In a convention center filled with almost 70,000 vocal video game enthusiasts, the small group inside of the Rockstar viewing room sat in hushed silence. In just the first few minutes of our presentation of L.A. Noire at PAX East 2011, we were exposed to the corpse of a young woman who had been beaten to death. The recently deceased is nude and is covered in blood, her personal items left in disarray nearby. For Cole Phelps, his first case as a detective seemed to be a horrific one.
Rockstar has been known for pushing the envelope in their previous releases, whether it be killing prostitutes in Grand Theft Auto or the profane dialogue in Red Dead Redemption. However with L.A. Noire, the graphic nature of the conversations or the horrific crimes seem justified if not necessary. This is due to the gritty reality of Los Angeles in 1947, the same year as the real-life Black Dahlia murder. In L.A. Noire, each of the twenty cases you will take on are all based around real crimes in the 1940’s. Seeing the mutilated body of the young victim is shocking at first, however the crime needs to be solved and her death avenged. The player will control Phelps as he examines the body for any signs of struggle or the cause of death. These clues act as a starting point for a lengthy investigation that involves questioning those that last saw the victim alive. This leads into the most impressive game mechanic of L.A. Noire; the interrogation.
Team Bondi utilized MotionScan technology in order to film the actors as they performed for the game’s dialogue. The actors are filmed by 32 cameras that catch their portrayal from every angle, allowing for the “most realistic facial animations ever seen in a video game”. This technology really shines in the game’s interrogation scenes. In the demo, Phelps questions the owner of the bar where the murdered woman had last been seen. The owner throughout the questioning began to appear nervous, his gaze shuffling back and forth avoiding eye contact with the detective. The player will need to play attention to these signs to gauge whether or not the person is lying or telling the truth. Keeping track of clues using Phelps’ notebook will also aid in the questioning if the interrogation begins to fail. Being able to see such life-like facial expressions in a video game adds so much credibility to the acting and likenesses of characters throughout the story.
With such substantial subject matter and a commitment to bringing real life emotions to a video game Rockstar and Team Bondi are creating a lasting impression for all enthusiasts, including the small group that sat in the viewing room on that Saturday morning. Having a Mature rating is such a common occurrence in today’s releases. On the other hand, L.A. Noire is a title that justifies the graphic nature with a mature storyline that is done in a tasteful manner. This may be the start of having an adult oriented game, geared towards people who can respect the maturity of the story and not playing it simply for it’s Mature rating. L.A. Noire is street dated for May 17, and will be available on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.