fundamentally flawed in about every way but also compelling due to the gameplay systems tug of war, giving us weird market-aimed elements like the collectibles, side missions and hilariously uncharted-y shootouts existing alongside pseudo-scientific facial reads in a awkwardly phrased (in both this version and the 2017 one), punitive interrogation system, and a grab-the-objects-until-you-hear-the-audio-cue investigation system.
very juvenile and not very tactful, which adds some fascination to the hyper expensive, semi auteur hijacked by the demands behind its financing vibe it has. we have the worst impulses of both ends of this transaction being brought to life with money obviously raining on its 720p. would be a far less interesting game if less clearly expensive, a document of the dumb guy getting and then fumbling support from big corporations

the interrogations have probably one of the least productive feedback systems in a game, effectively telling you you gotta force-quit your game to retry whenever you make a "mistake", which can feel comically arbitrary. retrying missions takes a century because most cutscenes are unskippable.

the aesthetic is overworked but pleasant, with a world that's mechanically empty but fun to roam in, with easy to appreciate visual detail. most fun i had here was for sure crashing cars to rack up damage money for that one achievement. trying to run over pedestrians is fun too, like going against its design. but this is somewhat dulled by the fact you just kill a lot of people anyway.

very strangely paced, with a second main arc that's intentionally repetitive and anticlimatic but still not very impactful in any way shape or form, then willingly lulling into valleys of basically nothing for great chunks of some cases until you start playing as kelso, where it actually has narrative momentum for a bit. then it has a hilariously clunky ending where you understand the prestige tv-y type thing they went for but feel none of. i know they wanted to make this game be considerably longer, which probably would make it a terrible but more remarkably punitive experience, maybe then giving it more impact. i can't tell. i'd personally restructure the game a lot, make some parts crosscut, probably remove or severely rework the whole homicide bit etc. so like, it's kinda trash in most relevant ways but it's also fascinating and the fact i even thought of how i'd restructure it at all, which i like never do with media, is a testament to it having some power. very confused, misdirected power, but power regardless. i liked collecting cars

If this was an adventure game with none of the driving/shooting it would have been game of the year.

It will seem fanciful in years to come that the facial animations in L.A. Noire were so revolutionary and impressive, but they truly enthralled me first time round. Add to this a sharp story and some clever investigative mechanics and you have a remarkable new IP.

What a pity they have never continued it.

Team Bondi e Rockstar se unem pra entregar um dos jogos mais curiosos da década passada. L.A Noire é ate que bem experimental pro seu custo, algo que eu gostaria de ver mais no mundo AAA (ps: não vai acontecer) Com uma historia bem conduzida e casos bem envolventes, o jogo brilha com sua mecânica de interrogação viciante e divertida que deixa o jogador com vontade de rejogar as missões só pra ver todos as opções de dialogo e resposta. Outros destaques são as expressões faciais incríveis dos bonecos e o voice acting espetacular. A parte mais sem sal do jogo, curiosamente, é onde geralmente a Rockstar brilha, o World Design. Não me entenda mal, a ambientação de Los Angeles dos anos 40 é muito bem feita, só que não tem nada pra fazer dentro do mapa fora a historia, e o conteúdo secundário disponível é curto e bem desinteressante, me da leve impressão de que talvez durante fases inicias de desenvolvimento a Team Bondi planejava fazer algo bem mais linear só que o maior envolvimento da Rockstar fez com que eles decidissem colocar um mundo aberto pra lembrar os jogos do estúdio como GTA. Enfim, muito bom jogo, esqueça o mundo aberto e se aprofunde na historia.

One of the biggest disappointments in gaming. The idea of an open world detective game where you can investigate the crime scene and confront the suspects sound insane. But holly molly the execution was bad.
Where do I start?
The investigation of the crime scene is laughable. Everything you need to check is either in the victim's pockets or three meters away from the body. So much for searching for clues. Confronting the suspects is either painfully obvious to tell if they lie or a trial and error. The exaggerated faces animation although impressive makes everything too silly. The worse part is that no matter how bad you'll do in the interrogations you will advance, it's only the score that matter.
Also the missions get worse as you progress.
The open world is the most useless environment in a game ever. It serves no purpose at all. All you can check is some useless landmarks or driving different cars. A waste of dev time. The protagonist is a douche and the story is meh.
It's not terrible, but a massive wasted opportunity.