LA Noire

I originally played this when it first came out on X-Box 360 and fancied revisiting it to see how it holds up, picking up a remastered version on PS5 which included all of the DLC goodies.

The setting is 1940s Los Angeles where you play as Cole Phelps, a returning GI war hero who takes on a job as a beat cop before rising through the ranks as a detective working traffic, homicide, vice and arson cases. Each case opens with a cut scene to establish the crime and usually a briefing at the station before you get in your car to head to the crime scene. You are mostly working with a partner who can chip in with advice or may have an agenda of their own, notably the massively sleazy Roy Earle who you are partnered with on the vice desk. Casing the crime scene involves searching for clues, with optional haptic buzzes to let you know when you are near something you can examine. Some items can be further manipulated and zoomed in on for a closer look

This being a hard boiled detective story, there are also a lot of dead bodies along the way. That you have to examine in detail. A large number of these are women who have been murdered in gruesome ways, making this a game that can be quite disturbing in places and definitely not suitable for children. 

When you have enough clues, you can interrogate the suspects, watching their reactions before deciding how to proceed - do you act as a good cop and believe them or go bad cop and press them to reveal more? If you spot a lie you can accuse them directly and present them with the appropriate bit of evidence. The final denouement is usually back at the station where you charge someone and close the case. Some cases have multiple suspects that you can grill and either one could be guilty - you decide! If you miss a clue or take the wrong choices when interviewing, you could send an innocent person to prison - the game will continue, and you have to live with the consequences.

There are also twists in the overarching plot, where cases turn out to be related in unexpected ways and may throw new light on previous decisions. It wouldn't be 1940s Los Angeles without a reference to the infamous Black Dahlia murder and other cases in the game have roots in real life occurrences too. The city is lovingly recreated, as this fascinating account of someone who played the game with their elderly father who had grown up in that era with a policeman father shows. The city can feel a little empty compared to other open world games, but there are various landmarks to visit and collectibles to collect if you are so inclined. You can also take a break from whatever case you're on to investigate various street crimes that you pick up on over the radio.

Given that this is a PS3 era game, some of the character models are a little stiff, but the famed facial animations still hold up today with the starring role of Phelps being played by Aaron Staton (of Mad Men fame) and easily recognisable. The music and sound effects are equally good, with a particular highlight being a performance in a jazz club from a chanteuse femme fatale who turns out to be a key person of interest.

The conclusion to the story is not surprisingly downbeat, bringing to mind films like Chinatown and LA Confidential, mixing murder, drugs, vice and corruption going all the way to the top. It's a definite must play if you enjoy this genre.