Controversial, with all the limits of gameplay that it has.. with all the thousands of games out there that have been celebrated as 'the best'.. the Halos, Final Fantasies, Metal Gears, Gran Turismos (yeah, I'm turning my back on that too).. there has never been a game (WoW isn't included because that's not a game, that's a drug with the street name "crack") in my 18 years of gaming that I've ever seen that could make me lose sleep trying to figure out what's going on.

To me, the story is the most important part of any game. Without a story, a game with the most compelling gameplay isn't appealing. I've never been attracted to games like tetris or plants vs. zombies because there isn't anything to find out in the game. Some stories are too over the top and lose their focus like Metal Gear or Xenogears. L. A. Noire's story is just absolute perfection. It's a mystery that keeps hungering for more. Best of all, it's realistic.

While playing the game, I couldn't help but feel vengeful like "damn, that bastard killer!" because of the realism by which the crimes are portrayed. All the crap in the game is almost exactly the same as what we see in the real world. The characters are so well acted that oftentimes, I tend to forget that I'm playing. I've never liked Grand Theft Auto because the idea of one guy going on a 500 person murder rampage on the streets can escape by just changing the color of his car was just too absurd. L. A. Noire doesn't allow you to do such things. *edit because of onyx* Although you can still take any car you want, destroy as many cars as you want on the streets, and ignore traffic rules, it's still much less bizarre. Though there are some things you could do in the game that aren't realistic, at least the game limits the more stupid things that are present in other games. Some reviewers call this "limitations of gameplay", but I call this "realism". You can't go out and shoot a random person just because you feel like it without getting consequences.

Investigation is done in this game with amazing detail. Watching the suspect flinch at a question and examining the logic from things you heard awhile ago (I keep a notepad while playing, writing down everything) as well as understanding the motives and personalities of each criminal or bystander is extremely thrilling. As I mentioned, I've been losing sleep because of this game because of trying to figure out what I did wrong in the previous case. Some reviewers call this "repetition", but I call this "realism". This is what cops do all the time. They look around, ask questions, run after bad guys, interrogate them, and arrest them. This is the truth of the real world.

Aside from that, let's be honest. Every single game out there is repetitive in their own ways. Call of Duty gets you to shoot and run and shoot and run and shoot... Gran Turismo gets you to drive... and drive... Demon's Souls gets you to kill and die and kill and die... the same place and the same enemies. If reviewers want to complain about repetition, they had better check the scores they gave to other games that offer repetitive gameplay too.

The facial animations are simply amazing, to go along with the whole city. It's just simply unbelievable for me that they recreated a whole city based on an era over 60 years ago. The slang, music, banter, clothes, cars, shops, technology, etc. of the time are all wonderfully recreated and it creates a great feeling of immersion. In other words, everything is just "realistic".

I still, however, have a few complaints about the game. The action sequences could be increased, and the cars could get better handling (they kinda suck). Mini-games could be inserted (like gambling, prostitution, etc.) that still fit the profile of the town. Weird clipping issues should be addressed, along with some pretty dumb partner A.I. Many things in the game are technically imperfect, but then again, what game is? These are minor issues when considering the absolute wonder that the rest of the game is.

I know I'll get a lot of flak for calling it this early (Yea, there'll be better games in the future), but I'm just saying that at this point, there is no better game out there in the market today. Games, to me, are a constant search for realism. That's why I loved Gran Turismo so much. This is as close to a real investigation as anyone could ever get. The story is amazing, mysterious, and intriguing. Go buy it guys.

9.8/10

One issue my friend had while playing was *SPOILER ALERT kinda*is, the suspects always run, and they always seem like every person is the killer *END SPOILER kinda*

I liked the game from what iv seen...

I disagree with your statement but I respect it nontheless ^^

they really do always run. you watch the news? :P i'm sure this was even more common in the 40s because there weren't any high tech ways to catch a criminal yet.

and every person always 'seems' like the killer too, because there can be a lot of motives to a case. the truth can only be found if evidence is examined closely. that's also true in real life. if my rich mother died and all her sons hate her, every single one of us is suspect to the crime.

The only part I'm going to disagree with is the part comparing it to GTAIV's kill everything playmode and calling LA Noire realistic. In LA Noire I have crashed countless cars, ran people over in them, taken cars from everyone and generally broken every traffic law there was in 1947 and I didn't get arrested once. In that manner I'd say it's even less realistic than GTA, because at least the cops do target you after you act like an idiot on the streets in GTA.

Totally disagree with this one.

yea.. but then, as a detective, you're not bound by traffic laws so much and you can order a citizen to give up a car in order to chase a bad guy... but yea, i agree, since you can do that even without a chase... but still, at least it's less crazy. it's actually pretty hard to run over a pedestrian in the game because they have some magical slip away feature.

you're right, but i feel that since you can't murder innocent people so easily, the game is still more realistic in my view. it isn't perfect, but it sets limitations for achieving the goal.

*sigh* I'm short on cash so I haven't gotten this game yet...

This game is realistic, eh? So when you die you can't play the game anymore.. forever?

its one of the games im playing currently. i respectfully disagree with your opinion.