L.A. Noire – Preview

I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve never been over-enamoured by any Rockstar titles.  The Grand Theft Auto series did absolutely nothing for me and Bully, while it looked considerably different from most other games out there, just didn’t grab me by the balls and scream “play me, play me” like it perhaps should have.  The closest I’ve ever got to really enjoying a Rockstar game was when Red Dead Redemption was released and offered a little something different from the norm… a chance to play the part of the stereotypical lawless man on a quest for salvation but in the wild west environment.  My time with Red Dead Redemption was fun, but that fun was short lived as there was never that chance to exercise my brain beyond reaching a destination and either killing or retrieving something.

The first time I saw L.A. Noire being trailed, however, my interest was piqued.  It wasn’t necessarily anything to do with it being set in the post-war and post-prohibition era or the fact that it clearly leaned towards the film noir style of the 1940s detective movies… for me, it was the technology freak and graphic whore in me that immediately sat up and took notice when I first saw the incredible facial expressions and uber realistic characterisation.  Now that the game had my attention, there was the distinct possibility that the story or the gameplay would fall flat and leave me wanting more than was on offer, as with so many other titles in recent years, so I resigned myself to the thought of it being just another Rockstar game and leave me cold when it ultimately came to playing the game.

It wasn’t the case.  I have to address the aforementioned facial expressions though, as they play an incredibly important role in the game and are so much more than just impressive aesthetics.  The MotionScan technology used for the character facial expressions involves 32 video cameras simultaneously recording every single micro-expression as the actors deliver their lines, allowing for even the slightest nuances to be reflected on screen in such a way as you temporarily forget that you’re watching a video game character.  These expressions also serve to deliver clues when your character, Detective Cole Phelps, interrogates suspects and potential witnesses in order to pull information from them to progress the case in hand.

When faced with going down a particular line of questioning, you have to decide whether the person is telling the truth, showing a degree of doubt, or outright lying, and this is done by assessing their reactions and how their responses are delivered.  Without the MotionScan technology, this particular aspect of the game would fall flat on its face, and it’s this very feature that made L.A. Noire stand out as much as it did, for me anyway.  In other games, the dialogue tree would be presented and you would undoubtedly work your way through whichever options were available to you in the hopes that one or more would uncover a little more information to help you on your travels, but with L.A. Noire it’s almost the opposite… push a witness in the wrong direction by suggesting that they doubt their own words and they’ll clam up.  Tell them that you believe they’re lying and you have to immediately provide proof to back up your accusation, otherwise you lose all co-operation from them, but if you allow them to get away with lying and don’t call them on it then your investigation will take the wrong direction and push you further from the truth.  Everything you discover through investigating crime scenes and following specific lines of questioning is recorded in the government issue little black book that you’d find in any Columbo or Kojak episode, and acts as your standard questing journal, allowing you to reference and call up anything that you’ve stored previously.

Crime scenes, as you’d expect, yield a whole host of potential clues and it’s up to you to decide whether or not something has any relevance to the case.  Your partner, Detective Rusty Galloway, who is typically unhappy at being partnered with a rookie as per the unwritten law of any detective story, is there for more than just sarcastic retorts so if you find yourself at the point where you’re not sure what to do next, a glance towards your partner will often provide a hint towards your next move. Your partner also has the option of driving the car around, so if you don’t feel like navigating the streets of Los Angeles and would rather sit back and enjoy the ride, you can listen to the two detectives discussing the case notes as he drives to your next destination.

In order to further Phelps’ career in the LAPD to the rank of homicide detective, you must solve a series of crimes using clues and interrogation techniques, although the clues may sometimes prove to be red herrings while other more relevant and/or groundbreaking clues may appear less obvious.  With no on-screen health indicator, we rely on the amount of saturation to determine Phelps’ health, with full colour denoting full health and black and white meaning that he’s about to go to the big precinct in the sky unless you’re able to avoid any further damage long enough for his health to replenish.

As you’d expect from a 1940s post-prohibition crime game designed by Rockstar, it’s not just about driving around accusing people of wrong doings whilst writing up evidence bags.  There are times when it’ll be necessary to draw your weapon and get down and dirty with a good old fashioned gun fight or race after fleeing suspects in a fast paced car chase but, even with all this excitement going on, it’s impossible to lose sight of the game’s main premise – to use your powers of observation and deduction to get to the bottom of the crime and bring the perpetrators to justice. With enough puzzle solving to keep the point and click fans keen and the odd gun fight or car chase to rope in the action lovers, Rockstar’s L.A. Noire looks to have successfully bridged genres without shoe-horning anything in and, if the final game is anywhere near as good as today’s preview, it looks like it’ll leave a chalky line around other 2011 releases.

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