L.A Noire: The Complete Edition Review.May 14, 2014 by

L.A Noire

(Reviewed on the PC)

I hardly do reviews and I'm not very good at doing them to say the least, but this game deserved one.

Crime.Clues.Truth.War.Love.Pride.Chase.Shoot.Death. These are the words that can define a game such as L.A Noire. A game with a breath of fresh air coupled with a fine tune of the old. It's thrilling, exuberant and in a class of it's own.On paper L.A Noire seems like something different and it very much is, incorporating some very unique mechanics which it prominently uses throughout the game.You play as Cole Phelps, a man of faith and a man of pride. War hero and now a LAPD officer. Welcome to Los Angeles.

The first thing that you notice about the game is its 1940's vibe. I wasn't alive in the 1940's but you feel like you've known it all along. All the versatility of the vehicles and the infrastructure takes you to a journey back in time. The clothing too is fantastic and fits the timeline perfectly well. What's more is that, awesomely, you have the option of playing the game in black and white, which just turns the realism a notch up. It's not for everyone, even I did feel a bit awkward at first playing with no colourful world, but eventually I came to love it. It feels all the more mid 1940's. The game shows the more messy, the more violent side of America at that time.

Another thing great about the game is it's mechanics and how it implements them. As you are a detective, it's obvious to expect a lot of clue searching and interrogating which can become quite monotonous. The game realizes this and gives you a simple yet effective system to get about your ways. I wish to elaborate these mechanics specifically because they'll be with you throughout the game. Clue searching is simply done by looking around and clicking to see objects of interest. You can only pick up certain objects, so you don't waste your time picking up utterly useless things lying around. Although it's not always that you stumble up to pick on a clue, everything tells you about the environment and what might have happened more. While I really loved the simplicity of this way, very later in the game you may finally become a little tired of it especially when you're not able to progress just because you can't find a single clue. At times like this, I was haplessly pressing the mouse while walking around blindly just in case I turned something up. Thankfully to overcome this every time to you enter a crime scene a tune starts playing and it changes when you're near a clue. Perfectionists can turn this feature off but it certainly helps a lot, if not in every case.

The interrogation system is also very nicely done. You carry an ever useful pocket diary which mentions all the questions you might need to ask that person. After the person answers that questions, you just have to choose if he/she was telling the truth, lying or just hiding something (Truth, Lie, Doubt). This is done on the basis of the persons's facial expressions and voice tone which thankfully are wonderfully done. Every questioning is different from the last and requires wits to solve, as not every person has the same expressions and tone. It does pose a problem sometimes because every person has different facial expressions, you are wildly guessing the answer.Thankfully it's a problem so rare you'll barely notice it. Most of the time, the emotions on the faces of people, the horror they had faced, the time they had gone through was crystal clear and a joy to watch. All these things made interrogating simply the best part of the game.

So, yes it has all those great and effective mechanics, but where do I use those? In different cases. The game is broken down into 5 parts, based on your position in the LAPD, namely Patrol, Traffic, Homicide, Vice, and Arson. Each part features several cases for you to crack, along with your partner with whom you have to solve those cases. The partner changes every time you are change your squad.

The game offers some brilliant and complex cases which lead to usually satisfying conclusions. The cases start simple and as you progress through the game become a bit more complex and difficult to solve. Every squad has cases specifically pertaining to it all of which follow there own storyline (like the homicide cases are all about catching the Black Dahlia killer). Every case has interrogations, clues to find and some car chasing and shooting. Like I already mentioned the mechanics in the cases are well laid out and work extremely well. That said, the shooting and car mechanics could have been better. Every chase and shooting feels the same and they're done too often for their own good but still, it's a good break from all the questioning and stuff. In simple words - The patrol cases are quite simple, and as you work your way up the cases become harder. Traffic is good. Homicide is by far the most repetitive of all, with all cases basically the same. The Vice has some great cases and a few drops of drama to top it all. Arson is very different as at this time, the story starts coming to it's conclusion and it focuses more on that. Other than that, there are street crimes to solve in-between cases.These are usually well done and just a nice little distraction from the main case. The DLC cases are absolutely brilliant and have some very memorable moments.

That said, I mentioned a partner which we have. They're more of a hit or miss opportunity. In cut scenes and some other places they really do seem to have some character and brain. But while you are solving cases with them, they're mostly just rag dolls waiting to be thrown around. They give you some basic talk now and then and that's it. Most of the case solving, clue searching and interrogating is done by you alone. This for me, basically defeated the purpose of having a partner in the first place. They do in between do contribute to the story, but these are things far in between with an exception the our partner in the Vice squad who did play a good role.

Coming to the story of the game, which is where it gets interesting. In addition to the cases which have their own stories, there is a basic broad storyline all along the game. Cole Phelps, war hero and serving in the LAPD. It has revenge, love, pride and death and all of it is beautifully realized. It's hard to delve more into it without giving away spoilers but to say the least you can expect a great story. It is a bit inconspicuous at the start, but it unfolds ever so slowly until it is the driving force of the game. The fact that I said Arson squad was different is because of the same thing, the overall storyline becomes the driving force of the game.I grew to like all the characters throughout the game. The ending left me truly baffled and mesmerized. It somehow was a simple yet fitting conclusion to a complex tale. All this is made possible because of the great side-cast the game has. The game has absolutely amazing voice acting and to say more, great acting as a whole. Few games make me feel emotion for the main characters, and this game achieves that. You will know it when you experience it.

The music doesn't disappoint with some wonderful range of sound which feel classic and lovely to listen to and just add to that old vibe. Technically, the graphics of the game are good and what truly shines is the facial detail. Hard work was done on it and it shows with some great performances. The game hardly did run into any technical glitches on the PC expect a few minor hiccups you might expect and don't even pay attention to.


Overall, with a breath of fresh air and a beautiful story, I highly recommend this title to anyone and everyone. Keeping aside some of the repetitiveness its something worth experiencing and I'm sure you won't regret it.


Axle is a good guy. He loves video games, movies and new-age music. Follow him on IGN, Twitter or friend him on Facebook. His body is so ready!

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