Amid the post-war boom of Hollywood's Golden Age, Cole Phelps is an LAPD detective thrown headfirst into a city drowning in its own success. Corruption is rampant, the drug trade is exploding, and murder rates are at an all-time high. In his fight to climb the ranks and do what's right, Phelps must unravel the truth behind a string of arson attacks, racketeering conspiracies and brutal murders, battling the L.A. underworld and even members of his own department to uncover a secret that could shake the city to its rotten core. Cole Phelps served in the Marine Corp. during World War 2. Now he finds himself as a detective serving in the Los Angeles Police Department, and faced against LA's most dangerous criminals, rapists, kidnappers, drug dealers, and even his own haunting past. One but cannot help but think that L.A. Noire has been inspired by L.A. Confidential (1997), Chinatown (1974), The Untouchables (1987), and James Ellroy's novel The Black Dahlia. After being in the development hell for seven years, L.A. Noire was released in 2011 and became a massive success. It is definitely worth playing, and if you have the patience to solve challenging puzzles you will enjoy this game. Also, you will learn how to read people during questioning and interrogations as to whether they are telling the truth, doubt them or lying by backing up your claims with evidence.<br/><br/>Set in Los Angeles in 1947, the story centers on LAPD police officer Cole Phelps played by Aaron Stanton (Mad Men), a former US Marine Lieutenant who served in World War II in the pacific. Cole Phelps starts out as a patrol officer and throughout the game you see his career rise in the LAPD through various assignments with Traffic, Homicide, Vice and Arson. Cole Phelps is also assigned various partners throughout the game including Officer Ralph Dunn (Rodney Scott) in patrol, Detective Stefan Bekowsky (Sean McGowan) in Traffic, Detective Rusty Galloway (Michael McGrady, Southland) in Homicide, Detective Roy Earle (Adam John Harrington) in Vice, and Detective Herschel Biggs (Keith Szarabajka, The Dark Knight) in Arson. Cole Phelps manages to catch the eye of Captain James Donnelly (James Connelly) as a rising star in the LAPD and promises to keep a close eye on Phelps. Phelps also finds himself caught up with German lounge singer Elsa Lichtmann (Australian model Erika Heynatz) and butts heads with former US Marine comrade Jack Kelso (Gil McKinney) who is working as claims investigator for California Fire and Life following the death of a former marine Phelps and Kelso served with during World War II.<br/><br/>L.A. Noire is very addictive gaming at its best and you can't help but feel you are being thrust into the world of a post World War II Los Angeles. L.A. Noire reminded me a lot of L.A. Confidential.<br/><br/>I wish there were more games like L.A. Noire however like this game it may take a number of years before a game similar to this will be released. Definitely one of the best games I have played in years.<br/><br/>10/10. I played through GTA IV and all the DLC. More often than not I found myself having to perform a psychological temporary lobotomy from the side of my brain that said 'This doesn't make any sense! Why am I doing this for that idiot?' That said, I can just drool on a dirty shirt for as long as it lasted and enjoy mindless fun and do something else after half an hour before my frontal lobe has atrophied. <br/><br/>Rockstar coming out with LA Noire: A game so rich in story that it rivals some of the best detective novels out there. The actors digitalized and implanted into this 1947 computerized LA. So exacting was this process that minor facial details were actually made an integral part of the game in fluctuation and expression. The effect makes the player feel like an interactive part of the intricate story. I refer to it in the singular sense but it is actually many stories within 2 distinct plots. There is still plenty of gun fights, Car Chases etc. to make the reptilian brain happy. I found myself asking 'If a suspect didn't do anything wrong then why is he running?' but the answer was clear for the time and place in this fiction; They are running because they don't want stuff pinned on them. It's clear from the banter in the police station and the opinion from some of the partners the protagonist has; They just want to pin a charge on some poor sucker to get just to get turn-over. So naturally, if the cops have a reputation for scape-goating, the people aren't going to trust so much in the justice system. Ladies and Gentlemen…we have Social infrastructure! Holy S***! Rockstar making a game like this is like… 'Larry the Cable Guy' writing 'War and Peace'. Well Done!
Petitrande replied
370 weeks ago