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Preview: L.A. Noire

Rockstar puts itself on the right side of the law in the pulpy period detective game, "L.A. Noire".

Rockstar burst onto the gaming scene in the late 1990s on the heels of the ultra-violent top-down perspective Grand Theft Auto. When the series switched to three dimensions on the PS2 with Grand Theft Auto III, they started both embracing the notion of telling a real story and letting gamers play in a sandbox (as well as attracting ire from parent groups), and subsequent editions have garnered great praise for both storytelling and technical achievements.

Bully proved they could tell a lighter story with a sense of humor, and last year’s Red Dead Redemption showed Rockstar could tackle the Wild West as adeptly as a contemporary setting with their gritty tale of a former gunslinger desperately trying to leave his criminal past behind him.

Now comes L.A. Noire, and for a change you’re fighting firmly on the side of justice. Promising to deliver the experience of playing a film noir detective classic (but in full color) Rockstar has a lot of hype to live up to.

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The protagonist is Cole Phelps (played by Mad Men’s Aaron Staton), a World War II veteran now on the LAPD in 1947, amid the excesses of Hollywood’s Golden Age. A patrolman during the game’s tutorial phases, you’ll soon make detective and gain access to work the other desks of the precinct: traffic, vice, homicide, and arson. Each has their own cases to solve, and no matter what desk you’re working, some cases will tie together to lead you to identifying, finding, and shutting down the head of Los Angeles’ criminal underworld. Are fixed boxing matches, trade in illegal morphine, and real estate development tied together a little, a lot, or not at all? It’ll be up to you to find out.

While genre standards like shootouts and chases are present—and very familiar to fans of Rockstar’s previous games—detective work will be a big part of your experience. Crime scenes and coroner’s reports will offer clues that need to be analyzed, with conclusions deduced and lines of questioning derived.

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Witnesses will need to be questioned on scene and suspects interrogated in “the box," and telling when they’re being deceptive will play a part in your success. Even determining how best to get answers from hesitant people can be half the battle, as your best tactic could be flattery, threats, or even a good ol’ knuckle sandwich.  And an experience system means that after a successful case you gain intuition that can make finding those clues or telling falsehood from truth that much easier.

Los Angeles and the 1940s are almost characters themselves, with buildings faithfully replicated, theater marquees touting real movies of the era, and a soundtrack that would be at home in any black-and-white film noir. Even some cases utilize elements from actual L.A. crimes of the time.

The production design was taken as seriously as in a big budget movie: real (and rare) props from the forties were scanned, period fonts faithfully replicated, costumes designed in the manner they were in post-war films, and even old paint swatches acquired to accurately create interiors, both real and fictional. They want you to feel like you’re in a movie produced during the forties, not merely a movie about the forties made today.

But most impressive is the new facial technology going into the game. In addition to standard motion capture for walking and fighting, dialogue went beyond just being done in a recording session; instead the 20+ hours of dialogue were recorded in a special studio with a new technology called Motion Scan that uses 32 HD cameras, ensuring every lip curl, eye glance, brow furrow, and hint of deceit is accurately captured along with the voice for display in the game. This level of detail was crucial to implementing questioning and interrogation into the game.

This means the game has ditched mere voice acting for bona fide acting. You’ll really see the faces of several familiar actors, including Fringe’s John Noble, and never be left wondering if that voice is the guy who was on a few episodes of CSI: Miami; the face will be right there in front of you!

In addition to its being a game, its film noir roots are so cinema-inspired that much of the story is being shown at Robert DeNiro’s Tribeca Film Festival next week—the first time a videogame has been so honored. That’s a major nod to just how serious Rockstar, and videogames in general, are starting to take their storytelling… and a clue of just what a great experience you’re in for if you play this game.

L.A. Noire is scheduled for release from Rockstar on May 17 on Xbox 360 and PS3. Rated M for Mature (Blood and Gore, Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs, and Violence).

Jeff is currently playing Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare; follow him on Twitter at JKLugar.

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