L. A. Noire -- Is This the Future of Film?

Critics: Stunning Thriller

L.A. Noire Is Indistinguishable From a Movie

By Mike Smith
L.A. Noire (X360, PS3) video game review

Few game developers can boast a track record like Rockstar Games. Responsible for smash hits like the Grand Theft Auto series and last year's standout Red Dead Redemption, the studio is famed for output that toes the line between film and games.

With this week's release of gritty 1940s detective drama L.A. Noire for the Xbox 360 and PS3, however, Rockstar has raised the bar for what constitutes a cinematic video game experience.

Boasting groundbreaking, facial-mapping technology, an all-star cast and a lifelike recreation of
1940s Los Angeles, it's already being tipped as one of the year's best games.

"Ever since it first worked out how to assemble pixels so that they resembled something more recognisable than aliens," says The Guardian, "the games industry has dreamed of creating one thing above all else - a game that is indistinguishable from a film, except that you can control the lead character. With L.A. Noire, it just might, finally, have found the embodiment of that particular holy grail."

And writer Steve Boxer is in no doubt about where to lay the credit for that unprecedented cinematic feel.
"The new MotionScan system used to capture actors' performances simply produces more convincing facial animation than we have ever seen in a game," says Boxer, who calls the game's recreation of Los Angeles "gloriously convincing...it has all the period charm of Boardwalk Empire or Mad Men." That's unsurprising: the game's lead, detective Cole Phelps, is masterfully played by Mad Men's Aaron Staton, while a number of his AMC co-stars also crop up in the game.

Over at Destructoid, reviewer Jim Sterling is, to put it mildly, impressed.

"No game released this generation has tackled the subject matter found in L.A. Noire with the same degree of intelligence and respect," he writes, "and no game has blended gameplay from various genres so seamlessly, in a way that delivers something far more unique in experience than the sum of its parts."

Unlike Hollywood movies, however, L.A. Noire doesn't concern itself with telling the perfect tale.
"There's only one save file that the game updates automatically," points out Gamespot's Carolyn Petit, "so you can't just restart when an interrogation goes badly." In other words, if you screw up, L.A. Noire won't hesitate to confront you with the consequences of your errors. It "isn't about tidy resolutions and happy endings," says Petit, "'it's often about the cases where the truth is elusive--the cases that keep cops up at night."

So yes, it's often gruesome and depressing, but it's realism of a different sort that troubles some critics, including IGN's Hilary Goldstein.

"Things are perhaps too true to real police work - repetitive, redundant, and unsurprising," he says, though he, like many others, finds much to like in its stellar voice work and soundtrack. Still, scoring it an 8.5, Goldstein says the game "never adds up," feeling its "amazing pieces...don't quite amount to an incredible game."

A few other critics score the game in the 8s, typically citing concerns over uneven gameplay, a few control issues, and an occasional reliance on guesswork over skill. But praise for the game's storytelling and superb performances is universal, and a slew of perfect marks nudge the game's average score comfortably over the 90% line at Metacritic. We suspect that's enough to make even the most hard-boiled of noir heroes crack a self-satisfied grin.

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