After they impressed video game lovers with “Red Dead Redemption” last year, Rockstar wasted no time and jumped into “L.A. Noire,” which is just as exciting and as engaging. Overall, it’s another masterpiece of video game art that will keep you stuck to your seat for hours till your fingers are sore.
Ultimately, there’s a reason why it was shown at the Tribeca Film Festival this year; the game resembles a movie and you can’t help being curious what happens next.
The action in the game takes place right after World War II in one of the most prosperous and corrupt cities in the United States – Los Angeles. There are corrupt policemen and politicians versus the main character, Cole Phelps, who is a war hero and an honest cop who seeks justice in this city of drugs, vice and psychos. Every single character of the game is played by an actor and every emotion clearly shows up on their faces, which you will work with in the role of a police officer and later a detective.
As you become Phelps, you work in traffic, homicide, vice and finally, arson departments. You do not only search for criminals, but you also discover how corrupt the people in the office are and how a dangerous murderer can be protected by important political figures. Every case in a particular department is linked to the other ones and this keeps you interested throughout the game.
Another exciting thing about this game is that in addition to chasing and shooting, which is usual for games like that, you have to interrogate suspects and even charge them with murder and other crimes you think they committed. While questioning a suspect or a witness, you need to decide whether he or she is lying or telling the truth. The further you go in the game, the more difficult it is to read the faces and get correct answers. You cannot merely accuse someone of lying, you have to support your educated guess by viable evidence, which is always there in your notebook.
Despite the fact that interrogation and charging the suspects becomes harder and harder, you will still be able to have your cases closed, but it may be more or less successful depending on the work you do. There is not a lot of shooting, but more attention is paid to thinking and deduction, which is very exciting if you always wanted to imagine yourself a detective.
At some point, you even have to tail suspects and remain unnoticed.
Unlike in “Red Dead Redemption,” there are few things you need to do aside from your cases. There are street crimes that you may choose to help solve if a dispatcher calls you, but it’s not necessary. Just remember that when you help take care of a trouble, you get more experience and more intuition points that you can use during interrogation or examination of a crime scene.
Just as good as the engaging plot, the game’s soundtrack is quite pleasing. You often find yourself whistling it while solving another mystery. You feel that this game is slowly taking over you; you don’t want to stop till it all ends. You always want to find out where being an honest cop brings Phelps.
While you solve cases for LAPD, you will also find out a lot about Phelps’ war experiences. There are extracts from his military memories after every case, and you see why this man is not very comfortable with being a war hero and being awarded with a Silver Star, the highest award in the United States. During his investigations, he meets a lot of people who were with him in the military, some of them also hurt by their memories.
Overall, what makes this game truly unique is that it feels like you are watching a movie and at the same time you take part in the movie, and it’s up to you what happens in the next scene. It is a truly empowering feeling and it makes you stuck to the game for hours, no matter what “South Park” has to say about it.
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