Review | L.A. Noire (PC)

Finally!  After six months of waiting (and with more than a few sullen and envious looks thrown towards our console owning friends), Rockstar and Team Bondi’s newest project L.A. Noire has finally arrived on PC.  The one and only benefit of the delayed PC release is that you get “L.A. Noire: The Complete edition”.  This includes all the previously downloadable content for the consoles including five missions, the Badge Pursuit Challenge, and all the additional weapons and outfits.

L.A. Noire is a detective based crime game set in the 1940s, made in the fashion of the original film noir – a style of dark Hollywood crime drama in the 40s and 50s with an emphasis on corruption, cynicism and moral ambiguity.  With its monotone aesthetics, low-key lighting, and the smokey voice narrating your journey, L.A. Noire is the epitome of cool.

L.A. Noire is a blend of action, detective based adventure, with a healthy amount of cinematic storytelling thrown in.  The action sequences definitely have a feel of Rockstar’s GTA about them, whether you’re speeding after someone down the streets of Los Angeles or taking potshots at a bunch of bank robbers.  But where the game really shines is the crime-solving aspect.  Investigating crime scenes, hunting for clues, and interrogating witnesses are the real stars of the show.  In particular, the interrogation aspect stands out, where you are called on to decide whether the suspect is lying, telling the truth, or maybe you’re just doubtful of their story.  This feature of the game is made possible by the ‘MotionScan’ technology used to capture actor’s real facial expressions, which are then reproduced in game.  There’s nothing quite as satisfying as catching out someone in a lie just because they looked away as they spoke, or maybe just denied your accusations a little too vehemently.  I can quite honestly say that I have not had this much fun playing a crime solving game since I first played ‘Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego’ back in primary school (and anyone of my generation will tell you that’s high praise indeed!).

The graphics of L.A. Noire are generally of a very high standard.  The art direction and the depiction of Los Angeles in the 1940s are quite superb.  And, as mentioned above, the facial character animation is extremely well done, so much so that sometimes it draws attention to the rather static (by comparison) nature of the rest of their bodies, which sometimes seems out of place.  The PC version can also run at a higher resolution than the consoles, although you will need a very powerful machine to push it to its full potential.  Some PC fans have criticized the optimization of the game, stating that it does require quite a powerful gaming rig to run on anything other than the lowest settings.

Unfortunately after all those positives, I do have a few small criticisms of the game.  From a PC user’s point of view, the game does feel distinctly like a console game, rather than a game which was developed with both platforms in mind.  In particular the movement feels somewhat clunky, with none of the fluidity that usually comes from using a mouse and keyboard.  And although the graphics are good, they are not great.  At certain times the graphics can appear quite pixilated (especially if you are forced to run the game with some of the options dialed down).  I can’t help but feel that the six month delay has really disadvantaged them in this sense, considering that PC users will be comparing the graphics to the superior visuals of Skyrim and Battlefield 3.

Overall though, these are small detractions from an otherwise excellent game.  The cinematic quality of L.A. Noire creates a deeply immersive setting, and the gameplay is both innovative and enjoyable.  And don’t forget, you can always brag to those smug console players that you received a more complete and better looking game than they ever got!   [8.5]