LA Noire Review

Developed by: Team Bondi

Published by: Rockstar Games

Available on: PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One

Reviewed on: Nintendo Switch

Reviewed by: Joseph Yaden

Following my time with LA Noire, I couldn't help but wonder, "Does it hold up?" After all, it came out in 2011 and our perception of the medium has evolved since then. While LA Noire has a lot of interesting ideas and mechanics, it gets muddled with trying to juggle so many gameplay tropes that it feels like a Jack of all trades, master of none scenario. Still, LA Noire is unlike any other game I've played, despite the shortcomings.

Set in 1940s Los Angeles, LA Noire is an open world detective game, played from the point of view of an LAPD officer, Cole Phelps. The story focuses on events after World War II, where Phelps, a decorated USMC veteran of the Pacific Campaign, works his way up the LAPD ladder by solving cases. That's where the player comes in: Using clues and interrogation, the player must investigate different scenarios to determine the culprit. It's a seemingly simple premise, but each case has many different gameplay mechanics depending on the crime.

There is a general formula for each case, though. It usually starts with officer Phelps arriving to a murder scene that has clues scattered throughout. There is almost always a dead body to assess, a witness to interview, and various clues that may or may not be useful. During this process the game tries to steer the player by giving enough direction to proceed while still being open ended enough to be rewarding. It's apparent that this is a difficult task, though, because I often felt like I either had no idea what to do or was just going through the motions.

There were times when I felt so lost, I was convinced there was a glitch in the game because the next sequence wouldn't trigger. After looking up what to do, I would often ask, "How could I have known that?" From a design perspective, it's clear the developers had a vision and an ideal plan for how the game should be played. Unfortunately, I was hardly satisfied and felt like the developers (Team Bondi) did not achieve their goal.

My biggest issue is during the interview process. The player must select from 3 possible answers based on what the suspect/witness says or does. Based on facial expressions, the player can judge the situation and select the appropriate answer. For example, if a character doesn't make eye-contact, or has a nervous tone in their answers, they could be lying. Or, if a witness answers confidently and makes eye-contact, playing Good Cop might be the best choice.

All of that sounds like it would play out flawlessly, but I was often wrong with my selections, making for a frustrating experience. At first, I thought I was just playing the game incorrectly, but it later became apparent that there was something wrong in the design. A suspect would clearly be lying, I would pick the Bad Cop option, and subsequently get the answer wrong, only to find out that they were in fact, telling the truth. This happened time after time and it got to the point where I would have a guide pulled up just to get through the interrogation process.

Another gripe is how formulaic each case is. After finishing a few acts I knew exactly what to expect from each mission. Each one has a crime scene to investigate, followed by either a fist fight, chase sequence, interrogation, gunfight or a combination of the four. Since the game doesn't really excel at any of those things, playing them started to become eyeroll moments. "Here we go with an obligatory car chase." All of these mechanics seem shoehorned in, just to break up the monotony of simply investigating murders. Being diverse is a welcome idea, but when it seems forced it hurts more than it helps.

The Nintendo Switch version of LA Noire doesn’t offer anything too different than the other versions. There are some minor touch screen features and playing the game on the go is a welcome inclusion, but I was let down by the lack of Switch specific features.

The story had me engaged at times, but it mostly fell flat, especially with the ending. I kept asking myself, "Why?" because aspects of the story seemed to be thrown in just for the sake of it. More importantly, the ending was underwhelming and disappointing. I felt like all of my efforts in my 20 hour playthrough were for nothing.

Even with all of the negative aspects of LA Noire, I do appreciate the authenticity of the facial motion capture animations. Even in 2017, it's hard to find games that look as good as this one, at least when it comes to the expressions of the characters. Also, when the interrogations work it's satisfying to feel like the case was entirely solved by you.

One stand-out inclusion is the superb voice acting. The cut-scenes and interactions between characters work well if you can separate yourself from the so-so gameplay. I often wished that the events of the story were just something I could watch instead of play because of the standout performances, even with the disappointing ending.

Still, these positive aspects don't make up for the convoluted story, disappointing twist ending, unreliable interrogation mechanics, and empty open world. LA Noire is unique in its style, and it's definitely one of the best detective games, but only because there aren't many of those out there.

Consider skipping if:

• A satisfying story is important to you
• You're looking for a fast-paced game
• Repetition bothers you

Consider playing if:

• You appreciate attention to detail in animation
• Murder mysteries interest you
• Slow, methodical gameplay is your thing

RATING: ALRIGHT

This game is "okay" and merely average. Consider picking this one up during a sale.