"L.A. Noire" review: A thrilling crime drama

Rockstar has a reputation for delivering games with powerful story development and memorable characters that let players wreak all kinds of havoc in an open world environment while making morally gray decisions.

"L.A. Noire" holds true to these traditions but uses a more focused narrative over the open world environment and, in its biggest departure from previous titles under Rockstar's banner, lands players on the right side of the law.

Set in post-war 1940s Los Angeles, "L.A. Noire" puts players in the shoes of Cole Phelps, an up-and-coming police detective. As Phelps, players have to use cunning and intuition to investigate crime scenes, interrogate suspects and solve cases from the traffic, homicide, vice and arson desks.

The first lesson "L.A. Noire" gives players in how to be an LAPD detective is how to inspect a crime scene and gather evidence.

Each case you are assigned is presented as an episode in a 1940s TV serial and typically begins with Phelps being dispatched to a crime scene to search for clues and interview witnesses. These scenes require some keen situational intuition and attention to detail.

As players scour the crime scene they're able to interact with and examine numerous objects in the vicinity, both relevant and irrelevant. These clues help players determine the next course of action and move the case forward.

While investigating crime scenes, it is often impossible to tell if an object holds any significance until after close examination. That means that players will spend an exorbitant amount of time examining every bit of trash that Phelps comes across.

This can become quite frustrating and may lead some players to simply wandering crime scenes mashing the action button until every last piece of evidence is found without considering the relevance of said clues.

Once you've gathered your clues and interviewed witnesses, it's time to follow the evidence. Players will have to exercise their own judgment regarding which leads to follow up and which suspects to bring in for questioning.

With your suspect, or suspects, in custody, Phelps will conduct an interrogation using the evidence he's gathered to try to establish motive, opportunity, and if possible, obtain a confession. These scenes are exceptionally well acted, and for good reason.

Based solely on what evidence has been gathered and the suspect's verbal response and body language, players will have to decide if the suspect is telling the truth, withholding evidence, or lying outright. Choosing the correct response will reward players with corroboration of evidence, new evidence to work with or even a confession. Choosing the wrong response may lead to having less evidence against your suspect or cause the suspect to become uncooperative.

Even when choosing the incorrect response each time, however, players will still be able to complete cases and put suspects behind bars. The game's story will always continue forward and the only time you will see a "game over" screen is if you fail a chase or gunfight sequence. In this sense the game very much plays itself and players are graded on their participation after each case is completed.

Worth noting is the amazing motion capture technology that developer Team Bondi has developed for characters' facial animations. This technology uses a number of high definition cameras to translate an actor's performance directly to their in-game counterpart allowing for more convincingly realistic conversations.

It's this technology that allows players to accurately gauge whether a character is telling the truth or hiding ulterior motives. Despite the occasional uncalled for emotional swing or villainous mustache-twirling, the system works remarkably well. The result is a stark improvement in character believability and immersion.

"L.A. Noire" brings with it many comparisons to "Heavy Rain" or the point-and-click adventure games made popular in the 90s. Rather than simply appealing to our desire for violence and action, these games elevate the importance of character immersion and patient investigation. In fact, "L.A. Noire" may have benefited from a more conventional point-and-click investigation of crime scenes rather than the awkward and clunky method of investigation Cole Phelps employs.

While it may not appeal to the larger video game market of action junkies, "L.A. Noire" is a welcome change of pace that asks players to make intelligent and tough decisions for a safer Los Angeles. It's a game that pushes the boundaries for interactive entertainment and player immersion and is well worth a look by seasoned gamers and newcomers alike with an interest in moody crime dramas.

"L.A. Noire" is available now for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It is rated M for Mature by the ESRB.