L.A. Noire - A "Killer" Game!

So I’m putting it out there just in case you’re a bit confused. L.A. Noire is NOT Grand Theft Auto (GTA) in the forties. It is a story driven thriller where players must do whatever’s necessary to solve a spate of murders sweeping across America’s West Coast. This game is way slower than anything you’ve come to expect from a Rockstar game (because technically it isn’t one) and since for once, you’re playing as a lawman, you cannot embark upon random killing sprees through the City of Angels. That being said, L.A. Noire is still a game most definitely worth checking out.

Constipated?

In L.A. Noire you are Cole Phelps, a decorated World War II army veteran who’s back in L.A. to purge it from all evil. Cole’s a real stand up guy who’s all about honesty, hard work and integrity and upon returning from a tour in the Pacific, he joins the L.A.P.D. to continue serving his country. Like any hero, his beginnings are humble but through sheer hard work and determination, he begins to swiftly climb up the proverbial career ladder inheriting some truly challenging cases in the bargain.

Like clockwork, every case in this game has a systematic solution. Upon being notified of a crime, you and your partner will need to head over to the crime scene and sweep it clean, searching for clues that could provide some sort of insight to the crime. The game helps you out with a few audio cues as well as a vibrating indicator that you’re close to something important (these cues can be disabled in the main menu). Some of the stuff you pick up at the crime scene may be complete rubbish but you’ll still have to explore it with a fine tooth comb. This way you could end up picking up stuff, others at the crime scene missed out on. And the more clues you gather, the easier it becomes to interrogate a suspect (more on that in a bit).

Am I lying? You tell me.

Following up on the clues found at the crime-scene comes next. In some cases, they may point to a jaded husband or a jilted lover while in some they’ll point to certain seedy bars where the unfortunate victim spent the last few hours of his/her life. And once you’ve gathered enough evidence, you can swoop in to arrest the suspect. In almost all cases the perp will try and make a dash for it either on foot or by car. On-foot chases seem to have been inspired a bit by Assassin’s Creed where players must overcome a bunch of obstacles to stop the fleeting suspect. Merely hold down the Right Trigger (RT) on the Xbox360 controller and Cole will automatically vault over fences, scale ladders, shimmy down drain pipes and in some cases, leap across roof tops. In a vehicular chase you must catch up to and damage the ride before the suspect pulls over.