad:
-Often dips into the uncanny valley
-Terrible plot twist at a certain point
-Gameplay wise, nothing it does has not been done better before