I loved this game. The aesthetics, the music, the gameplay; everything about it is so thoughtfully conceived and well done. L.A. Noire, developed by Rockstar Games, is a crime thriller, and was evolutionary in that it is one of the first console games to utilise performance capture technology to enhance gameplay.
Before this, motion capture, which involves tracking and digitally reproducing an actor’s whole body using CGI, such as in Avatar, had been used in console games before. Performance capture on the other hand, which focuses on the digital reproduction of minute movements of the face, had only really been used in film, originally for single CGI characters such as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings and more recently to create entire casts in Tin Tin and The Secret of the Unicorn.
Rockstar used the performance capture technology to try and create the most realistic detective crime game they could. While they could have focused solely on the technology, they choose to also focus on the gameplay and narrative. The game is heavily plot driven, influenced by classic crime drama and film noir, with the story good enough to at least merit a TV series.
Without giving away too much of the plot, you play as Cole Phelps, an incorruptible police officer working for the LAPD in 1940s Los Angeles. During the course of the game, you work your way up through the different departments in the LAPD, including traffic and homicide, by solving crimes spread out around the city. The game is divided into episodes, each with a separate crime that you, and you NPC partner, are to solve.
At the beginning of each case, you are required to search the interactive crime scene, where there is a helpful bell noise whenever you move close to a clue, and gather evidence. Using this evidence, you can then question witnesses, slowly building up your evidence until you have enough to charge a suspect. Here is where the performance capture comes in, as the characters respond realistically in reaction to your questions. You then have to decide to accuse them of lying or accept their answer as the truth; get it right and they will give you more evidence, get it wrong and you may get sent down the wrong path. You also have a third choice, doubt, which unfortunately doesn’t always mean ‘I don’t know’.
I have to say at the beginning of the game it can be obvious, with the actors clearing exaggerating their movements in order for it to be conveyed in their digital counterpart. For example, if a suspect is lying, they will start looking around the room, not making eye contact and biting their lip, so 9 times out of 10 you will get it right and carry on smoothly.
Later on in the game, it does get more challenging, to the point where I have to admit I did submit temptation and consult a walkthrough. After every time you guess whether the witness is lying or not, you are told whether you have gotten it right or not, meaning if you get it wrong you always know you may have missed out on important information. And once you got it wrong, there is no going back, unless you choose to replay the episode. There have been multiple times during the game when I probably choose the wrong guy to arrest, but overall it doesn’t’ effect the narrative, rather your own conscience.
Aside from the main missions, the game is huge, with at least 40 side quests alongside the main missions spread throughout the city that can be explored by foot or by vehicle, any of which can be commandeered using your handy LAPD badge.
So why did I stop playing. Because of its structure, I wouldn’t say this is a game you can just dip into. When you start playing, you get incredibly absorbed. You do need to be dedicated to it, which is why my gameplay suffered, as when I bought it I didn’t have enough time to finish it. But with this game you definitely get your money’s worth. L.A.Noire represents a huge advancement in gameplay technology, and it is worth playing just to experience this.
Rosie Howard
exeposedev 