L.A. Noire 2011 detective game
L.A. Noire (2011, Australia)
In 1947 Los Angeles, Cole Phelps, a World War 2 veteran, begins his work in the local police department. The first case he stumbles upon happens to be a murder, which he helps to solve, which impressed his superiors so much that he is fast-tracked to be a detective. Later, working in the homicide department, he deals with the everyday wear and tear of soul-draining cases, but from underneath the usual investigations something more sinister begins to unveil. Some of the cases seem to be related to the infamous Black Dahlia, an unsolved gruesome murder case. Phelps and his partner Kelso try to solve the biggest mystery of 1940s California.
L.A. Noire is an icon for film-noir fans because of the gritty, grim look at the 1940s California and its population. We stumble upon simple murder cases, potential serial killers, prostitution scandal, drugs scandal, all of it in the open world of meticulously recreated 1940s Los Angeles. When we get the call about a new case, we can literally drive there in our car, choose any route we want, sometime take as long as we want. Also, while on the way, we can be side-tracked to take care of ongoing bank robbery, police chase or any every day police activity.
All of it was also seasoned with something that no other game had, the motion capture technology that was used to map the expressions of actors, so the characters you meet during your investigations would have very realistic reactions to your questions. This was important in the interview part of the game, where you had to guess from those expressions if what they tell you was actually the truth or a complete lie. That part of the game did not really work that well, but at the same time it was a novelty that made this game stand out among competitors.
L.A. Noire, over a decade from premiere, is still a very good product, which mixes drama, action scenes, solving cases and a gritty atmosphere, all of it in realistic surroundings and open world freedom. The game is far from being perfect, the interview system was not that great, the driving around was quickly losing its lure and became a chore, some of the clues were not that clear to follow, but overall, it was a massive undertaking that still has a lot to offer.
Can you solve a mystery like this one?
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Trivia about L.A. Noire
Production controversy
While the final product was praised for its vast and multidimensional world, the 7 years of production were, according to former employees, full of crunch and people working 10–12 hours a day, seven days a week, supposedly without even getting paid for overtime.
Sequel
Even though the game was a success, the hardship of production (see the controversy), supposed lack of managerial skills of the game director, put enough strain on the team and company that Team Bondi, the studio behind L.A. Noire, went into liquidation just a few months after premiere. The planned sequel, set in 1936 Shanghai, never materialised. It was announced in 2011, there were no production updates after 2013, it was officially cancelled in 2016.
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