A Great cop game done under unpleasant work conditions
Released by Team Bondi amidst huge controversies between its founder and his employees, L.A. Noire is a video game that got stuck during seven years of ‘development hell’ (2004-2011). Set in 1946-1947, it is the story of a young police officer (Cole Phelps) who quickly becomes a popular detective in the LAPD, but also uncovers a Los Angeles filled with corruption. Drugs, rapes, thieves, arson, there’s in this story enough dirty laundry – based on true incidents from that time period – to please all fans of David Lynch (Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, Twin Peaks) and of Mad Men. Speaking of Mad Men, many actors from that show got to perform roles in L.A. Noire, most notably Aaron Staton (Cole Phelps), either by voice acting or by motion capture of their faces reactions as the story goes on.
So far the animation is very credible to the player’s eyes, as much as the design of this virtual portion of Los Angeles which has been apparently well-replicated based on what L.A.’s streets looked like at this time period. The props, buildings and outdoor effects are a treat to look at, though the only criticism (small one mind you) is that some of those textures will take a longer time to completely load during cutscenes or the gameplay, even when you have installed the whole game on your Xbox Drive. As for the soundtrack, players get to listen both to real radio shows that were broadcast in the forties and to an official soundtrack made by various artists (Andrew and Simon Hale, Fly, Claudia Brucken). What a treat for fans of the forties; who can also, in the game’s options, play the game either in color or in ‘black and white’, as if they were watching an old movie.
For the gameplay, it mixes both the main storyline and secondary situations that Cole and his partner (depending on the department) have to deal with. Players can do those secondary situations either during an investigation or during a free play where they can roam around the city and solve cases that they may have missed. So far there are no achievements that seem to me impossible to complete, but there are others which you will maybe have to retry again and again to succeed, (example: using every weapon in the game, finding all the movie reels, all the police badges, shooting a certain prop during a fight, etc.).
Like many games today, a few investigations are not included in the official game, but have to be bought on its online service (either manually or with a special ticket available on the XBox Marketplace/PS Store/Copy bought at a store). You don’t need those investigations to complete the game, but those stories add more details to a game that was supposed to offer more levels in the beginning (six departments), but didn’t get to as the Team Bondi‘s management problems took a toll on the game’s quality.
So why the good review even though the game has been done under a cruel and traumatizing work atmosphere, during which certain employees came out swearing to never work again in the video game industry? Why a good review for a game where employees never got the credits they deserved; which happened to a colleague of my brother who worked on L.A. Noire and was among the 100 people not credited for the game and who put a list on a website? Because it is a rare chance to play a game that forces players to be action efficient and to be also very observant during the investigations and interrogations as everyone’s reactions (voice, winks, smiles, eye contacts) may reveal if the person interrogated tells the truth or is in fact lying; if he is, it is then that showing the right proofs can confirm his involvement in the case.
Then again, I do hope that the Behind-the-scenes events that happened during L.A. Noire‘s making – and which have been further detailed in many articles and websites – will force the video game industry to reevaluate its working methods and offer decent working conditions. Make sure that horrible incidents in the industry which I have also witnessed during my Animation studies (crunch periods, hellish management, jackass industry employees, etc.) never happen again. But I also hope that it will encourage all video game employees to unite together and to better defend their working conditions; making sure that they won’t tolerate any rubbish from their employers, and that they won’t be leaving the game development industry or animation studies traumatized and with a sour taste in their soul as I did a decade ago, suffering a situational depression, self-hatred, suicidal thoughts, anxiety attacks, and a loss of confidence in my drawing skills which I managed to recuperate from eventually thanks to many things (eg: Lars von Trier’s movies, self-taught art sessions, etc.).
For further reading about the Behind-The-Scenes issues in question for L.A. Noire, here are a few articles that recount that matter and some of Brendan McNamara’s responses, whose behavior reminds me of jerks I met in my film studies and of the ex-boyfriend (director) of a prima donna actress who used to be a friend of mine:
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-06-27-la-noire-dev-responds-to-controversy
https://ca.ign.com/articles/2011/06/24/why-did-la-noire-take-seven-years-to-make
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