I feel like reviewing L.A. Noire is going to be hard, because there is so much I want to say about it, and by now, I think it is very clear that this game will become one of those timeless titles that define where gaming technology is headed. I will try to keep this fairly short and still tell you as much as I can, but just know there is hardly anything negative I have to say about this game.

L.A. Noire takes place in Los Angeles in the later 1940s, and you play as an LAPD officer named Cole Phelps. Cole Phelps for the most part starts off shrouded in mystery and all we know is he was an honorably discharged war veteran. He gets a job for the LAPD as a detective and works his way up through the ranks. Of course, as the game progresses, we learn more about Cole.

The game gives you control of Cole as you solve murder mysteries. After a crime takes place and you are debriefed on the murder, you then rush to the scene of the crime with your partner, who changes as you move up the ranks, and investigate the murder — from interviewing witnesses, interrogating suspects, searching the body and also searching the area for clues. At any time you are solving one of the main cases, dispatch may call you, and you can choose to answer these side missions or not. The side missions add for more gameplay and may consist of a hot pursuit or a shootout or even a hostage situation, always allowing for new moments and a different feel to each call. I enjoy taking on each side mission, but sometimes you will want to skip them just because the main story is much more intriguing, and side missions really aren’t that deep in the story.

For the most part, L.A. Noire plays as a third-person shooter, but when you investigate a crime, a lot of it is seen in first-person through Cole’s eyes. Or it may play out like a movie when you interrogate someone so you can watch and make judgment calls based on their behavior. As you investigate a crime scene, your character will take notes in a notebook that you will use to back up evidence and question possible culprits. It does an amazing job of keeping all things tightly together, such as your clues, locations, names and items all revolving around the case that you discover as you investigate.

Sometimes I felt like the controls could be a bit overly sensitive and found tight areas to be hard to navigate, but this is seriously a minor complaint that you would never pick apart unless you were trying to rip on the game. The only other complaint I have is the moments when you may be chasing a fugitive, when you do this all you have to do is run in the right direction, all the jumping and climbing is automatically done, and this isn’t a huge deal, but sometimes it can feel a bit like the game is playing itself. Really, those are my only complaints, and again these are minor pointless reasons to keep you from this amazing game.

One of the places this game really shines is the actors and the moments when you are interrogating a criminal. In these situations, you must closely watch them talk and determine if they are telling the truth, lying, or if you doubt them. This would be close to impossible if the game had terrible actors and poor graphics, but L.A. Noire is one of the first to really focus on bringing the voice actors to life. The game uses what is called MotionScan, where the actors are recorded with more than 30 cameras, so they can mimic every movement of the body from every angle, and like I said, you can really see this shine through in the game. Facial expressions have never looked more lively, from criminals with wandering eyes, fidgety hands, wrinkled brows and just amazing facial expressions. The videogame characters are not just being led with good voice acting, but also they are being led with true acting using facial expressions and gestures. The real-life actor counterparts look identical to the CGI characters they play, seeing the way a fugitive would clam up as he lied just brought a smile to my face to see this technology being used so well. I can’t go on about this enough, and I need to move on — just know that the CGI characters feel so lifelike in this game that you have to do your best to remind yourself that it’s a game and not a movie.

I feel like I have hardly touched the surface of L.A. Noire. There is so much to do when you investigate a case, and you will really learn to enjoy taking your time and really study a murder so that way when you interrogate someone and they are lying, you can give them the facts. It feels good to put someone away and know you studied the case well. And the game does such a good job of emotionally making you feel like you need to put the culprit behind bars.

The cases can be replayed and you can earn points so you can continue to go up in rank, gaining new partners, and different types of investigations ranging from traffic to arson. It’s not often you see a videogame putting you in the shoes of a cop or a detective, but this game does, and it does a damn good job of it. I recommend this game to anyone, unless you are underage and blame videogames for the violence in your life, but that never stopped me from playing games. It’s a great game, and I highly recommend you pick up a copy of L.A. Noire.

Check out TreavorClark's video review at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-kCfuqvLFY.