L.A. Noire is pure brilliance

When a game has multiple discs, the developer is usually going for quantity over quality and this results either in endless awesomeness or a symphony of sucking.

Either way, the characters’ faces, which keeps a player planted in the suspended reality of the game, end up suffering. Fortunately, L.A. Noire doesn’t fall for this flaw.

You can wave bye-bye to stony, expressionless faces and say hello to the best acting ever seen in a video game. Subtleties in expressions, from a rugged ruffling of a chin, to a subtle squinting of the eyes, to a personality-chiselling smirk, all blend with the picture perfect voice acting, lip synchronization and score to pull you into a rich murder mystery straight out of the film noire films of the 1950s.

L.A. Noire tiptoes a fine line of classic cliché, schoolyard dialogue and original storylines, emerging at the end of the tightrope as the best narrative game of the year. The option of playing the game in black and white simply adds to its authenticity. Flashbacks developing character backgrounds are used as load screens, keeping the narrative tight and focused and the player sucked into the experience.

With its open world and M-rating, some might think that L.A. Noire is Grand Theft Auto (GTA) meets the film, L.A. Confidential. Unlike GTA, though, violence is not a key focus of the game. Its mind-over-muscle approach is a wonderfully refreshing spin.

Though the game has certain fighting and shooting components, the game limits you in the amount of mayhem you can lay down in the streets of 1947 Los Angeles. Built on the backbone of the American dream of the late ‘40s, the focus is on a noble detective solving crimes, rising in the ranks of the Los Angeles Police Department and unravelling the mysteries of his past and how it connects to the serial killer now on the loose.

In a seamless, fluid system, you'll find, gather and analyze clues. When it comes to the amazingly realistic suspects, the fine art of sniffing out a lie becomes intricate and subtly riveting part of the game. While all this might sound dull, the realism of the setting, the subtle art behind the mood and music and the awe-inspiring expressions of the characters all draw you into a purely cinematic experience.

The game does have its flaws, but all of these flaws are balanced with uplifting elements. The controls aren't quite as smooth as they could be, there are lagging issues at times and the driving is somewhat unrealistic. But considering the sheer size of the game, these small and infrequent hiccups are quickly forgiven and lost in the compelling narrative and enthralling performances of the character.

Solving crimes skitters close to becoming somewhat repetitive about halfway through: visit crime scene, see dead body, collect evidence, question suspects, charge guilty person. But the emergence of a serial killer plotline is fascinating and with the flashbacks both to your army days mixed with those of a borderline sociopathic psychologist, it’s enough to keep you going towards the satisfying conclusion. This combined with crime-in-progress side-quests sprinkled throughout means the action never deteriorates into total tedium.

L.A. Noire blends the murder-mystery intrigue of the film noire genre from the ‘40s and ‘50s with breakthrough, facial motion-capture technology, an intriguing plot and open-world sandbox gaming. The result is one of the most uniquely fulfilling, visually stunning games ever.