I'll admit, I was skeptical when I first heard about this game--and for purely aesthetic reasons. Call it fickle, but don't expect me to be anything but unapologetic about it. I'd heard about the plethora of actors they hired for the faces and was impressed by this new, unprecedented dedication. Nonetheless, when I first saw the trailer I was unimpressed by the graphics--especially considering this game had been in the works for almost four years. After playing it, my opinion changed. The graphics matched the faces, blended together so well one could hardly tell that they'd been rendered from real people. And yet, when one watched the miniscule facial movements, you could see the dedication put into it. It especially became clear when you recognized an actor, recognized the little quirks of their facial expressions. For me, I was blown away when I saw Greg Grunberg. Greg played a fellow named Hugo Moller, one of your P.O.I.'s in "The Golden Butterfly" case. I knew him better as Matt Parkman from Heroes. Recognizing the actor brought to my attention exactly how well they had done this game and how effectively they had captured facial expressions.
L.A. Noire is reminiscent of old film noir--"stylistic films from the 1940s and 1950s that shared similar visual styles and themes including crime, sex and moral ambiguity and were often shot in black and white with harsh, low-key lighting." Though the game isn't in black and white, the style is uncanny. The soundtrack is filled with 1940's style jazz pieces composed by Andrew and Simon Hale, as well as songs popular in the era by artists like Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. The music does a spectacular job of throwing you into the time-period, of drawing you into the ambiance of mystery and intrigue.
The only drawback of this entire game was the save feature. You could not access saves; your only option was to resume where you left off. If you messed up an interrogation, you could either deal with it or restart the entire case, which often took about an hour to complete. Despite the frustration this brought me, there was some artistic part of me that approves of what they did--albeit begrudgingly. It made me think more clearly, pay more attention to the shifting movements of my suspects. If I fucked up it was on me. I could blow the whole case, but that was the nature of my work. "You can't get 'em all."
I'll go ahead and be a little self-indulgent here. I've studied psychology and body language before, even researched more in-depth into the art of lying and how to detect a lie. I knew the signs. So when I realized I'd have to use that knowledge to detect if my suspect was lying to me or telling the truth, I felt ecstatic. Finally! A game that tested my real-life knowledge. I reveled in getting questions right, of knowing I'd just nailed some asshole in a lie. I mean, look at this fucker, shifting his eyes like that! Who does he think he is? I'm Cole Phelps, one of the most brilliant detectives the L.A.P.D. has ever had! I'm a master at solving riddles and detecting lies. You can't fool me. 
This wasn't the only feature of the game that made me squee like a little girl. To explain, once you successfully solve enough cases, you're promoted. You start at patrol, move to traffic and then hit the grand job of homicide. You also work on arson and vice cases--but I won't spoil the how or why. The last case in homicide, "The Quarter Moon Murders," had me drawn in and excited like a drug-addict who just scored some dope. As you play, and listen to your characters, read newspapers, you learn about the Black Dahlia. Yeah, real guy right? So, you solve away at your cases in homicide and then the L.A.P.D. gets a note and a letter from your friend the Black Dahlia. Inside the letter is a snippet from Percy Shelley's work. (Yeah, that chick that wrote Frankenstein.) Now, this is where I got excited. In order to solve "The Quarter Moon Murders," you have to figure out the riddles of Shelley's work and find the landmark within L.A. that holds the next clue. They don't make it too difficult for you but I nonetheless found it all incredibly riveting. 
As the story unravels you start to see the big picture, of how everything is connected. Figuring it out without the game spelling it out for you was another source of endless enjoyment for me. It was complex without being convoluted, interesting without seeming contrived. Though it wasn't just the captivating story that drew me in, it was the characters themselves. I wasn't particularly a huge fan of Cole, but I don't think you're really supposed to be. I was, however, a huge fan of Jack Kelso, the secondary protagonist in L.A. Noire. He's a former United States Marine who has some history with Cole Phelps from back in the war. He and Cole don't particularly get along, but when they need to, they work together--but I won't say more on that. I'll just say I'm a big fan of this guy. I can't really put my finger on why I became so attached to Kelso, but it probably had something to do with his no-nonsense attitude; as in a nobody fucks with Jack Kelso kind of attitude. I found him absolutely hilarious and charming, and he's one of the few characters who's got a solid set of morals. Maybe that's why I adored him so much--he was a hard-ass but wasn't willing to let up on what he believed was right and wrong. Not to mention he calls ladies "princess." Adorable, right?
On each "desk," you're partered with someone new. For Traffic, it's Stefan Bekowsky (another one of my favorites), Rusty Galloway for Homicide, Roy Earle in Vice, and of course, Hershel Biggs in Arson (another favorite!). Each of these characters is well-defined, with their own personalities and their own way of dealing with Cole and the cases they handle. Some people may enjoy Rusty's views on women or his love of drinking, Bekowsky's laissez-faire attitude, Roy's pretentious fuckheaded attitude (who am I kidding, no one likes Roy), or Hershel's endearing anti-social and relatively awkward mannerisms. Either way, there's a character for every gamer to fall in love with.
The game-play consists of third-person investigations, and occasionally, the option to pop into first-person when you're blasting away at mobsters who just lit up your car with some Tommy Guns. The game helps you out, vibrating when you're near a clue and providing you with specific music that plays when there are still clues to be discovered. There's a distinctive melody that plays after you find your last clue. You're able to manipulate objects and find points of interest, zooming in to notice smaller details you would have otherwise not noticed. Your notebook keeps track of all the clues you find, locations you can go to, and P.O.I.'s--people of interest. This is a handy feature when you're investigating and when you're interrogating subjects, as you're able to reference it when asking questions. Not to mention, if you're going to call someone a liar, you better have proof. It's not just about being able to tell if John Doe is lying or not, you have to know what piece of evidence pins them in that lie. It can be tricky at times, blatantly obvious at others. Either way, the game makes you feel like a real detective solving real cases--it's difficult not to get invested.
The game-play consists of third-person investigations, and occasionally, the option to pop into first-person when you're blasting away at mobsters who just lit up your car with some Tommy Guns. The game helps you out, vibrating when you're near a clue and providing you with specific music that plays when there are still clues to be discovered. There's a distinctive melody that plays after you find your last clue. You're able to manipulate objects and find points of interest, zooming in to notice smaller details you would have otherwise not noticed. Your notebook keeps track of all the clues you find, locations you can go to, and P.O.I.'s--people of interest. This is a handy feature when you're investigating and when you're interrogating subjects, as you're able to reference it when asking questions. Not to mention, if you're going to call someone a liar, you better have proof. It's not just about being able to tell if John Doe is lying or not, you have to know what piece of evidence pins them in that lie. It can be tricky at times, blatantly obvious at others. Either way, the game makes you feel like a real detective solving real cases--it's difficult not to get invested.
L.A. Noire is a game I recommend for everyone, well worth the money to buy it new. This is easily a Game of the Year candidate.
