Critics Stunning thriller L.A. Noire is indistinguishable from a movie
Few game developers can boast a track record like Rockstar Games. Responsible for smash hits like the Grand Theft Auto series and last year's standout Red Dead Redemption, the studio is famed for output that toes the line between film and games.
With this week's release of gritty 1940s detective drama L.A. Noire for the Xbox 360 and PS3, however, Rockstar has raised the bar for what constitutes a cinematic video game experience. Boasting groundbreaking facial-mapping technology, an all-star cast and a lifelike recreation of 1940s Los Angeles, it's already being tipped as one of the year's best games.
"Ever since it first worked out how to assemble pixels so that they resembled something more recognisable than aliens," says The Guardian, "the games industry has dreamed of creating one thing above all else - a game that is indistinguishable from a film, except that you can control the lead character. With L.A. Noire, it just might, finally, have found the embodiment of that particular holy grail."
And writer Steve Boxer is in no doubt about where to lay the credit for that unprecedented cinematic feel.
"The new MotionScan system used to capture actors' performances simply produces more convincing facial animation than we have ever seen in a game," says Boxer, who calls the game's recreation of Los Angeles "gloriously convincing...it has all the period charm of Boardwalk Empire or Mad Men." That's unsurprising: the game's lead, detective Cole Phelps, is masterfully played by Mad Men's Aaron Staton, while a number of his AMC co-stars also crop up in the game.
With this week's release of gritty 1940s detective drama L.A. Noire for the Xbox 360 and PS3, however, Rockstar has raised the bar for what constitutes a cinematic video game experience. Boasting groundbreaking facial-mapping technology, an all-star cast and a lifelike recreation of 1940s Los Angeles, it's already being tipped as one of the year's best games.
"Ever since it first worked out how to assemble pixels so that they resembled something more recognisable than aliens," says The Guardian, "the games industry has dreamed of creating one thing above all else - a game that is indistinguishable from a film, except that you can control the lead character. With L.A. Noire, it just might, finally, have found the embodiment of that particular holy grail."
And writer Steve Boxer is in no doubt about where to lay the credit for that unprecedented cinematic feel.
"The new MotionScan system used to capture actors' performances simply produces more convincing facial animation than we have ever seen in a game," says Boxer, who calls the game's recreation of Los Angeles "gloriously convincing...it has all the period charm of Boardwalk Empire or Mad Men." That's unsurprising: the game's lead, detective Cole Phelps, is masterfully played by Mad Men's Aaron Staton, while a number of his AMC co-stars also crop up in the game.
Over at Destructoid, reviewer Jim Sterling is, to put it mildly, impressed.
