When L.A. Noire first hit the shelves we were given something different, something that not many people had tried before. However even with its brilliant voice acting, detailed setting, facial animation technology and exciting storyline, there were parts of the game that were a bit of a drag. Like the somewhat annoying interview/interrogation sequences and the fact that beside the cases and random crimes there wasn’t anything else to do in late 1940’s LA.
But despite all its failings, L.A. Noire still made for an excellent game, a game in which it drew you into the story and kept you hanging on until the very end. Cole Phelps, as much as he was the ‘golden boy’ of the LAPD was still relatable and his interactions with the other NPCs only made for a more involving storyline. Team Bondi might be out the picture, but Rockstar have said that it might not be done with the game just yet. So here are five reasons why L.A. Noire 2 needs to happen and soon.
5. Facial Animation Technology
What made the game so special was the fact that when you spoke to people, or indeed, interrogated them, you had to gauge what they were saying, judge their faces and see if they were actually telling you the truth. You had to pay attention, check your notebook and trust in what you’ve seen before. It was something not really seen before and made being detective so much more interesting.
4. A Return to 1940’s LA
Why not return to the city of Angels where the movies and Mary-Jane are on the rise? I thoroughly enjoyed my time in L.A. during L.A. Noire. Although one drawback was that even between cases and those random crime happenings, there wasn’t an awful lot to do in L.A.. Yes you could have taken in the sights, but really that wasn’t much of an incentive to go around and explore L.A. further. L.A. Noire 2 could totally go back to L.A. and explore the dark, seedy underbelly of Tinsel town. What Team Bondi and Rockstar did right was to map out the city in detail – you felt like you were actually there and that the city was working right before your eyes.
3. Playing Kelso
Towards the end of the final desk, we got to take a break from Cole Phelps and his career meltdown to take control of his ex-Marine Corps buddy Jack Kelso. Taking control of a private detective brought a welcome change of pace to the fairly uniform proceedings of the LAPD. If we were ever to come back to 1940’s L.A., why not step into Kelso’s shoes? The interplay between him and Phelps during the war made for an interesting side story and helped showcase a very different side to the main character.
2. Improved game engine
With GTA V being the benchmark for all future open world games, maybe L.A. Noire 2 could certainly be upgraded into the next-gen world with improvements in visuals, physics, gameplay, character models and the possibility of first person mode. L.A. Noire on Xbox 360 and PS3 looked good, running it on PS4 and Xbox One would be even better. It would make a world brought to life by Team Bondi and Rockstar look even better. I personally think it would help the game, sometimes you would find that controlling the character or the car was too stilted and some cutscenes too long which would lead you to scratch your head and wonder what was happening beforehand.
1. The Storyline and the Characters were great
Even with the monotonous collecting of evidence and searching the crime scene from top to bottom, the setting you did it in and the characters around you made it a very immersive experience. Lending from such films/books as The Black Dahlia and L.A. Confidential, L.A. Noire showed us some very colourful and dark world of 1940’s LA. It was like being in a movie, one in which Cole Phelps was your protagonist.
You got see him at his very best and indeed his very worst. I loved the different characters that you could interact with, how varied your partners were. In short what made the game were the location and people around you. It also brought up some tense subjects at the time, drug abuse, police corruption and rising racial tensions in post-war America. What I found so invigorating about the game was that it was interesting with its mix of fast-paced action and methodical detective work on different cases, dealing with dangerous and deadly criminals and being sucked in to a world that was just beneath the surface of LA.
Considering that it was universally well received and applauded for its gripping storyline, interesting characters and detailed gameplay I feel that LA should be revisited and brought back to life by Rockstar. Since we are waiting for Red Dead Redemption 2 and another GTA why not take us back to the delectable and dangerous world of LA Noire?
[interaction id=”57c1cb4160f05dde7e89a3fc”]Some of the coverage you find on Cultured Vultures contains affiliate links, which provide us with small commissions based on purchases made from visiting our site. We cover gaming news, movie reviews, wrestling and much more.
