I finished LA Noire tonight.
It was a very enjoyable detective-em-up that has some very impressive facial capture (though still a little wonky-looking) for the time.
I’m surprised this was actually only published by Rockstar Games and developed by Team Bondi – an australian developer, of which this is their one and only game. 
It’s a good game though!
@Accidental_Kills98 will be pleased to know that I did not use a guide in this to reveal me the answers… at least not before much trial and error in some spots 
I used it to “verify” if my line of thinking was right in some areas that had me stumped…
(I’m a terrible perfectionist, and I don’t know what key question might give me an integral piece of info! If I fail a question, it’s back to menu and reloading the checkpoint…! It worked and I mostly figured it out myself.)
The mysteries and crimes you investigate start off fairly tame, involving disputes over car ownerships and missing persons, but quickly takes a turn into grisly murders involving multiple nude women found beaten, bloody, in the middle of the night.
It can be pretty uncomfortable and unsettling at times while investigating these.
One of things I love and hate about this game is it’s accuracy, or at least portrayal of the 1947’s social norm and culture.
First of all, thankfully they made the protagonist Cole Phelps, a diamond in the rough. He’s quite progressive for the times, treats people kindly, and looks down upon those around him that often spout sexist or racist terms to others. You’re gonna come across lots of sexist people in this, of which many of Cole’s partners end up being while on the case. One such partner gets teased early on in the game, being a triple-threat racist, sexist and xenophobe… So that was kind of a “NOOOOOO” moment when I realized he’d be prominently featured in one of the chapters…
Plus, the game features a lot of “lazy cops” tropes that IDK if they’re at all accurate for the times, but it makes sense. Constantly, you’re told that you should pin the crime on one of the suspects when there’s barely any evidence to without doubt convict them of that crime! And later on, find that you’re forced to arrest people that most likely didn’t do it, all because you’ve reached a dead end in the case, chief breathing down your neck, and they’re the closest person who fits the possible means/motive/opportunity…
And it’s all to make the cops look good in the papers, keep their arrest records clean, and not let the public dwell on one crime/killer for too long.
BUT, thankfully, over the course of the game, you’ll see Cole’s partners actually grow a little, and have his heroic and noble streak rub off on them. Especially when concerned with Rusty early on, getting more and more invested in uncovering a serial murderer. Or Hershel Biggs later on, going from “I don’t do partners”, to having Cole’s back when he’s already at his lowest against corrupt law near the end…
Cole is usually level-headed and polite, though the only times you’ll usually see an ugly side of him being when you “Bad Cop” suspects, using his police authority to make threats. “How bout my partner and I take you out back and beat the truth out of you?” or even “I should put you back in Holding and tell the guys you’re in for child molestation. You wouldn’t last long…”
The story is pretty good and kind of revolves around an overarching conspiracy that Cole uncovers throughout the story.
Plus, the journey that Cole went through in the Pacific War against Japan alongside his suffering unit.
My one gripe is that, for whatever reason, some integral pieces of this overarching plot that culminates in a climactic end in the Final Few Cases, are only communicated to the player through optional collectible Newspapers – where upon picking one up, you see a scene of some side-characters unrelated to the case, until those dots start connecting later… But they’re totally missable! Thankfully I found them all, so it was cool when it started coming together, but I feel like your average gamer could miss a few and not realise the build-up happening at all.
Oh yes, also, there’s a “big twist” in the game involving Cole being unfaithful to his wife after having an affair with a singer. That… I don’t think was set up all that well. You never see Cole’s wife until she kicks him out of the house. He barely mentions her, and you only ever get one passing mention of his kids.
I guess that’s meant to poke at him being super commited to his job since you only ever see that, but there’s also very little of how long this affair was taking place.
Downtown LA where this game takes place is apparently faithfully reconstructed, road-by-road as it was back in the day before any of the major highways were built which is a pretty neat detail.
– It’s got an open-world, but it’s mostly just set-dressing and used to offer various locations across the city for crimes to take place. I’ve heard it’s kind of like Mafia in that it’s a game that lets you freely explore it but there’s very little to do outside of the story.
– And yeah, the side-content is not all that great. There’s about 40 total “street crimes” throughout the game, which all usually revolve around a shootout, a chase (by foot or by car) and unfortunately usually whenever there’s a gun involved, you can only shoot and kill your suspect. Many crimes only able to end with a coroner putting a dead body on a gurney, and that’s it.
There’s also tons of collectibles across the game that are just there to be collectibles lol… Records and Film Reels and more… all really just making a number go up.
You can unlock different outfits throughout the game by “levelling up” with questions correctly answered and side content cleared. This is the remaster so some snazzy DLC outfits are here too. (I really like Hawkshaw and The Broderick)
…I think this was also originally based on the Switch “remaster/port”, which is a little evident since some of the suits which were “remaster exclusive” look… visibly less detailed and flat compared to other suits. Like they just ported over the suits and didn’t add any detail to match the regular textures… 
Anyway, game cleared! Had some great fun focusing on this the past few days, though I admit that the main draw is the Story cases and I didn’t think a lot of the side content was all that worth it to do… 
Here’s hoping I can play this again in 10 years when I’ve forgotten all the details.
