The ambitious L.A. Noire returns after more than six years with a remastering for both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. In this review of L.A. Noire we delve into the aspects of each version, but we also review the new functions and what was and is this work so characteristic that today is still without equal.
It is really amazing how time goes by. Six years ago, when we were looking forward to L.A. Noire, surprised by its gameplay, milieu and, above all, by his facial animations, we did not know what path the video game was going to take. To this day, L.A. Noire is a rare game. One of those unrepeatable video games, because nobody in their right mind would devote a monumental budget (when 50 million were many millions) to a calm, elegant adventure, without much action and with an extremely expensive patented technology. Yes, time passes.
The MotionScan, the facial capture method used by the Rockstar game and Team Bondi by that time, is outdated today. Or not? The truth is that there are few games that dare to dive even today in facial animation. Naughty Dog uses a mixture of facial capture retouched by hand, while the Hellblade formula is one of the most representative capture techniques; but even in these examples, and taking into account the lack of detail for the times that run from the MotionScan of L.A Noire, the game of Rockstar continues to give surprising results, with expressions and details in them, which are very difficult to achieve today.
Cole Phelps, supercop
If you have not gone back to the story of detective Cole Phelps since its release, playing now L.A. Noire is an exercise in humility. At that time it was easy to think that this could well be the future of the adventure and that many other games would learn a couple of things from their technology, their tone or their style, one that measures the rhythm, the shootings and the care for the detail. However, the industry has advanced by other paths turning this detective adventure into a unique video game. Only. With hardly any games that resemble him. Practically an exception to the rule.That is why, if you did not consider playing it in the last generation or the later version for computers, both the edition of L.A. Noire for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as the Nintendo Switch, with their differences, is a good opportunity to see another way of making video games. Not perfect, because the time leaves more in evidence the errors in the development of some cases, its interrogation system or the little exploited open world, but its finesse when it comes to representing the bonanza and decadence of the late 40's It is really remarkable.
We speak of a level of detail that borders on the disease when it comes to representing an orography of the Los Angeles of the 40 incredibly faithful as well as investigating real cases of homicides of the time as inspiration. The career of Cole Phelps from police officer, through the departments of Traffic, Homicide, Vice, and Fire oozes an excellent research and script work, even by today's standards, perhaps splashed by some Book Deus Ex Machina, moments where the Phelps own motivations are not clear and that interrogation system that in some moments did not faithfully reflect the player's responses, to the point that in this remastering they have been retouched.
Thus, the classic reactions of Truth, Doubt or Lie have been modified, respectively, by Good Cop, Bad Cop or Accusing. The truth is that although Accusing is somewhat more defined at the time of presenting the evidence, between Bad Cop and Accusing there are still doubts when it comes to choosing the correct way to proceed. For the rest, the game is presented in its playable section as it did in its launch in 2011, with the inclusion of all the DLC that appeared at the time, The Naked City, The Lapsus, Nicholson Galvanized and A Bunch of Grass, which offers new cases to each of the departments through which we will pass, some more achieved than others. Objects that were already included as content for the reservation, such as weapons and suits, are also added.
Switch Noire
For the version of Switch, Rockstar has got a good job moving the game to the hybrid of Nintendo, opting to raise the resolution to 1080p when we play in desktop mode, while the portable mode is maintained at the native resolution of the screen of the machine. It is in this mode that we get the best results, leaving the quality of the facial animations and the scale of the city much more natural than in the Desktop mode.Connected to the television, we have detected some problems. The resolution is 1080p, yes, but the image quality suffers in the open spaces and moments that we travel through the city with our patrol car, presenting a prominent aliasing and an exaggerated popping in the distance. The resolution of the faces, also, suffers in some moments of a stretching of pixels, while we have detected falls of frames that, although they are not constant, can get to tarnish some moment where we need more precision, like the persecutions and the shootings.
The textures and lighting effects are more similar to the tests we have done with the original version of the Xbox 360 and PS3 game. Although some improvements have been made when the hardware has consented, at other times the game remains unchanged compared to the original version. In summary, although both modes are valid, our experience has been much more satisfactory playing on the Switch screen itself than on the television.
The version of Switch also incorporates some additions such as the gyroscope, which when disconnecting the Joy-Con from the console, allow us to make some gestures or turn the camera, but they seem uninspired and do not stop being more than a curiosity. Something more useful can be tactile controls when it comes to exploring some environments and achieving clues or HD vibration when examining them.
With everything, L.A. Noire is a great experience that everyone should enjoy at least once. If you already did at the time, there are not many excuses to do so, unless you want to see how the game has matured or review the story with the downloadable content. When choosing a version, it will be important to define if you are going to play on your television or prefer the portable factor. Many of the cases of L.A. Noire are fast and feel perfect for a device like Switch, while the TV experience of PS4 and Xbox One ensures you greater stability and image quality. A decision for sure easier to choose between Good Cop, Bad Cop or Accusing, because they all have their reward.
L.A. Noire was a very different title than the rest, and it still is. The two versions that Rockstar has remastered are more than correct, defining new resolutions, high-quality textures and making some improvements in the game mechanics. The PS4 and Xbox One bet on the image quality of the remastered, while the Switch, something more humble in the technical part, looks good and has the advantage of portability, which feels like a glove to the game in many of their cases.
-Zardoz-
Developer: Rockstar Games
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Genre: Action-adventure
Release Date: 14th of November 2017
Gameplay: 85
Graphics: 81
Story: 76
Music/Audio: 88
Ambiance: 88
Total: 85
Pro
+ Good remastering, with some improvements
+ It is still a one-of-a-kind game that everyone should try
+ Facial animations, despite time, still work
Cons
- The dynamic resolution isn't quite clear in TV mode
- Graphic glitches
- The loss of SnapMap mode
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