L.A. Noire is the latest game from Rockstar, the maker of the Grand Theft Auto series and their most recent smash, Red Dead Redemption. They excel in the open world style gaming. Their latest release, L.A. Noire is in that open world style, but attempts to change the gaming world forever. I think they might have done just that.
L.A. Noire takes place in 1940s Los Angeles, you are an upcoming detective solving crimes. You cannot compare this to Grand Theft Auto or Red Dead Redemption beyond the open world style. This game is the first to start to cross the lines and merge a full movie and video game. I am very early into the game, only a few cases in, but I have had more fun and I have been pulled into the story so deep in that 2 hours than all of the hours in GTA and Red Dead. Yes, L.A. Noire is a video game, but I think it's safe to tag it more appropriately as Graphical Entertainment or Gaming Experience.
This is definitely not a game where you can throw in and run around, shooting up stores, stealing cars, or hunting bears mindlessly for an hour then stop. This is a game that you need to pay attention to the smallest of details, think about what you are doing, plot out your approaches to things. This is a thinking game. For example, one of the first cases involves a shooting in broad daylight. You need to investigate the scene and question eye witnesses then eventually a suspect. During the questioning you have the ability to Trust, Doubt or think someone is lying about the statements they make Now, the greatest feature about this game is the face scanning and animation technology they used. You tell if someone is lying not be what they say alone but by watching their faces and body language. The smallest twitches, eye rolls, swallowing, fidgeting are all clues to see if someone is lying or not. There is a down side to this. If you accuse someone of lying they can clam up and stop talking to you which makes it that much harder to figure out what's going on. The other aspect is unlike other question and answer based based games, this one doesn't have the 'keep asking until you get it right'. If you goof up, you're done and you have to find another way to get the information. This is where it becomes more than a conversation RPG where you can just stumble through it blindly.
Being so early into the game play, I may start over now that I have a grip on the interrogations and how to play the game. Because how well you interrogate the better score you get and more perks you unlock. I have no doubt the story will keep me playing I hope that the game play stays fresh and doesn't get repetitive in it's tasks. If the cases stay as unique and weird as they have been, this will a game that will consume me for many, many months.
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