So… I’m about 2 major cases into LA Noire now, and I can probably tell my impressions on the game now…
It’s harder than I expected, at least once I’ve finished the tutorial cases!
The game starts out with about 4 short one-scene cases just to get you used to the different kinds of activities you’ll be doing in the game. One involves learning about finding evidence, using that to link to a suspect’s address, then apprehending them once suspicion has been cast. Another is a simple shootout, and a different one shows off a chase-scene that ends in combat (a major staple of the “small street crimes” side activities that randomly pop up in the open-world.
The final tutorial one involves interrogation and questioning based on evidence/a crime scene.
It was fairly straight-forward to me, using Good Cop when you believe they’ve told the truth, Bad Cop to force them out of a lie you can’t disprove yet, and Accuse when they’ve told a lie, beyond a shadow of a doubt, you can definitively prove as false with evidence.
The case was pretty easy, open-and-shut.
Then came the promotion and the real cases started.
The first one tripped me up once, and I admit I reloaded the save to get perfect deductions during a suspect questioning. I thought I started to get the hang of it, and got 5 stars, a perfect solve on the case with no stone unturned.
Case 2 threw me for a loop a bit. (The Consul’s Car)
First of all, apparently there’s certain scenes you can miss if you don’t do them in the proper order.
I followed the Main Suspect’s path, tracing a suspicious wrench to his workplace and then his house, where I finally caught up with him in a street race. But I missed being able to talk with the Victim at the police station – I thought that would be left for last, to blow open the case and find out what exactly happened or what they may have done to get his car vandalized.
But nope. After I caught the main suspect, the Chief shows up, says “hey, you did a pretty good job all things considered” and I got 4-stars.
Also, I got a few questions/answers wrong during an interrogation, but it’s good to know that you can still get to a satisfying ending and apprehend the criminal even if you haven’t gotten every clue right.
I just have to pay better attention and really think about what evidence I have and whether I can prove or assume what people say is a lie, a proven lie, or a proven/plausible truth.
The facial mo-cap in this game is pretty damn impressive, yeah. Great tech behind it.
Though I don’t know if it’s the PS4 Remaster upscaling or the game’s art direction, but something seems a little off about people’s faces every now and then, usually how shadows are cast on them. Makes them look a little cel-shaded at times, and like a deep-fake edit at worst. 
I guess the tech wasn’t perfect at the time, but it’s still certainly unique. (And it’s fun to study people’s [exaggerated] reactions to statements when you’re interviewing them.
If they’re stoic, unblinking, staring you right in the eyes, then it’s a truth. If they’re squirming a little, they’ve probably told a little lie. If they’re really smug about something, then maybe they’ve told a massive lie that I can disprove. The latter two blends together a bit sometimes, but I’ll get the hang of it hopefully.
Also yeah, I should use more of the Hint Points if I need it. Some of the questions had me stumped and at least removing one answer helped a little.
controllers just so you’ll buy another one after a few months of regular use.
