Preview: L.A. Noire: Gameplay Trailer

I can’t seem to fully load this page from my droid!

I love this game for so many reasons, yet the few irritating drawbacks infuriate me. The atmosphere, music, facial expressions, and story are amazing. I want to advance through the game as quickly as possible to find out how things progress. However, the completely hit-or-miss interrogation sessions and rooting through garbage can crime scene investigation have me sick enough to quit.

The facial expressions and voice acting are just as incredible as advertised. I knew going into this that picking up on facial ticks and eye darting were key to detecting inconsistencies in testimony. Still, no matter how you play it, there’s no way to tell whether you should believe, doubt, or catch the witness in a lie. Some of the lying is completely obvious, yet you still lose for not selecting the correct choice between “doubt” or “lie”. I don’t mind doing more investigation to solve the case, but I hate feeling like a failure when the game gives me no other options or assistance.

I also tired of the same old crime scene investigations. You move from area to area, waiting for the controller to rumble so that you can investigate. Sometimes its evidence worthwhile, but more often its just a bottle or an ashtray worth nothing. Often times you find yourself re-examining an area after all other evidence has been found, as if you’d missed something the first time.

It pains me to write this review. I had this preordered, and had been counting down the months to its release. I still find it an amazing piece of entertainment, pushing the boundaries of what a video game can be. Yet some of the elements are just not implemented in a way that can be considered fun, or an attainable challenge. When you don’t know why you’re getting things wrong or misinterpreting information, there’s no reason to hone your technique or continue. I’ll probably just finish this up with a strategy guide so I know how to answer the interrogations.