Opinion: L.A. Noire is a Vastly Underrated Gem

Whilst selling over 5 million copies since 2011 (and with the recent remaster that number might be closer to 6 or 7 million), L.A. Noire remains a largely unplayed experience by the masses. That is certainly a shame as L.A. Noire is an incredibly unique title and not only one of the best of the last generation, but of all time.

Developed by Team Bondi and published by Rockstar Games, L.A. Noire definitely had potential to burst out into the industry as a quality up-and-coming franchise. Unfortunately besides its recent remaster, any word on a sequel has been slim-to-none as Team Bondi has since dissolved and Rockstar’s last words on the franchise have been that “L.A. Noire is another strong franchise for this company.”

However, L.A. Noire’s place in gaming history is not without merit, and sadly overlooked and forgotten about. It’s premise, an open-world detective game set in 1940s Los Angeles, is a time period untouched by most games before or since. The scale of the city is certainly surprising and the amount of detail packed into its many historic buildings is something only Rockstar and its many studios have the gall to pull off. The sights and sounds of the city are authentic, and the map was more or less built to be a direct copy of the city at that time. It’s no GTA, as you still have to abide by laws (you do play as an L.A.P.D. detective after all), but taking in the sights of such landmarks as the LA County Art Museum, the Los Angeles Public Library, and the Westlake Tar Pits (now named the La Brea Tar Pits) is still unmatched in gaming history.

Its gameplay is wholly unique as taking control of Detective Cole Phelps, the player uncovers clues and conducts interviews with suspects to try to arrest the right person in each case. Getting to a crime scene and trying to uncover every little clue to use later in interviews when a person is lying is invigorating, and really gives the player the sense that they themselves are piecing the mystery together.

While a slower-paced game next to its open-world cousins, L.A. Noire does give the player moments of action as you chase after suspects (on foot or behind the wheel) and plenty of shootouts to get the blood pumping. However, the heart of the game is its detective work, and it is here the game truly shines. When conducting interviews, players are given the option to decide if a person is telling the truth, withholding information, or flat-out lying, and because of this, forces the player to really listen to what a suspect is saying. Not to mention, the use of the (still to this day) jaw-dropping facial animation to really study a person’s face for tells of lying.

Team Bondi used an impressive and technically demanding process called MotionScan to really capture an actor’s emotion during a scene. The tech was way ahead of its time and sadly has never been used again in games. The reason for this is that 32 cameras are set on an actor at any given time, and they cannot move while being filmed, making for difficult interaction between actors. It is also very expensive and likely was only used because of Rockstar’s faith in Team Bondi and their ambitious ideas for the game.

Still, L.A. Noire seemingly pulled off the impossible with consistently great acting with its entire cast. The tech was so detailed you could make out a quick eye and eyebrow movement, jaw clenches, hell it was even apparent when someone was swallowing. This was practically unseen and unheard of in games back in 2011. The game wouldn’t be much without that astounding technology, but with it, it is one of gaming’s most memorable experiences.

At this point, the future of the L.A. Noire franchise, or even just another title in the same vein, is uncertain. With Rockstar seemingly throwing all its eggs into its Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption baskets, it is likely a sequel to this unique title is out of the cards. The only shred of hope is the release of its remaster (maybe Rockstar testing the waters again?), but even then that may have only been to make a quick buck before the release of Red Dead Redemption 2 this fall.

In any case, L.A. Noire remains an ambitiously unique game in Rockstar‘s catalog and a moment in time for the gaming industry to really see what the future of motion capture could look like. Team Bondi delivered something completely unlike anything gamers had seen before, and it is likely that given the opportunity, that team of developers could’ve constructed a sequel bigger and better than the original.

Is L.A. Noire one of your favorite games? Let us know in the comments below!