L.A Noire is misunderstood and unappreciated

L.A Noire is with out a doubt one of the most anticipated games of the year, which received much praise and very favorable review scores. However, the feedback from gamers is disappointing.

Now before you jump the gun and scream “But, L.A Noire has tons of 9’s and 10’s.”, hear me out. While L.A Noire did receive very good review scores, including from us which you can read here.I’m more worried about the feedback I’ve been reading from my fellow gamers, and a few reviews that I won’t mention. You see, with L.A Noire having the infamous Rockstar logo on the front of the box it draws a lot of attention. What do people think of when they think Rockstar Games? Grand Theft Auto. While the basic movements, and gunplay in L.A Noire are very similar to those in GTA or even RDR, the core gameplay is entirely different. I usually don’t give a damn about how most people feel towards a game because everyone is entitled to their own opinion. However it disgust me when I read complaints about L.A Noire for the wrong reasons. L.A Noire isn’t suppose to be a 1940’s GTA, it’s not suppose to be a huge open world game to explore and do what you want at your own free will. It’s a story driven game focused on interrogation and investigation.

I feel L.A Noire is misunderstood and unappreciated by some of our fellow gamers and don’t understand what L.A Noire brings to the table. The common problem with video games today is everything is so similar, nobody tries to stand out and take a chance. Team Bondi did. You see everyone complains, bitches and moans because they buy a game and it’s just like this game, so it becomes boring. Then when a game comes along and offers something different, and what gamers want. They bitch because it’s not like everything else on the market. I felt the same way, and still do, when Heavy Rain was released. Which is another great example because Quantic Dream brought something to our next-gen consoles that no one else offered until now.

People complained Heavy Rain was boring because it was all quick time events, it was short, and offered no replay value. Same thing with L.A Noire except for a few altercations. People complaining the investigations are boring, you can’t shoot people whenever you want, nothing to do after you beat the game etc. I have a few questions for those people, and if you’re reading this I hope you can explain. Did you bother gathering information on the game you purchased, or you thought because the Rockstar logo was on the box it was going to be another GTA type game set in the 40’s? Have you ever heard of the word experience? No, not those stupid little points that pop up when you get a kill on Call Of Duty. I’m talking about the overall experience you have with a game.

Have you ever been to a concert, than after you left you shout “That was fucking awesome!”. What ever happen to that? What ever happen to people enjoying a game based off the experience it provides? You will shell out hundreds and hundreds of dollars to go see a concert or even a baseball game that last what, 3 maybe 4 hours most? Yet when a video game can offer that same type of thrilling experience for 8-20 hours it’s not good enough for your money because there’s no replay value? Now the way I value my money is going to be different from yours, but when I buy a game I’m after the experience it offers. When I play Call of Duty – which is very rarely- sure I can play for days, weeks, months of the same concept. Run, shoot, die, respawn, repeat. Sure its fun, but it’s repetitive. Which from what I’ve read is a main problem in L.A Noire with gamers. Here’s a hint of reality. Detective work is repetitive, and has to be in order to be successful. Just because something is repetitive, doesn’t make it boring. You go to the crime scene, look for clues, gather information to get leads, interrogate suspects and pursue the criminal. Hell, even in the gameplay series trailers for L.A Noire it tells you, EVERY case begins the same way. So why act surprised when you do the same thing over and over, but with different suspects and situations?

The main problem I have with these people is it’s not to often that a game like L.A Noire or Heavy Rain comes around. When they do, they bash the living shit out of the game for doing something different. L.A Noire and Heavy Rain are mature games. I don’t mean you need to be 18 to play them. I mean they’re meant for a mature, older audience who understand what they offer and appreciate it. You may be old enough to watch Scarface or The Godfather, but you’re not mature enough to respect and understand what it brought to the film industry and I feel the same way about L.A Noire and Heavy Rain. Gaming has grown so much over the past few years, so much in fact that it wasn’t even 10 years ago people bought single player games that lasted months or even years for them. Now if a game offers only single player, it’s almost immediately classified as a rental. More and more kids and younger adults are playing video games nowadays, which is perfectly fine. Enjoy what makes you happy. Just don’t criticize something you don’t understand for the wrong reasons. If you didn’t enjoy Heavy Rain or L.A Noire that’s perfectly understandable because it’s not a game for everyone. Which is probably why I enjoy both games so much. However, completely downplaying a game you don’t have the attention span, patients, or an understanding of the game to enjoy it like it’s suppose to be enjoyed is wrong.

We need more games like L.A Noire and Heavy Rain. Not particularly just detective games, but games that offer something new and exciting that stand out from the rest of the crowd. When you have people leaving the wrong impressions to the developers because they didn’t do their homework and are off complaining saying “This sucks, it’s boring, why can’t I shoot people when I want to do” makes developers want to change their ways. No developer wants to hear their games sucks, but they also shouldn’t be hearing it sucks from the wrong people. So please, I beg you. If you’re a gamer that doesn’t understand and can’t grasp the concept of games like Heavy Rain and L.A Noire, just keep your mouth shut. You’re the reason games like Dragon Age have turned to the “casual” side of gaming, which really sucks for us hardcore guys. If you’re a gamer that does understand and can grasp the concept of games like Heavy Rain and L.A Noire, but just didn’t enjoy it because it wasn’t the type of game you thought it would be. Then good for you.

I’m not saying you have to love or give these games a 10/10. I’m just saying try to understand a game, its purpose, and what it offers instead of what it doesn’t offer before you go spouting how much it sucks.