In another lifetime, L.A. Noire's upstart Detective Cole Phelps would have gotten on well with cartoony Capcom criminal defense lawyer Phoenix Wright. The two do-gooders share a similar crime-solving methodology; investigation, interrogation, and intimidation are the watchwords here, and Phelps sees to his homicide cases with a laser-guided penchant for justice. The Ace Attorney comparison might sound superficial, but it's not: While L.A. Noire has Rockstar Games' DNA all over it, it takes more than a few crafty cues from the adventure game genre.
Call it a modern-day Police Quest. The virtual streets of 1947 Los Angeles -- painstakingly and impressively recreated, quite possibly street-for-street, from a staggering amount of photo research -- teem with violence, drawing inspiration from numerous real-world sources (not least of all, Mafia kingpin Mickey Cohen and the Black Dahlia murder). Cue Cole Phelps and a litany of disgruntled partners, systematically observing and canvassing gruesome (and I can't emphasize that word enough) murder scenes, led from place to place by an always-dependable evidence trail. Haptic feedback betrays crucial clues, while a telltale jingle indicates when it's time to move on. Disable them if they offend your inclination for arbitrary challenge; I opted out of the contemporary pixel-hunt.
L.A. Noire's linearity might strike some sandbox aficionados as strange -- and, this being a Rockstar game, it is -- but guided doesn't mean inferior. Yes, mindless meandering is a sore thumb in this harsh world; while random street crimes and collect-them-all widget hunts certainly account for some small percentage on the pause-screen ledger, the fact that you can usually fast-travel to your next destination (don't, though -- the in-transit banter is always worth the drive) sends a clear "stay on target" message. It's for the best: The always-on-point narrative hits the beats that it needs to when it needs to, resulting in one of the strongest stories Rockstar's ever published. During his musical-chairs tour of LAPD's various beats, Phelps struggles to maintain his principles and his dignity inside of a corrupt legal system, in the face of hardships and vices that paint the would-be hero as only human. Even a jarring late-game focal shift (you'll know it when you see it) manages to maintain the momentum all the way to L.A. Noire's dark and fitting conclusion.
But you won't make it through those 19-odd hours without ruffling a few feathers, and the aforementioned Wright analogy makes even more sense during shakedown sequences. Interrogated individuals -- guilty or not -- aren't always forthcoming, and careful application of Phelps' truth/doubt/lie reactions is key to uncovering critical testimony. Well, let me rephrase: It's key to uncovering enough clues for a positive post-case fitness report, with a bonus lack of browbeating from Phelps' superiors (and some points toward unlocking another swanky three-piece). In practice, even the world's worst detective could bumble his way to the endgame; nod and smile at every fib, or squeeze innocent witnesses for nonexistent truths all you want -- you'll still receive whatever's necessary to move the plot forward. Finite intuition points take some guesswork out of the canvassing process, though if you're good at reading faces (and reviewing evidence -- proof's always necessary to make an accusation stick), it's not too tough to develop a nose for nonsense. For my part, routinely guessing upwards of a dozen correct answers in a row certainly made me feel at least a bit clever.
Of course, the interrogation room serves double-duty as a prime place for developer Team Bondi to show off some amazing facial animation tech. I'm not up on the process, but I bet that L.A. Noire's characters could pass for real people to anyone not paying close attention. I experienced a few "Oh hey, look who it is!" moments when the meticulously recreated mugs of geek-genre mainstays like Greg Grunberg and Keith Szarabajka popped up; the ever-overexposed Uncanny Valley creeps in at times (someone take note: consistently natural body animation should be next on the to-do list), but L.A. Noire's characters are -- without a doubt -- the most realistic-looking human beings ever designed for a video game. The voice-acting is the believability linchpin, though; props to the cast, particularly the performances behind wrathful Homicide Captain Donnelly and affably gruff Detective Rusty Galloway.
In some ways, this is a weird game for Rockstar. It's a guided experience that casts you as an underdog hero, which practically paints it as a full-mirror image of the Grand Theft Auto games. It's good to see the company broaden its horizons more and more; L.A. Noire plays its tropes well, and it's a fine exploration of the crime-adventure genre's flip side. As for Team Bondi, I hope it takes good advantage of L.A. Noire's modular nature by pumping out additional DLC case departments -- I'm itching to corner the Bunco desk's Frank Abagnale expy, or work Internal Affairs to give one particular Ad Vice lowlife his just desserts.