Okay... E3's over, PSN's back up (even if my free PSP games are lost to the void because of a programming error a high school freshman studying BASIC would have picked up on) and the Rapture didn't happen. Now unless Battlefield 3 devs announce something like having one less texture in the PS3 version or something of equal earth-shattering importance, I should be able to make a post stay up on the front page for a couple hours.
Let's start by saying I love this game, for much the same reason I loved Heavy Rain. Something daring and different, even if not everything was new and not everything was perfect. We're going to focus on those imperfections, rather than do a full review, since anything good I have to say about the game (and I have a LOT of good to say) has been very well covered by other reviews.
--- Too much of Homicide ---
C'mon, the plot twist is obvious (even to Cole) after the second case. We didn't need another three, followed by a shark-jumping final case to wrap it up. Plus, pretty much every other detective game focuses on murder. It was actually cooler working traffic and arson, because they didn't fall into the same patterns, but I guess they decided to save most of THOSE cases for DLC. Fortunately, you do spend your time on Homicide with my personal favorite partner, not because he's a womanizing alcoholic, but because he's a womanizing alcoholic with a sense of humor.
--- The facial animation shows its strengths, and its weaknesses ---
Yes, the faces move really well and I was in legitimate awe at times. The technology behind it is fascinating, but its limitations became glaringly obvious very quickly.
- All men have perfect faces and short hair (even the "horribly burnt" veteran?) Makes sense, it WAS the 40's and we were all cleaning up after the depression.
- All women wear a necklace or scarf to separate their necks from their torsos? Okay, I'll believe that.
- Not all pedophiles have mustaches? Bulls***.
What I'm saying is don't expect this technology to flood the market. It works well here, but in an action/fantasy setting, or any setting where people might grow beards, traditional mo-cap may be the best route.
Now, if this were any other game, I'd have rather seen better looking... well, everything else, but LA Noire actually USES its the technology for its interrogation gameplay. Which brings me to my next point...
--- "Truth, Doubt, Lie" aren't always appropriate reactions ---
So many "answers" you're given are very vague, you can't really call them answers. It helps to think of "doubting" as "putting pressure on" but even that isn't consistent. Here are some exchanges that you MIGHT consider spoilers, but I wouldn't worry about:
1. "Was your husband wearing glasses when he left?"
"Yes, these new ones he had just bought."
This is one of your first interrogations and you're ready to lay the law down, because you found an obviously old pair of glasses at the scene of the crime! If you were Phoenix Wright, you'd use that evidence to object this bitch a new one... but probably not accuse her of the crime, since that's hardly damning evidence in and of itself. Cole... Cole isn't so smart. The correct response is "Truth," otherwise Cole flips out and accuses her.
2. "You seem to owe [so-and-so] quite a sum of money"
"Everybody owes somebody"
This seems like a time to doubt, since the suspect's acting like he owes someone for dinner when he's caught up in a drug ring. But no, the correct answer is "Truth." Again, true, but if I should pressure anyone I think it's a drug dealer.
3. "Tell us about [this guy]"
"I don't know any [this guy]"
Okay, I have no solid evidence here. He has this guy's lottery tickets, but that doesn't mean he deals directly with this guy. He is obviously lying though, so let's hit "Doubt?"... nope. Turns out you were supposed to hit "Lie" and present the statement of a man who just happens to deal with both this guy and the suspect, but doesn't claim they're connected. The tickets are a much more direct link, but you can't use those.
4. (this was edited in about a day after this article was approved, but is another good example from the Nicholson Electroplating DLC)
"What do you know about [lady]."
"Oh, that was [guy's] assistant. She came highly recommended."
Now, according to the logic in example 1, this guy is telling the truth. You've found evidence she was a corporate spy, but he doesn't know that. But now, we ARE in Phoenix Wright mode, and we need to call it a "lie" and present her camera. There's a big difference between the objective truth and the subjective truth, and the game can't really decide what the player is supposed to react to.
--- No Cole, I think this DOES pertain to the case ---
You often find what could be valuable evidence and should be presented to suspects, but Cole doesn't feel the need to actually record them in his handy dandy notebook. The result: In conversation #2 above, I accused him of running a drug ring, and was unable to present a CRATE OF MORPHINE twenty feet behind him.
--- All the leaps of logic ---
I didn't think anything could top "This tangentially related creepy guy has the business card of someone from the "Blue Lagoon" club, he MUST be related to the killer!" moment from Heavy Rain, but hoo boy, did LA Noire try sometimes. The stand-out moment is when you find movie tickets on guy's dead girlfriend and realize that MUST be where that guy is hiding out. But there's another great moment in "The Naked City" case. When you ask who a dead woman's boyfriend was, the suspect tells you that guy doesn't exist. I had figured the name was an alibi at that point, so "truth" was the natural response. That didn't work. Neither did doubt. When I clicked "Lie:"
"Do you remember your first heist? Do I need to spell this out for you?!"
"Pft, I dunno, I don't keep a list of these things"
Where the f*** did THAT come from? At that point it's obvious that you had to present the guy's rap sheet, and then Cole somehow pieces together that their first target was the boyfriend who then ended up running the burglary ring... WHAT?! There is ZERO way anybody could have pieced that together, and whether you get it right or not, the suspect immediately fesses up to the identity of the man in the following cutscene. So what's the point?!
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