Luckyfox Review
Of
LA Noire
INTRO-This game was highly anticipated and advertised as the next open world smash hit like GTA (and produced by the same company), but as a 1940’s noire detective story. There were a lot of promises about this game and, well, I think it did a great job of fulfilling its hype.
STORY-Where can I start with this game? There are so many small stories within the main story, making it pretty complicated. But that’s not a bad thing! Since this is a detective game, the many aspects of the story that can be overlooked are very interesting when you put the time into finding- say- a newspaper that explains the backstory of some of the characters you’ll meet in the game through a cutscene.
But, I can try to summarize the story without giving away too much. Basically, there are 2 “Story Arcs” (as I’d like to call them) in the game. Those 2 arcs are “The Black Dahlia Murders arc” and “The Morphine and Housing Scandals arc”. The Black Dahlia arc is all about a series of murders investigated by Cole Phelps (the character you play as) and several other likeable partners to Cole. All of these murders have consistencies- victim is always a woman, writing on their bodies, and missing rings. But the thing is- whoever the man who committed these murders leaves tons of evidence… pointing directly to other people who knew the victim.
After weeks of investigation and a series of riddles, Cole finally finds who the perpetrator was of these heinous crimes. He pursues the culprit in a rundown church.
Now I’d like to go over something a little different- Cole has to come up through the ranks in police work and detective work. He gets promoted all the way to the top- homicide. But with all the power, Cole gets too brave and gets caught having an affair with someone (by the way he has a wife and kids, yeah it’s that serious). That someone is Elsa Lichtmann, a German immigrant who is a singer at a popular club in the very immersing 1940’s Los Angeles.
This aspect of the story- the affair- is the one part of the story that I am actually unhappy with. This is because it was not explained very well at all. It is strongly implicated that Cole and Elsa are old friends because he breaks into her house at one point and she seems completely fine with it. It also isn’t explained why Cole has the affair. Is he tired of his regular life? Do he and his wife have an unhealthy relationship? What is different about Elsa and how does Cole know her? None of this is explained.
So now is “The Morphine and Housing Scandals arc”. Before Cole is caught in the affair, he is transferred to Ad Vice (investigations involving drugs and prostitution, in this case, only drugs). The first case in this division of the LAPD starts out seemingly normal, but escalates into a huge mystery involving army surplus morphine as Cole investigates deeper into each dealer of the morphine. He even discovers that there was a robbery of an army cargo barge that was carried out by American soldiers! I should probably mention that throughout the game Cole has flashbacks recalling the “Sugar Loaf” campaign he took part in in Japan years before the game takes place. During the campaign, Cole was promoted to 1st Lieutenant after being the only one surviving an almost suicidal attack on an enemy base. The men he commanded were the same ones who robbed the barge (There’s another story to be told of the flashbacks, but it’s a big spoiler and I’ll just say it was traumatizing to Cole and another soldier under his command nicknamed “Cowboy”). Like I said before, Cole is caught having the affair with Elsa, and his career is ruined by it. He is demoted to Arsons and he is stopped from pursuing the veterans who stole the morphine. But, by looking into many cases involving house fires, he discovers a plot that involves a suburban redevelopment fund (that has the goal of housing GIs), an insurance scam, an old Hollywood studio, a corrupt politician, the same veterans who were trafficking the surplus morphine, and a “Dr. Fontaine” who ties it all together.
Near the end of the game, Cole gets an old friend who he also served in the military with, Jack Kelso to investigate deeper into the scandals and Jack reluctantly accepts. For a short bit of the game, you play as Jack and you completely uncover the scandals, raiding mansions, medical offices, and such. Jack finds who the pyrotechnic and mastermind of these operations were and both him and Cole go rogue from the LAPD to take down the men responsible for the scandals. The finale of the game is also played by you as Jack inside the sewers of LA. Well, I better stop there, because the rest of the story is all spoilers. Though I would like to say it has a pretty good ending that wraps the story of the game up with a final flashback that reveals the motives of the veterans who were involved in both scandals.
Also, I would like to add, the one other weak point of the story is that a few of the people involved in the scam were never brought to justice, for some reason.
I give the story of LA Noire 9.5 out of 10 (I think it is the main reason to play this game)
GRAPHICS/SETTING-Thanks to the advanced photo-realistic -face technology (whatever it may be called), the games graphics are definitely ahead of its time. Well, actually, other than the faces, the graphics are slightly above average for me. As for the setting, it is extremely immersive. Every sign, car, location looks as if it is a moving picture from that time, but with color! Also, each location has a story, just as each character does.
I give the graphics/setting of LA Noire 8 out of 10
GAMEPLAY- The gameplay is also a strength for this game. Though it can get a bit repetitive, because there are 4 types of gameplay that mostly comprise the game. These 4 types of gameplay are interrogations, which strongly vary in difficulty and sometimes seem illogical in what is correct and what is incorrect but are entertaining and drive the story well. Then there’s crime scene investigation, which is exactly what it sounds like, you find clues to use in interrogations, sometimes (though rarely) these sections can be tedious because of how large the crime scene is. Another type is gunfight, again, exactly how it sounds, the gunfights are programmed very well with varied weapons, a good cover system, and decently entertaining. The 4th type is car chase; these are probably my least favorite of all the main types of gameplay because there are pretty much no destructible environments outside of mailboxes and such. Another less used gameplay type is hand-to-hand combat. This type is the blandest; it is extremely simple and leaves much to be desired
But, Team Bondi had in mind that some people might not like some or be frustrated at the difficulty of some of the action sections, so they included a feature just for those few who have a problem with that! If you keep failing an action sequence, the game will ask you if you would like to skip it, I must say, that is a great idea!
I give the gameplay of LA Noire 7.5 out of 10
SOUNDTRACK- The soundtrack of this game not only is good, it fits the noire theme and it is also just as immersive to the setting of the game just as much as the buildings, cars, etc.
I give the soundtrack of LA Noire 9 out of 10
FINAL SCORE- 8.5 out of 10 GREAT!
SIDE NOTE- The retail price of this game is only $18 so it is definitely worth the money! Also, Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number has been announced and I am so excited!
This “Luckyfox Review” was written by Dean “Fudgeroll” Minster