Review of the game L. Noire. L. A. Noire review (console version) L a noire gambling addiction review
L.A. Noire took a very long time. The company "Team Bondi" made the announcement of the game back in 2004, and only seven years later the game did hit the shelves. During development, all gamers were worried about the same questions - whether the game will be as promised, and whether it will be too pretentious, because it has a lot of ambitions! But, all fears were in vain. The game is a masterpiece, and I apologize of course, but no objections are accepted!
He may have been mixed with mud, but his hands are clean.
The word "noir" has a lot of meanings, but it can be characterized ( in simple words): melancholy, lack of bright colors and all kinds of hope ... This is exactly such a "utopia" that takes place in Los Angeles at the end of the 40s. The war is over, and by and large everyone is happy, but now the most difficult thing must be done - it is to establish peace and tranquility, as well as to restore what was destroyed. Yes, in those years many people came from the front to join the ranks of law enforcement agencies and not only. But, again, all kinds of "rot" appeared, too, not a little. As we were shown in the game, the "city of angels" was just a hotbed: drug addicts, bandits and many different criminal elements. And to challenge everything the underworld decided our hero, the former military Cole Phelps. And, as mentioned above, our hero fought, and hence the conclusion that he is far from a cowardly person. Thanks to this, he made a good career for himself, starting with an ordinary patrolman and ending with the top. The game does not have the open world that we are used to seeing. The genre is still a detective quest, we have the main story line, but there are also additional. tasks for which we get experience points. The world is very lively. For example: a girl from whom you take readings at the very beginning, then you can meet closer to the middle of the game, in fact, the game city resembles a small town where everyone is familiar.
It is our duty to defend the law!
It seems to me that it will be doubly interesting for the residents of Los Angeles to play. The location of all buildings and shops of that time was carefully transferred to the game. The developers have recreated everything in great detail: costumes, music, cars and even high-profile crimes of that time. Cole is a detective. His duties include: examining bodies, searching for evidence, as well as determining the circle of suspects and, of course, the main goal of the whole event is to find the bandit. It all depends on our attention and intelligence. We mostly interrogate people. These can be both "leftist" people, and valuable witnesses, and a real bandit. After each answer, we can:
1) agree;
2) doubt;
3) accuse of lying. 
True, if you choose option 3, then you will also need to confirm your words with the help of previously found evidence. Yes, they may not appear in your notebook, and then you have only one choice, let the criminal lie, and be more attentive yourself. In general, at first it is not difficult to split criminals, but from the middle it becomes very difficult to determine lies or truth. We draw all conclusions from facial expressions, and this is what the developers are proud of. Noire used Motion Scan technology developed by Depth Analysis, an Australian company. 
It is because of her that all faces look very lively, which further helps to immerse yourself in the world of the game.
In general, if you conduct the interrogation successfully, then you will be awarded experience points, and they will raise the "level" of our detective. By pumping we get nice bonuses: suits that can increase your skills or health, as well as with the help of glasses you can use "intuition", when activated, you will lose the wrong answers and unnecessary evidence.
The right person in the wrong place can turn the world around
Compare this game to the series " Grand theft Auto ”is not necessary, even though Rockstar had a hand in this project, it is still absolutely different games... The only thing they have in common is the storyline. This cannot be taken away from the "rockstarists". In the main role - a positive hero, not a saint of course, but this is not the place in GTA! We learn all of his relationship to the world around us from dialogues, and also with the help of memories that return us to times of war. The characters of all NPCs are worked out in great detail and only help to perceive this vicious city more.
Outcome
L.A. Noire is a part of our world in the post-war years. The story of which the creators of the game told us. And, most importantly, they did an excellent job with the task. Of course, you can start looking for flaws, but why? Yes, the game has not the most beautiful picture, too arcade physics of shooting and driving a car, only 20 side quests, but you close your eyes to all this when you understand how much work has been done in the game. In the creation of the guys from Australia, you have to think a lot and read a lot. I admit it is because of these things that L.A. Noire some people may not like it. I would like to advise, buy the game and get an unforgettable gaming experience!
Originally a detective action L.A. Noire was developed by an Australian team Team bondi and released by forces Rockstar games for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles in May 2011. Unfortunately, despite the success of the project, it became the first and last completed game of this studio, because in the same year it went bankrupt, after which its assets were acquired by the multimedia company Kennedy Miller Mitchell, where most of the employees moved. In addition, some of its former members got jobs in various studios. Rockstar... In November 2011, a port of the game for PC was released, which was run by the English branch. Rockstar leeds, and six years later it came to a re-release, entrusted to the studio Virtuos, for modern consoles PlayStation 4, Xbox one and Nintendo Switch. It would seem that a copy of the project for a hybrid platform looks the most promising, but surely the versions for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One also have their advantages, and the Switch has disadvantages, so it is worth considering them in detail.
Welcome to the Los Angeles forties, where the hard work of the guardian of justice awaits you. In the role of the former US Marine - Cole Phelps, you have to investigate a variety of cases, starting your path as a regular patrolman, and at an enviable speed climb the police ladder to shed light on the leading exciting truth. Naturally, following the increase, the crimes investigated become more and more confusing, but their set is not the main element of the story. As the case is completed, the player is shown the memories of the protagonist, which are ultimately linked to what is happening in the present tense, thereby answering many questions. However, the main development of the plot component occurs only in the second half of the game, and the first part accounts for the disclosure of largely uncomplicated cases and a torn prehistory. Nevertheless, Cole is not at all an ordinary person, and certainly not an ideal person, as it might seem at first glance, and therefore it becomes interesting to follow his behavior from the very beginning. However, this does not negate the fact that the story develops slowly, and therefore especially impatient players may get bored before it starts to accelerate.
Let be L.A. Noire and is not a sandbox in its usual sense, since it is extremely strongly focused on the plot, there is open world, in which you can do street crime, sightseeing, or as a last resort search for collectibles. However, these activities are not quite enough for a full-fledged live entertainment space, but here, to be honest, the freedom to move around the big city seems superfluous at all.
Police work is not only dangerous and difficult, but also quite interesting. Indeed, at the beginning of the investigation, it is sometimes impossible to guess where the found evidence will ultimately lead.
Detective tools
Almost all the basic gameplay elements are revealed even in the very first cases, so in further game there is little surprise in this regard. However, all assignments are carefully designed and provide a detailed investigation process, including arriving at the scene, looking for evidence, questioning witnesses and then identifying the culprit, which is not limited to any one scenario.
Interaction with the persons involved in the case is a mechanic that deserves a separate mention. Thanks to the impressive facial animation, you can yourself determine when, for example, the interlocutor is not saying something, lying, worried or inclined to talk. Then, in accordance with the behavior, take one of three permanent courses of action. This is where the original Truth, Doubt, and Lies system underwent a re-release, titled Good Cop, Bad Cop and Blame. I cannot say with certainty that the choice has become more transparent in this way. In my opinion, it was worth displaying at least abbreviated remarks of Phelps on the screen, so as not to get confused in the behavior of the protagonist.
But the main disadvantage in investigations is that you cannot influence the outcome of the case, and, say, put an innocent person behind bars, because despite the variation in the choice during interrogation, the outcome is always the same. He will not be able to influence the further plot, and the maximum will lead to a reprimand from the authorities. The only thing that is subject to change is the final stats, so you have to try to complete things perfectly if you want to get a platinum prize. But do not try to do everything in one playthrough, because there is an opportunity to replay any task if necessary by selecting it in the main menu.
The answer to this question cannot be unambiguous. Everyone decides for himself whether he wants to go through the game again, but already on a new generation console, or even do it for the first time. Nevertheless, to make it easier for you to decide on a solution, you need to talk about the features of the reprint L.A. Noire... Naturally, the new edition includes all previously released additional materials, as well as a bonus in the form of a set of collective items "New Collections". In terms of graphics, the game is not noticeably prettier compared to the PC version. In addition, even though it works in 4K resolution on the PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X, the number of frames is still thirty, when on a PC you can achieve sixty. In turn, on standard versions of consoles, the project runs in native 1080p resolution and at thirty frames per second. Despite the excellent facial animation already mentioned earlier, the visually action-adventure movie was not a breakthrough even in the days of the original release, but now against the background of more beautiful games like Horizon: Zero Dawn, it looks completely nondescript. Yes, there were a number of technical improvements to the graphics, such as an updated lighting and cloudiness system, adding textures high resolution but this was not enough for the product to look fresh.
Let me remind you that in the original console versions there was no translation into Russian, while a localized version with subtitles was already released on the PC. This unpleasant moment scared off many players who do not know English properly, but this will definitely not happen with new editions. Unfortunately, no Russian dubbing was added, but the translation of the text is available. It may not be without mistakes, but overall it is not bad.
Another small new detail is the photo mode, which does not have rich functionality, but is able to cope with creating beautiful screenshots.
The mechanics of shooting and the physics of driving cars in the game are far from ideal, but meanwhile they do not cause discomfort, and even more so they do not interfere with plunging into the mysterious atmosphere created, among other things, thanks to musical accompaniment composers Andrew Hale and Simon Hale. On the PlayStation 4 Slim, the game runs stably, without crashes and drops in frame rate. There are also no problems with subtitle timing. To feel like watching a noir movie, a black and white mode is available in the screen settings, which, by the way, was also in the original.
Yet, despite all its flaws, L.A. Noire to this day is one of the most spectacular and mesmerizing detective games that can captivate up to end credits, however, provided that you do not expect endless action from her.
In due time I missed L.A. Noire on the PlayStation 3 and caught up with the local detectives already on the PC, having bought an official copy of the ID on Steam at one of the major discounts, for only 2.5 dollars, it seems. I went through the game quickly, but I didn't really like it and moved on to another project. In November, when the detective story hit the Nintendo Switch, I got it. That I fucking want to return to this entertaining and very realistic world, where we are sent in the guise of a policeman.
On the Nintedo Switch, the game looks weaker than on the PlayStation 4, which is quite predictable. However, this does not prevent her from looking modern and good. Having released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, it was noticeably ahead of its time, so its modern look in 2017 is not surprising. Of course, there is something to complain about here - the dubious physics of cars, not always smooth animation, and on the Nintendo Swtich there is also a city that is drawn in front of our eyes. Someone again may say, “Hey, dude, buy a super-speed memory card for 50 euros and it will draw faster” - perhaps, but if the developers cannot optimize the game to work with the cards supported by the device, then this is not a player’s fault. ...
Aside appearance. What is impossible not to note in L.A. Noire is her wellbeing in handheld mode on the Nintendo console. And although there are also technical problems here, such as rare drawdowns of frames and objects that appear before our eyes, the very structure of the project seems to have been originally created for pocket gaming. Short detective episodes, the viscosity of everything that happens and the lack of special rush in most of the game chapters - all this disposes to passing in a queue to the doctor, on the subway or other public transport, during lunchtime and walking in the park.
My biggest complaint is the quality of the translation. I am sure that it is identical on all systems and is unlikely to be amenable to post-release adjustments, given that the game was released three weeks ago, and there were no changes. There are quite a few unprofessional terms and some simplifications instead of professional terminology. For example, in the game, they still pull the triggers, and a radio message in the style of "we need some uniforms here" is translated as "we need patrolmen in uniform." What?! Who?! What ?! Uniforms are just police slang, as the patrol cops were called, who, unlike civilian detectives, wore uniforms. This does not need to be explained in dialogue and made stupid. And this happens throughout the game.
The review is based on digital versions of the game for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch provided by the publisher. All screenshots used in the material were taken directly by the author of the article on the specified platform.
L.A. From the very first frames, Noire tries to distance itself from the main project of Rockstar, setting the player up for the unhurried narration of a noir detective. The story of the American dream of Col Phelps, a retired war hero, grows into a drawn-out kaleidoscope of seemingly unrelated criminal investigations. Players go all the way from an ambitious patrolman to a detective who has grappled with the corrupt elite. Scattered pieces of history come together towards the end of the game, highlighting two important narrative themes: corruption and fidelity to duty. The love line, turning into a triangle, and not too obvious remorse of the protagonist drown, not having time to develop in an idiotic ending with predictable conclusions in the style of Commissioner Katani. The interpretations by the creators of the project of real cases and references to films in the black and white genre are not only controversial, but also aimed at overly subtle connoisseurs of the genre. Most of the players brought up on South Park, all these references to the Maltese Falcon will be simply incomprehensible. As for fidelity to duty, Team Bondi did not say anything new here - in real life David almost always loses to Goliath. It probably didn't make sense to repeat the lessons of Red Dead Redemption again.
If the plot can be argued for long enough, then the basic mechanics of L.A. Noire is openly borrowed from the CSI game series, adjusted for modern technology. The protagonist also examines the crime scene, looks for evidence, and then interrogates witnesses. True, given the success of the wheeled concept Mass effect, instead of multi-meter lines of dialogue, players only have to choose one of three answer options. Truth, Lie, Doubt. For fans of the show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” one of the options can be removed or you can call a friend (ask the community for help via Social Club). True, for this you will have to pay with a point of intuition, which the character is rewarded with as his professional growth. Of course, you can poke the answer options at random - the game will push you to the only correct answer, but this finally spoils the already rather drawn-out game project. There is also a third option - to determine the correct model of behavior based on the reaction of witnesses, which should be helped by the multimillion-dollar Motion Scan technology. The heroes of the game wrinkle their foreheads theatrically, roll their eyes and make grimaces, but in most cases it is almost impossible to understand whether they are lying or not. Therefore, when the inner intuition does not work, you have to use the two above-mentioned options. Sometimes dialogue and plot development are influenced by the hero's decisions, but they are insignificant. To the credit of technology - heroes from other games after L.A. Noire looks like Botex-spiked German pornstars.
Besides interrogation and examination of evidence, the main character can move around the giant city by car, perform side quests shooting and participating in questionable mini-games with maintaining balance and finding a way out of the bushy maze. The action scenes are too simple and, unlike Red Dead, seem like unsuccessful theatrical productions. This is well understood by the creators of the game, who sometimes imperceptibly intercept the player's control for quick ascent up stairs or scripted descent. Driving around the city leaves a pleasant impression, but recklessness is clearly not held in high esteem here. An accident or a knocked-down pedestrian means a minus to the reputation and status of the work done. And cars prefer to smoke, even with a punctured gas tank and bullet-fired tires. True, for amateurs perfect passage there is an automatic mode when the car is driven by your partner.
The giant city, which the developers are so proud of, takes up most of the disc space in the Xbox version of the game, and does not give the player any new sensations. More than 100 types of unique pedestrians, restored landmarks, detailed streets, shops and stalls, each with its own merchandise, are just a very expensive decoration for the main story. There is simply nothing to do in this incredible city with traffic and people. Searching for collectible cars and sightseeing is just boring.
L.A. Noire - interesting job with a huge budget (over 500 actors, including Fringe star John Noble as a dirty developer) that could benefit from the simplicity of the design. The attempt to convey the atmosphere of the Noir films was only partially successful, largely due to a fanatical desire to create an accurate imitation (there is even a black and white filter in the settings), and not the original product. The same goes for the main story, which lacks a clearer presence of the femme fatale and crime drama. Politics and corruption with a vague maniac and weak action and ending spoil a rather strong first impression of an interesting game. It's a shame that revolutionary technology cannot compensate for this.
The version for Xbox 360
SPECIAL OPINION
Perhaps the main feature of the game is facial animation, or Motion Scan. Rockstar really tried to make the facial muscles as realistic as possible. Indeed, during an interrogation, a lot depends on whether you recognize a lie on the person being interviewed. And almost everyone loves to lie here, so be careful. And in this situation, it is important to constantly remember what evidence you have, because you simply will not be able to catch a lie without evidence. By the way, there will not be a single character in the game who will even lie with a stone face. All faces live during a lie, but during a truth you will see calm and honest looks.
One of the undoubted advantages of L.A. Noire is a car park. The 95 cars produced in the post-war period are a true gift for the automotive fan. However, all cars are registered in American factories - Buicks, Oldsmobiles, Fords, Plymouth, Cadillacs, Chryslers and other classic American cars.
Generally in L.A. Noire's main achievement, in my opinion, is precisely the scrupulousness with which the developers approached the game this time. Indeed, unlike some barely recognizable American city in the GTA, here we have Los Angeles in the mid-20th century, unlike just cars created by designers, real licensed cars from the 50s. Here, with documentary accuracy, the city, cars and, of course, the life of Los Angeles are recreated with people rushing to work, or men with flowers running on a date waiting for the green signal of a traffic light. If we see real cars and a real city in GTA 5, it will definitely be a hit.
L.A. Noire most likely made money on the second part. And the main hope is that in the second part, good graphics and interesting gameplay will be added good plot... After all, Rockstar was able to attract John Noble, why not swing at JJ Abrams as a genius of hoaxes and mind-blowing plot branches. Things in the game are interesting - and then a trap happened, because all the things in the game have a historical basis, they happened in those years in America, but somehow it was not very successful to tie everything into one common interesting plot outline. As a result, we have a very beautiful game, with interesting mechanics and funny features, but with a terrifying plot, created according to not the best cliches.
We understand that we are late with the review of such a game, but we would like to improve. And before the upcoming release of the game on PC, it is desirable to familiarize yourself with the game. Especially on PC she will be a little better (with some graphic details).
Others believed that a detective story in the style of Quantic Dreams- the authors of the great Heavy rain , which set the tone and the bar for everyone else. Their reasoning was the system MotionScan specially designed to record actors' facial expressions, which hinted at the strongest dialogue component of the game, close-ups heroes and the emotionality of what is happening.
Graphics:
The game takes place in Los Angeles 1947, the authors of the game deliberately went to the record and made the largest, open city available for the main character - a detective of the police department Los angeles Cole Phelps (English Cole phelps ). As it should be at that time, huge Buicks ride around the city, men in suits and hats with short beads walk. And the ladies defile in bright outfits... If you walk around the city or go on investigations during the day, then there is no smell of noir at all - the colors are very bright, everything is the same as it was at that time. For those who are confused by this, there is a B / W setting in the menu and the game turns into a black and white detective story with all the ensuing noir emotions and images.
The picture quality is at a high level. Engine In-house engine handles shadows and animations well. Renders great textures for subject objects. But everything related to the background and extras no longer has such a gloss. Therefore, be prepared for the fact that cars have much less detail than in the same, passers-by have more modest animation. But as soon as you reach the plot point, you find yourself in a completely different world. There are already a huge number of objects, strong detail, clear textures, background conversations Npc and the atmosphere of crime.
Since the city itself does not beckon to explore its streets, and the plot is SO strongly addictive, you may not notice any indulgences at all. Therefore, a great picture awaits us most of the time playing.
MotionScan system:
A huge development time, a terrible number of actors and hundreds of hours of recording their faces - all this MotionScan ... What is the output. And the effect is very interesting. Someone wrote that the heads seem to live separately from the rest of the body due to the difference in animation quality. One can calm down this is not the case.
It looks like this: there is a script scene, we are shown close-ups of the characters' faces and we seem to be watching a series about cops. The gameplay begins and with a 3rd person view everything comes to a common denominator, but! with the only difference that when someone is talking or our detective Cole Phelps gets involved in street conflicts, we see this vivid facial expressions. In places it looks tense, as if the actors are replaying. They express their emotions too strongly, but everything is done correctly. Nevertheless, we see everything from afar, and in order not to miss significant differences, our attention is focused on these little things. Therefore, we can say that this system favorably distinguishes the game from the rest and everything turned out great.
But as always, there are also disadvantages, though they concern those who do not know English. language. So, playing with subtitles, you automatically skip past all these emotions and the actors' play, tk. you just do not have time to look at them, and at the credits. (subtitles are also in English)
Sound and voice acting:
Since this is a detective noir, then the musical accompaniment is here to match. While driving, we hear light muffled music from the 30s and 40s. During the investigations ... more on that later. The most important thing here is the impeccable recording of the voices of the actors. Even just walking through the police station and hearing the secretary's conversation, you involuntarily stop to listen. And conversations during interrogations. Impeccable sound quality for dialogues.
Gameplay and plot:
I'll start with the plot, but I won't develop the idea too much, so as not to spoil the experience for people - so no spoilers. I’ll say very briefly - we play as Cole Phelps, a former diligent military man with a silver star (the Silver Star is a personal US military decoration, the basis for which is the courage and courage shown in battle). We start with an ordinary patrol cop and grow by leaps and bounds. We are waiting for ridiculous, cruel, complicated cases, showdowns with kindred feds in the style - " Who is in charge? -I do! -Not any more"But the key point in our detective's curiosity.
Each case looks like a separate chapter. As in the good old TV series about Colombo - we are shown the moment of the crime in such a way that nothing is clear, then we get a briefing and the first clues, we take a partner and go to work. Arriving at the scene of the crime, we see the cordoned off territory, the police chasing the onlookers. Forensics, clues and footprints, annoying reporters.
Light disturbing music starts in the background and we begin our investigation. First, you can go through all the marks marked by the forensic experts. View, turn objects. In general, it looks very cool. A huge city, you come to some kind of square. There is a corpse, go to the forensic mark, pick up a tiny matchbox - and it is just perfectly detailed. Moreover, you see it in full screen, open it - you can easily read the inscription of the bar from which they were taken. All clues, locations and suspects are automatically added to our detective's notebook. Therefore, you can always sit and think about how it fits in with what. We will have to examine the bodies, travel to addresses, work out various versions.
Now about the interrogations. It all comes down to the fact that we ask suspects or witnesses questions about the case and monitor their reactions to them. Someone needs to be pressured in order to intimidate or push them into dialogue out of shock, just agree with something, and catch someone in a lie. But to do this, refer to what was found. Those. to prove that the person is lying - you must choose from the list of evidence in the notebook the one on which he messed up. I must say that the actors are just brilliant. There are those who do not show at all and lie at every step, there are those who immediately inject, there are those who themselves threaten us. Therefore, each time it is interesting to look at their reactions.
The game has a hint system. On the scene of the crime, if you find all possible evidence, the music will stop playing. The evidence itself is marked with a slight vibration from the joystick. And correctly asked questions during interrogation - with light piano notes. But if you are in doubt or cannot find a needle in a haystack, you can use your intuition glasses. That will help to find evidence or remove unnecessary options for dialogue with the suspect. With a connected network - you can ask how society should be Rockstar social club and see what percentage of players correctly passed this moment.
For those who think that all this is easy and for puppies - you can turn off all these prompts altogether and investigate hardcore.
It would seem that the game is a dream - a strong plot, good graphics, great animation, decent sound, but there is still a weak point.
And this is driving around the city. How it happened is not clear. But the ride here is the most disgusting thing there is. Physics from machines just pluck out your eyes. They accelerate briskly, slow down badly, but most importantly, they turn unrealistically sharply. You are driving a huge car - and at full speed it can turn 90 degrees at an intersection without skidding. The very sharp steering wheel and the completely glued car annoy the whole game. The collision system is tied here for show and as if it is just there. You can't crush people - you run into them, you see an inscription that it's not good for detectives to crush people and that all this will affect your final reputation. (I somehow rarely ran into them, I don't know what will happen if only this is what I do)
During the chases, everything comes to life - we are walking along the script rails - the partner shoots, the city traffic is intriguing - and everything is more or less, except for the steering wheel.
In general, we are waiting for investigations of large cases, crime calls (minor) that help to get points of intuition that can be used, but it is important to understand that if you are going to interrogate a suspect and are distracted by another call, you may not find what thread is spicy moment and arrive when they are already waiting for you at the parade, and not unprepared.
Outcome:
An excellent atmospheric detective story with a powerful plot from the Australian Team bondi, innovative facial expressions of heroes, a fascinating system of investigations, chases, shootouts, beautiful detailed locations, cool voice acting and cool DLC! Definitely the best buy of the summer season. If only because of the titanic work done. It's like playing games Remedy Entertainment- we go into the rooms, fly there in a couple of minutes, and we worked on it for tens of hours, placing hundreds of objects. There are even more of them, even deeper, and all of them, even those that cannot be picked up, carry a semantic load and help us make the right decision.
Leave your comments and share your impressions.
Originally a detective action L.A. Noire was developed by an Australian team Team bondi and released by forces Rockstar games for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles in May 2011. Unfortunately, despite the success of the project, it became the first and last completed game of this studio, because in the same year it went bankrupt, after which its assets were acquired by the multimedia company Kennedy Miller Mitchell, where most of the employees moved. In addition, some of its former members got jobs in various studios. Rockstar... In November 2011, a port of the game for PC was released, which was run by the English branch. Rockstar leeds, and six years later it came to a re-release, entrusted to the studio Virtuos, for modern consoles PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. It would seem that a copy of the project for a hybrid platform looks the most promising, but surely the versions for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One also have their advantages, and the Switch has disadvantages, so it is worth considering them in detail.
Welcome to the Los Angeles forties, where the hard work of the guardian of justice awaits you. In the role of the former US Marine - Cole Phelps, you have to investigate a variety of cases, starting your path as a regular patrolman, and at an enviable speed climb the police ladder to shed light on the leading exciting truth. Naturally, following the increase, the crimes investigated become more and more confusing, but their set is not the main element of the story. As the case is completed, the player is shown the memories of the protagonist, which are ultimately linked to what is happening in the present tense, thereby answering many questions. However, the main development of the plot component occurs only in the second half of the game, and the first part accounts for the disclosure of largely uncomplicated cases and a torn prehistory. Nevertheless, Cole is not at all an ordinary person, and certainly not an ideal person, as it might seem at first glance, and therefore it becomes interesting to follow his behavior from the very beginning. However, this does not negate the fact that the story develops slowly, and therefore especially impatient players may get bored before it starts to accelerate.
Let be L.A. Noire and is not a sandbox in its usual sense, since it is extremely strongly focused on the plot, there is an open world in which you can do street crime, sightseeing, or in extreme cases, search for collectibles. However, these activities are not quite enough for a full-fledged live entertainment space, but here, to be honest, the freedom to move around the big city seems superfluous at all.
Police work is not only dangerous and difficult, but also quite interesting. Indeed, at the beginning of the investigation, it is sometimes impossible to guess where the found evidence will ultimately lead.
Detective tools
Almost all the basic gameplay elements are revealed even in the very first cases, so in the future the game can hardly surprise you in this regard. However, all assignments are carefully designed and provide a detailed investigation process, including arriving at the scene, looking for evidence, questioning witnesses and then identifying the culprit, which is not limited to any one scenario.
Interaction with the persons involved in the case is a mechanic that deserves a separate mention. Thanks to the impressive facial animation, you can yourself determine when, for example, the interlocutor is not saying something, lying, worried or inclined to talk. Then, in accordance with the behavior, take one of three permanent courses of action. This is where the original Truth, Doubt, and Lies system underwent a re-release, titled Good Cop, Bad Cop and Blame. I cannot say with certainty that the choice has become more transparent in this way. In my opinion, it was worth displaying at least abbreviated remarks of Phelps on the screen, so as not to get confused in the behavior of the protagonist.
But the main disadvantage in investigations is that you cannot influence the outcome of the case, and, say, put an innocent person behind bars, because despite the variation in the choice during interrogation, the outcome is always the same. He will not be able to influence the further plot, and the maximum will lead to a reprimand from the authorities. The only thing that is subject to change is the final stats, so you have to try to complete things perfectly if you want to get a platinum prize. But do not try to do everything in one playthrough, because there is an opportunity to replay any task if necessary by selecting it in the main menu.
The answer to this question cannot be unambiguous. Everyone decides for himself whether he wants to go through the game again, but already on a new generation console, or even do it for the first time. Nevertheless, to make it easier for you to decide on a solution, you need to talk about the features of the reprint L.A. Noire... Naturally, the new edition includes all previously released additional materials, as well as a bonus in the form of a set of collective items "New Collections". In terms of graphics, the game is not noticeably prettier compared to the PC version. In addition, even though it works in 4K resolution on the PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X, the number of frames is still thirty, when on a PC you can achieve sixty. In turn, on standard versions of consoles, the project runs in native 1080p resolution and at thirty frames per second. Despite the excellent facial animation already mentioned earlier, the visually action-adventure movie was not a breakthrough even when the original was released, but now against the background of more beautiful games like Horizon: Zero Dawn, it looks completely nondescript. Yes, there were a number of technical improvements to the graphics, like an updated lighting and cloud system, adding high-resolution textures, but this was not enough to make the product look fresh.
Let me remind you that in the original console versions there was no translation into Russian, while a localized version with subtitles was already released on the PC. This unpleasant moment scared off many players who do not know English properly, but this will definitely not happen with new editions. Unfortunately, no Russian dubbing was added, but the translation of the text is available. It may not be without mistakes, but overall it is not bad.
Another small new detail is the photo mode, which does not have rich functionality, but is able to cope with creating beautiful screenshots.
The mechanics of shooting and the physics of driving cars in the game are far from ideal, but meanwhile they do not cause discomfort, and even more so they do not interfere with plunging into the mysterious atmosphere created, among other things, thanks to the musical accompaniment of composers Andrew Hale and Simon Hale. On the PlayStation 4 Slim, the game runs stably, without crashes and drops in frame rate. There are also no problems with subtitle timing. To feel like watching a noir movie, a black and white mode is available in the screen settings, which, by the way, was also in the original.
Yet, despite all its flaws, L.A. Noire to this day it is one of the most spectacular and mesmerizing detective games that can captivate until the end credits, provided that you do not expect endless action from it.
In due time I missed L.A. Noire on the PlayStation 3 and caught up with the local detectives already on the PC, having bought an official copy of the ID on Steam at one of the major discounts, for only 2.5 dollars, it seems. I went through the game quickly, but I didn't really like it and moved on to another project. In November, when the detective story hit the Nintendo Switch, I got it. That I fucking want to return to this entertaining and very realistic world, where we are sent in the guise of a policeman.
On the Nintedo Switch, the game looks weaker than on the PlayStation 4, which is quite predictable. However, this does not prevent her from looking modern and good. Having released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, it was noticeably ahead of its time, so its modern look in 2017 is not surprising. Of course, there is something to complain about here - the dubious physics of cars, not always smooth animation, and on the Nintendo Swtich there is also a city that is drawn in front of our eyes. Someone again may say, “Hey, dude, buy a super-speed memory card for 50 euros and it will draw faster” - perhaps, but if the developers cannot optimize the game to work with the cards supported by the device, then this is not a player’s fault. ...
Aside appearance. What is impossible not to note in L.A. Noire is her wellbeing in handheld mode on the Nintendo console. And although there are also technical problems here, such as rare drawdowns of frames and objects that appear before our eyes, the very structure of the project seems to have been originally created for pocket gaming. Short detective episodes, the viscosity of everything that happens and the lack of special rush in most of the game chapters - all this disposes to passing in a queue to the doctor, on the subway or other public transport, during lunchtime and walking in the park.
My biggest complaint is the quality of the translation. I am sure that it is identical on all systems and is unlikely to be amenable to post-release adjustments, given that the game was released three weeks ago, and there were no changes. There are quite a few unprofessional terms and some simplifications instead of professional terminology. For example, in the game, they still pull the triggers, and a radio message in the style of "we need some uniforms here" is translated as "we need patrolmen in uniform." What?! Who?! What ?! Uniforms are just police slang, as the patrol cops were called, who, unlike civilian detectives, wore uniforms. This does not need to be explained in dialogue and made stupid. And this happens throughout the game.
The review is based on digital versions of the game for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch provided by the publisher. All screenshots used in the material were taken directly by the author of the article on the specified platform.