With the sea of new big titles approaching release this fall, the video game drought of the year gave plenty of time for some players to catch up on the games that had already been released. One such title that garnered a reputation and received a great deal of acclaim that was worth visiting during the drought was L.A. Noire. Hailed as a unique experience unlike any other, it was the newest title to proudly (at the time) wear the Rockstar label and already got people whispering “game of the year.” But was it worthy of that title or even all the praise it received? Or was it just a series of concepts hidden under a stylish guise as displaced and forgotten as the time period itself?

Story

You play as Cole Phelps, a WWII veteran fresh off the boat and onto the police force. Just a short time on the street with a badge and Phelps finds himself knee deep in detective work. This naturally gets the attention of the right or wrong people and he starts his glorious climb up the ladder of the police hierarchy, uncovering and solving huge cases and conspiracies and making plenty of enemies in the process.

In terms of an overall story in L.A. Noire, there isn’t much of one. Rather, it’s a series of different story arcs that end by the time that “desk” is completed. Many of the small story arcs are quite interesting with some real head-scratchers and the occasional case that spills over into a side-mission or one that continues on to the next story mission. Sometimes this happens a little too often, though. Solving one case after another that is identical to the last, according to the guidelines of the mission can feel tedious and drags the story a bit. Also, when the writing on the wall is clear as day that everything that is “successful” is, in fact, wrong the completion of the case feels rather hollow.

Besides the investigations, there are some plot pieces that are happening concurrently via newspapers that can be found in the world, as well as some flashbacks pertaining to Cole’s military experience. There are details that connect all these little variables together, but they are tied rather loosely. As the game starts to build towards a conclusion all the points start to align and the links between characters start to become clear. But as for a straight story plot, the game doesn’t really have one outside of the character profile of Cole Phelps and maybe one other character that slowly steals the show.

Even in terms of character profiles, it’s layered on rather thin. Players get flashbacks pertaining to Phelps and his time in the war as well as random in-game cinemas that play scenes in relation to characters that haven’t been really introduced directly to the story. All these flashbacks and scenes that take place away from the actual crime investigating make it seem like there is some big story to drive the game toward. Unfortunately, the big stories that are uncovered never really get much of a conclusion and much of the story of L.A. Noire ends up being unsatisfying as much of it remains unfinished by the game’s conclusion.

That isn’t to say there are some redeeming qualities in the story. There are truly some shining moments in the game that stand out and show a real understanding of characterization and depth of feeling. The characters, while many are archetypes taken straight out of movies like LA Confidential, are still convincing in their portrayals. Their emotions come out in full force with dialogue that can completely pull you into the scene. Some of the moments in the game are truly stunning with great lines delivered with fervor and force that really can make you root for a character’s success. Nothing is quite as entertaining as a man kicking down the door opening fire directly a suspect and yelling, “That is my first negotiating option!”

The true tragedy of this game’s story writing is the conclusion to it all. The writers obviously took very good notes for the set-up and climax part of writing class, but must have skipped the one that focused on the conclusion section. Everything that ends, be it a small arc or a big chunk of the story, ends in an abrupt way.

Interruptions like job promotions come suddenly and at awkward moments. Sometimes it decides to change the story right then and there despite the investigation finally getting interesting and fun. It seems like this game would have benefitted from just a few more missions to stretch out some mechanics and a few more moments in the story to let things settle so the conclusions to different pieces of the story didn’t feel so rushed.