Released: 2011
First person shooter
Violent Crime Thriller
I was hoping this game was going to be like Heavy Rain, but it wasn't (well, the facial recognition software is).
The plot is that you are a new police officer, Cole Phelps, working in the post war Los Angeles area of 1947. LAPD had a terrible reputation historically at that time with lots of crooked cops and unsolved or botched crimes. You are thrown head first into this drama after serving in the Army during World War II and receiving a war hero status.
I love, love, love this genre and time frame. Lots of Art Deco designs, a simpler America, and more innocent time than what we are today. I love Noir films and thought this could be a very interesting game. The acting is great and the animation technology they used allows for great detail in actor's performances. So when you're playing this game, you will recognize some actors from film and television. The animation is that good.
Here's a clip of the technology behind the performances so you get an idea of the kind of detail I'm telling you about. It's really amazing.
The acting alone was excellent. I enjoyed the storyline, but driving around the streets got monotonous after a short while and I was sometimes frustrated that I couldn't make more decisions on my own (perhaps this is due to the fact that I'm terrible at figuring out when someone's lying and that's huge in this game). You do have to do interrogations and track down the criminals, but the process for me, was sometimes incredibly frustrating if you didn't ask the suspect in just the right manner. There's definitely a linear storyline here and you basically have to follow it to get to the end. The character I played, I really could identify with until they made him make a mistake (it's written into the story so it can't be avoided). I totally thought this "mistake" was out of character for him and it distracted me from the game. If they would've given me some more explanation as to why he did what he did, I might have enjoyed his character more. There's also a point where you have to become a second character for a while. This I didn't enjoy. I was already used to being one person and then to force me to be someone else, was a bit disruptive. The ending is certainly final, I'll give them that. I was a bit disappointed with the storyline at the end, I think it easily could've been written a different more satisfying way.
One final thing. A strange thing, but not the first time this has happened to me. I found while I was playing my character, I got really intrigued by him. I must say, a bit attracted to him as well. If the characters looks hadn't been copied by an animation program I would worry for myself, but since this actor is a real guy, it's not so strange. In real life, Aaron Staton is cute as well. I haven't seen him act in any movies or tv but I hear he's been on Mad Men.
Here's a snippet of the game.
4 out of 5 joysticks since this game could've had a better ending, less time spent in a car driving, and a different character flaw that was more believable for Cole Phelps.
Note: If you're interested in Heavy Rain, there is a separate review for it in a different post.
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