Parece que Rockstar no para de triunfar. El pasado año daban en el clavo con Red Dead Redeption, un gran juego que innovaba el gĂ©nero western en el mundo de los videojuegos. Su nueva propuesta es L.A Noire, un oscuro y violento thriller policĂaco que combina elementos de investigaciĂłn similares a Heavy Rain o Phoenix Wright con los de un sandbox abierto similar al GTA IV.
The Game developed by Team Bondi has been available since May 20 for PS3 and Xbox 360 for a price of âŹ59.99. In the case of the Xbox version, the game takes up 3 DVDs; While the PS3 version contains the entire game on a single Blu Ray.
Are the experts who say that L.A. Noire is surely the game of the year? If they donât have it, you will be safe among the candidates.
THE. Noire sets its plot in the city of Los Angeles in 1947, offering us as the main character Cole Phelps (Aaron Staton from Mad Men), a rookie in the Los Angeles Police Department. The game begins with Phelps investigating a crime and, after managing to solve it thanks to his great intuition, he will be able to advance in the ranks of the police and even change departments.
So that you understand the mechanics of the game well, below is a video that I have made with some of the parts of the game (investigation of clues, driving, fighting and interrogation).
The game is divided into 21 different cases, which will make us completely tour the city of Los Angeles. In all of these cases there are different parts that are repeated: look for clues, talk to the coroner, look for possible suspects, look for more evidence, interrogate all the suspects and declare a guilty party. But, although it may seem repetitive, having so much freedom and each case being different, this feeling is minimized. It is true that when we get to the cases of the second department, as they follow the same pattern, something repetitive can be done.
One of the most important parts of the investigation is the interrogation of the characters involved. That is why Team Bondi has created an innovation in the world of video games, MotionScan, the best facial recognition in history. MotionScan is according to its creators:
MotionScan allows us to capture and scan every nuance of an actorâs facial performances and feed them directly into the game. This provides a level of realism, detail, performance and emotion never before seen in a video game, and brings them to life in a whole new way. This goes beyond the limited network of data points offered by traditional motion capture â these are the real performances, scanned and put into our digital characters. This link between gameplay and technology allows players to feel like real detectives for the first time, deciphering the emotional behavior of each character. On the other hand, MotionScan lends itself perfectly to this type of game: a game that focuses on characters and performances, where everyone has something to hide.
My experience with MotionScan was total amazement, the first time I played the game I kept saying: âGod, look at that gestureâ, âLook at that movement of the mouth/face musclesâ. In short, I love it. It seems to me that it is probably the best of all the new technologies that have been introduced in the current generation of consoles. Being able to see real actors acting has no comparison with old facial recognition systems. The coincidence of the lips with the voice is 99.9%, and the possibility of noticing different emotions in the person in front of us is incredible, especially in a game in which truth and lies are so important.
In the case of Spanish players, to help understand the dialogues in English, subtitles that are too small have been implemented. On large televisions, they are really difficult to read and their location, in the lower area of ââthe screen, does not help you focus on the face of the person you are questioning. Furthermore, when a written track is read, subtitles are placed that transcribe the entire content of the track and cannot be skipped. Then Phelps begins to read the text and the same subtitles appear again.
Speaking of interrogations, the mechanics are as follows: the camera is placed focusing on our suspect and we are offered a notebook to select the questions we want to ask him. The suspect will respond and we will have to determine if he is lying or telling the truth. In general:
- Itâs true: If he says it for sure, looking us in the eyes and without hesitation or making strange gestures.
- Itâs a lie: If he says it hesitantly, avoiding our gaze, making strange gestures and sometimes scratching himself.
In the event that the subject lies, we have two options: Doubt or Lie. We must know when we can prove with evidence that the suspect is lying (Lie) or when we simply have the feeling that he is lying (Doubt).
Like any sandbox, the freedom for the player is complete, you can travel around the city of Los Angeles in one of the 95 vehicles of the time (recreated from authentic models) and if the car is a patrol car, radio warnings will be issued that we can cover if we wish. They are usually short crimes such as domestic violence, or a bank robbery. You can also discover the 30 most emblematic locations of the city that are marked by a camera.
One of the problems with the game, probably due to everything that happens on the screen, is that sometimes the game jerks. Itâs not something very serious, but above all, itâs not something that can be easily explained since, for example, in places where he jerked me, he didnât give it to The-Rocker. I recommend that you clear the hard drive cache of your Xbox and install the game to avoid problems.
Note
- Presentation: The story is very good, it makes a lot of sense and although the mechanics are somewhat repetitive, it doesnât get boring. The city of Los Angeles is very well represented, and it is a delight to see details such as period cars or police telephone booths throughout the city. 9
- Graphics: The faces are incredible. It seems silly, but being so realistic helps a lot to create emotions in the player. Discovering each famous actor who participates in the game is a very pleasant feeling. Especially with people like John Noble in the squad, who puts in one of the best performances in the game. Itâs a shame that the shadows, at least in the Xbox version, are quite regular and that a kind of MoirĂ© effect sometimes occurs on the walls. These points lower the grade a bit. 9.25
- Duration and Engagement: The story of the game lasts about 20 hours. The ability to repeat cases, along with achievements, adds several extra hours of gameplay. The only thing that can be criticized is that there was perhaps 1 case left over in the second department. 9
- Final Note: It seems impossible that mixing GTA IV with Phoenix Wright could work, but that is exactly what Team Bondi and Rockstar have achieved. An almost perfect game, which breaks the current habit of companies of always doing the same thing. The only drawback is the jerking that the game sometimes experiences on some consoles. Unless someone springs a surprise, itâs my clear candidate for game of the year. 9.2