L. A . Noire PC First Look

Ever since L.A. Noire came out for the XBOX a few months back this action adventure game with a difference has been making waves.Since the days of GTA 3, Rockstar Games has been the master of open world action adventures.Add to that the film noir style that Rockstar put into its other masterpiece Max Payne ,and you get L.A. Noire.It has the open world awesomeness of San Andreas and the Hollywood style storytelling of Max Payne.
So , saying that I was looking forward to L.A. Noire being ported to the PC would be an understatement , I was actually praying for it.It finally happened , and L.A. Noire PC came out just a few weeks back , in November , almost 6 months after the XBOX version.

The wait was worth it.Like most PC titles that aren't lazy console ports , the PC version features better graphics and 3D support.The facial textures are almost too good to believe and you might just recognize a few faces as many of them feature popular TV actors.

Aaron Staton , of Mad Men fame plays the main character Cole Phelps

I have been playing the game for a few hours now , and this is just a ramble based on my first impressions. I'll post a detailed review later if i feel like it.
First of all graphics , in my honest opinion , is not as good as many other games released this year ( Witcher 2 for one totally kicks L.A. Noire's ass ). Having said that L.A. Noire has a delightfully retro feel , which to be honest is very Mafiaesque.The immaculate detail of 1940s L.A. is astounding. San Andreas had the same kind of detailed open world , albeit in a modern setting , and Rockstar had achieved that by driving around L.A., taking pictures and then recreating them. With L.A. Noire they took it a step further and used aerial photography to create the vintage landscapes of post war Los Angeles.That brings me to the facial textures.This is where Rockstar has really brought PC gaming into a new dimension. L.A. Noire features the most realistic facial graphics ever seen in any video game and as most of the characters are popular TV actors , the realism of the game world is unbelievable to say the least.

Game play wise , as mentioned earlier, 
L.A. Noire features Rockstar's patent open world .
However unlike the GTA games , where the player could wander around the open world map for hours and only return to the main story line when he felt like it , L.A. Noire sports a pretty much linear story line that goes from one case to the next.While working on a case however , the player can choose to drive to destinations ( this may seem obvious but i say "choose to" because there's also an option to skip the driving , by making your partner drive ). While driving, the player can happily go off route and do some exploring.There are numerous landmarks and hidden cars to discover as well as street crimes to solve which the police radio can direct you to.

you start off as a uniformed beat cop

I won't write much about the cases themselves , as I've only solved a few of them till now but this is where all similarity with any of Rockstar's previous games ends ( though i was faintly reminded of the mini games in Bully ).In L.A. Noire the roles are reversed as the player now plays the law man. You start off as a uniformed cop and work your way up the ranks by solving crimes.

Each crime is solved by careful investigation , some tough police work and just a little dollop of violence.Investigating involves looking for clues , following them up , interviewing witnesses and suspects , all of which is very interactive and may have different results depending on your performance.

Investigate clues

Most of the cases end with the player chasing the perp down , either on foot or in a car and bringing him to justice. L.A. Noire for the most part really gives you the feel of a real police officer and i especially love the fact that every case can go several ways depending on your actions .




In other words L.A. Noire has some RPG ( Role Playing Game ) elements which is why it is a winner in my book.

Interview suspects

So , finally the verdict . Is L.A. Noire worth of the Game of the Year title? I'm not convinced yet but it definitely deserves to be in the running. 


My rating :  8.5 /10 


Pros :   1) Incredibly life like facial graphics
            2) Detailed open world
            3) Interesting case stories , with interactive game play that offers life like                   
                insight into a real police investigation.


Cons :   1) Investigation ( Interviews ,etc. ) can get repetitive .
             2) Not for FPS / fast action adventure fans , as the game play can get 
                 VERY slow.
             3) Game play can get very easy especially if you use clue hints , and the 
                 option to skip chases, brawls etc. Moreover, may be its just me but the 
                 player seems to be incredibly hard to kill , even after taking several
                 rounds of automatic rifle fire. But may be all that will improve as i 
                 play more of the game.
           

Your partner's got your back , Detective !