Let's Play L.A. Noire: A Series of Film Reviews

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > Let's Play L.A. Noire: A Series of Film Reviews

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KozmoNaut: Apr 23, 2008; Happiness is a warm
Turbo Plasma Rifle

Thank you for another A+ quality LP and some quality in-depth movie reviews, I enjoyed every minute :-)

I played through L.A. Noire back when it originally came out, I totally bought into the hype surrounding it. While I did enjoy it, I also found it strangely half-finished and felt like there should have been more to it, for many of the same reasons you've expressed in this LP. The city is so well-realized layout-wise, that it's such a shame you never get to do any kind of real open-world exploring.

Oh well, here's to what could have been a new direction for the GTA games, but ended up fizzling out.

# ? Sep 19, 2016 20:28

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# ? Apr 27, 2024 18:58

Grapplejack: Nov 27, 2007

Courtney is demonstratively the worst person in this entire game. This update seals that. He deserved much worse than what he got.

# ? Sep 19, 2016 20:41

resurgam40: Jul 22, 2007; Battler, the literal stupidest man on earth. Why are you even here, Battler, why did you come back to this place so you could fuck literally everything up?

I think that final flashback scene is where it is because it proves that Kelso is more of a conventional hero than Cole, and why he didn't really fit as the protagonist of this story: he's what Cole always pretended he was, but never actually was. The juxtaposition between them makes me think it might have been better if Kelso died instead of Cole, because the "hero" would have died saving others, while Cole would be left to live on under the weight of his guilt. The ending as it is, while appropriately knife-twisty, feels too abrupt and loose ended to really be satisfying. Still, I'm glad I played and don't regret my purchase; there were a lot of interesting bits that I would like to see the continued evolution of. Alas, Team Bondi is gone to the winds due to mismanagement and ambition, and all Rockstar will say about the prospect of a sequel is that they "haven't discounted the possibility," so who knows if that will ever happen.

Still, another fine LP, Bobbin, really thoughtful dissections of both genre and filmography of your chosen subjects. I remember seeing LA Confidential for the first time as a teenager with my family in the theater (it was something of a movie night, and my father was a fan of mysteries) and I think all of the more complicated plots were missed the first time through, so it benefited from a second (and probably third) watch. I'm with the director that the author hit the sweet spot great writers do of writing characters you'd never want to meet or deal with in real life but are arresting and immersive on the page; it's a very rare balance to find when you have a trio of main characters who each think of the other with a sneer and the though "I can't believe that rear end in a top hat is a cop", and have each of them be absolutely right.

# ? Sep 19, 2016 21:11

Bobbin Threadbare: Jan 2, 2009; I'm looking for a flock of urbanmechs.

Xander77 posted:

No, you misunderstood what he was saying. It was "throw a few old timers who have a pension under the bus and then try, convict, and send to jail Stensland and Bud White, who don't have pensions, but are mean and bullies and I really hate them because they pulled the head off of my dolly".

The exact lines are "Shift the guilt to men whose pensions are secured. Force them to retire. But someone has to swing. Indict, try and convict Stensland and Bud White. Secure them jail time."

You're probably right, but hopefully you can see how I might have conflated the two statements.

# ? Sep 19, 2016 21:12

Xander77: Apr 6, 2009; Fuck it then. For another pit sandwich and some 'tater salad, I'll post a few more.

Bobbin Threadbare posted:

You're probably right, but hopefully you can see how I might have conflated the two statements.

Course I am, and course I can. But where would the internet be without insufferable pedants correcting people regarding inconsequential details?

# ? Sep 19, 2016 21:25

davidspackage: May 16, 2007; Nap Ghost

Thanks for another wonderfully engaging LP, Bobbin. This was one of those LPs where every time I saw a new episode pop up on my Youtube feed, I'd line it up, get comfortable and have a good watch for the next 30-60 minutes, instead of just having it on while doing something else.

Man, I did not remember that Cole's big scene happened in a drat newspaper flashback. That is such a goosebumps moment, where you just forget you're looking at a CG representation of a person (even though, on rewatch, the actor stumbles over some words - I guess they liked the take that much), and they practically hide it? Contrastingly, the scene of Cole's death is done terribly videogamey - not cinematic, no dramatic timing, no dramatic angles. Just Cole's whisper of "goodbye" somehow audible over the roar of water and him practically blinking out of existence. Awful. I think what you say about inexperience can be felt very well in the way the scenes of plot get more randomly placed the further you get in the game. At the end, you just get important moments of character development being dropped in the denouement.

Nevertheless, I loved this game and loved my time playing it. I think it left most of us wanting more and recognizing that it brought new and interesting things to the table. I hate the thought that the game was brought down so much by mismanagement and mistreatment of employees. Makes you feel almost guilty for buying it, and it ruined the chances of a sequel.

# ? Sep 19, 2016 22:43

Aces High: Mar 26, 2010; Nah! A little chocolate will do

Grapplejack posted:

Courtney is demonstratively the worst person in this entire game. This update seals that. He deserved much worse than what he got.

for some reason "the road to Hell is paved with good intentions" doesn't seem like enough when you consider just how many lives Courtney hosed up. I mean him attempting to frag (yes, anachronistic for WW2 but the sentiment is the same) Cole is probably the only time in the entire game where his decisions are actually somewhat justifiable. His idea for stealing the morphine and selling it is just...it is just straight up retarded and I still find it hilarious that he felt he still had a moral high ground over Cole when Cole tells him about the marines that died because of it.

I remember the first time I played this game I just sat there every time I saw a cutscene with Fontaine and Courtney I was just like "jesus this kid is a dipshit, and this doctor is just a snake oil salesman of the 40s"

# ? Sep 19, 2016 23:56

Psychotic Weasel: Jun 24, 2004; Bang! You're dead.

I never realized it at the time but it seems like Kelso has been running around for over a day now bleeding from his arm - how is he still conscious? From the blood all over his hand it looks like he has a pretty good leak.

I kinda wonder why Kelso agreed to help the assistant DA if the whole point of him helping was to clean up the LAPD, only to see Peterson turn around and begin colluding with the Chief so he can save his own skin. I also don't think Roy considered himself a friend of Cole's considering he's standing there lying through his teeth as he delivers his eulogy; it's more likely that this event has been spun into Cole being made a scapegoat for Leland and the others while the Chief tries to distance himself from the whole thing and Roy is trying to distract people from his own unscrupulous dealings by making it look like they were always the closest buddies and never doubted him for a minute. Though it is strange the Roy seemed to be the only person Cole hung out with outside work.

Overall a great game and I'm glad I eventually finished it myself after initially giving up - I do wish that the story was more evenly spread out though the game instead of being so back heavy. If there were more missions like the one we ended on it could vary things up and ease the player into the plot instead of dumping it all out on you in the final few cases; hell they waited until the last minute in Fontaine's office to spell out what's going on with the highways and housing developments. But as has been pointed out many, many times there were a lot of things that needed work here.

Never saw LA Confidential when it came out, guess I just wasn't that into noir back in junior high. 1997 was a big year for movies though with Titanic, Men In Black, The Fifth Element, Austin Powers, Con Air, Starship Troopers, Air Force One all coming out that year; the list goes on and on.

# ? Sep 20, 2016 01:08

Elth: Jul 28, 2011

I'm really glad I stuck with this LP all the way through. I'm also really excited for the next game, particularily hearing your thoughts about the game's themes, how it compares to the first game, and how you'll show off some of the unique gameplay elements the game throws at you.

# ? Sep 20, 2016 01:48

Spiritus Nox: Sep 2, 2011

Grapplejack posted:

Courtney is demonstratively the worst person in this entire game. This update seals that. He deserved much worse than what he got.

Yeah. Cole and Earle are pretty lovely, but they're both at least conscious of their shittiness in their own ways. Sheldon is just unfathomably short sighted and lacking in self-awareness.

Anyway, I didn't post much, but I've enjoyed this LP the whole way through. Thanks, Bobbin.

# ? Sep 20, 2016 03:53

Lord Zedd-Repulsa: Jul 21, 2007; Devour a good book.

I started playing this game once, but it made my laptop heat up really badly so I stopped after doing the tutorial, ha. Thanks for playing it and for giving at least me a nice film education along the way.

# ? Sep 20, 2016 04:18

Ignatius M. Meen: May 26, 2011; Hello yes I heard there was a lovely trainwreck here and...

Great LP as usual and I loved the film reviews that went with them. I hope this game at least inspires another team to make something ambitious like this in the future even if it never gets a real sequel.

# ? Sep 20, 2016 04:48

Antistar01: Oct 20, 2013

Thanks for another fascinating LP, Bobbin; I really enjoyed it. LA Noire is not the sort of game I'd want to play myself, so it was good to be able to experience it this way.

(Incidentally, Bondi is pronounced "bond-eye" rather than "bond-ee".)

# ? Sep 20, 2016 05:20

Spatula City: Oct 21, 2010; LET ME EXPLAIN TO YOU WHY YOU ARE WRONG ABOUT EVERYTHING

Great LP, Bobbin. It's really interesting watch a playthrough of a game like this, with so many weird flaws, and yet alive with ideas and possible innovations. It's a shame it's probably a dead end and nothing will take cues from it. I'd love to see a refinement of its ideas and gameplay.

Also, L.A. Confidential is dope, both the book and the movie, although the book has some very strange plotlines that the movie wisely excised. but Ellroy is a magnificent writer with a tremendous sense of place, and a remarkable ability to make even total shitheels compelling and sympathetic.

One thing worth mentioning is that L.A. Confidential is the third novel in James Ellroy's "L.A. Quartet". The first was The Black Dahlia, which we've talked about, to some extent. The second was The Big Nowhere, which introduced the character of Dudley Smith, and featured a character named "Buzz Meeks" as the protagonist. So the name was reused for the movie of LA Confidential in a somewhat different context. In the novel of L.A. Confidential, Dudley Smith avoids prosecution for his crimes, and he's brought down in the final book in the L.A. Quartet, White Jazz, by Exley, who became deputy chief of the LAPD as a result of the Nite Owl case's resolution.

Ellroy has just started a second L.A. Quartet, with Perfidia, which is set around when Pearl Harbor happened, and features a younger Dudley Smith as one of the characters.

One L.A. Confidential connection that really stuck out to me from this game is that in mannerisms, Cole's boss at the Homicide desk is really reminiscent of James Cromwell's portrayal of Dudley Smith in the film.

# ? Sep 20, 2016 06:25

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

Spatula City posted:

Great LP, Bobbin. It's really interesting watch a playthrough of a game like this, with so many weird flaws, and yet alive with ideas and possible innovations. It's a shame it's probably a dead end and nothing will take cues from it. I'd love to see a refinement of its ideas and gameplay.

Also, L.A. Confidential is dope, both the book and the movie, although the book has some very strange plotlines that the movie wisely excised. but Ellroy is a magnificent writer with a tremendous sense of place, and a remarkable ability to make even total shitheels compelling and sympathetic.

One thing worth mentioning is that L.A. Confidential is the third novel in James Ellroy's "L.A. Quartet". The first was The Black Dahlia, which we've talked about, to some extent. The second was The Big Nowhere, which introduced the character of Dudley Smith, and featured a character named "Buzz Meeks" as the protagonist. So the name was reused for the movie of LA Confidential in a somewhat different context. In the novel of L.A. Confidential, Dudley Smith avoids prosecution for his crimes, and he's brought down in the final book in the L.A. Quartet, White Jazz, by Exley, who became deputy chief of the LAPD as a result of the Nite Owl case's resolution.

Ellroy has just started a second L.A. Quartet, with Perfidia, which is set around when Pearl Harbor happened, and features a younger Dudley Smith as one of the characters.

One L.A. Confidential connection that really stuck out to me from this game is that in mannerisms, Cole's boss at the Homicide desk is really reminiscent of James Cromwell's portrayal of Dudley Smith in the film.

There's also the Underworld USA Trilogy, which takes place after the L.A. Quartet and features a few characters from that series, notably Pete Bondurant from White Jazz. In fact, the opening of the first book of that trilogy, American Tabloid, reminds me of Bobbin's discussion about the "celebration of the renegade":

quote:

America was never innocent. We popped our cherry on the boat over and looked back with no regrets. You can�t ascribe our fall from grace to any single event or set of circumstances. You can�t lose what you lacked at conception.

Mass-market nostalgia gets you hopped up for a past that never existed. Hagiography sanctifies shuck-and-jive politicians and reinvents their expedient gestures as moments of great moral weight. Our continuing narrative line is blurred past truth and hindsight. Only a reckless verisimilitude can set that line straight.

The real Trinity of Camelot was Look Good, Kick rear end, Get Laid. Jack Kennedy was the mythological front man for a particularly juicy slice of our history. He talked a slick line and wore a world-class haircut. He was Bill Clinton minus pervasive media scrutiny and a few rolls of flab.

Jack got whacked at the optimum moment to assure his sainthood. Lies continue to swirl around his eternal flame. It�s time to dislodge his urn and cast light on a few men who attended his ascent and facilitated his fall.

They were rogue cops and shakedown artists. They were wiretappers and soldiers of fortune and human being lounge entertainers. Had one second of their lives deviated off course, American History would not exist as we know it.

It�s time to demythologize an era and build a new myth from the gutter to the stars. It�s time to embrace bad men and the price they paid to secretly define their time.

Here�s to them.

Ellroy is a fantastic writer.

As an aside, I was reading an article about the real Ray Pinker, and it mentioned that in the late '40s there was a pretty famous Irishman, Jack Donahoe, who ran Robbery-Homicide for LAPD. I'm assuming both Dudley Smith and James Donnelly are based on him.

# ? Sep 20, 2016 06:59

Gargamel Gibson: Apr 24, 2014

Good stuff, Bobbin! Though I definitely disagree about Roy Earle genuinely considering Phelps to be his friend.

# ? Sep 20, 2016 09:47

Elth: Jul 28, 2011

While it's quite possible that Roy was suppressing a laugh rather than a sob at the end of his speech, it wouldn't be far-fetched to say that Cole's gunpoint tirade instilled a greater sense of respect in him. Instead of fighting back or getting angry, he fell back to his callous, dismissive attitude, and even seemed hesitant about it. It's not impossible that he would feel remorse about what he did to Cole, a man he likely considered his equal (to the point of even feeling threatened enough to backstab him).

# ? Sep 20, 2016 12:48

Xander77: Apr 6, 2009; Fuck it then. For another pit sandwich and some 'tater salad, I'll post a few more.

I have no opinion on the whole "Roy: rear end in a top hat or supreme rear end in a top hat" argument, but the "unjustly accused" bit he was doing at the funeral really gave credence to the notion that the initial plan was to accuse Cole of an actual freaking crime, like the morphine heist.

# ? Sep 20, 2016 12:58

Rectus: Apr 27, 2008

Seems that with Cole and Ira dead, a lot of the conspirators walk free. It's a bit annoying that they don't elaborate on what happens more than Petersen bargaining with the police chief.

# ? Sep 20, 2016 13:48

Spiritus Nox: Sep 2, 2011

Xander77 posted:

I have no opinion on the whole "Roy: rear end in a top hat or supreme rear end in a top hat" argument, but the "unjustly accused" bit he was doing at the funeral really gave credence to the notion that the initial plan was to accuse Cole of an actual freaking crime, like the morphine heist.

They did. Adultery was an actual, literal crime during this time period.

# ? Sep 20, 2016 14:39

Xander77: Apr 6, 2009; Fuck it then. For another pit sandwich and some 'tater salad, I'll post a few more.

Spiritus Nox posted:

They did. Adultery was an actual, literal crime during this time period.

Thank you for that useful contribution. Definitely a point I was not aware of, as it wasn't previously discussed in the thread.

# ? Sep 20, 2016 14:44

Garrand: Dec 28, 2012; Rhino, you did this to me!

Rectus posted:

Seems that with Cole and Ira dead, a lot of the conspirators walk free. It's a bit annoying that they don't elaborate on what happens more than Petersen bargaining with the police chief.

Part of roys speech mentions they basically had Fontaine and the land developer (phone posting can't remember his name) take the fall for the whole thing. Fontaine's dead but with the other still alive I don't see him letting himself take all the blame.

# ? Sep 20, 2016 19:02

AriadneThread: Feb 17, 2011; The Devil sounds like smoke and honey. We cannot move. It is too beautiful.

Thanks for the LP

# ? Sep 20, 2016 19:10

Kopijeger: Feb 14, 2010

Garrand posted:

Part of roys speech mentions they basically had Fontaine and the land developer (phone posting can't remember his name) take the fall for the whole thing. Fontaine's dead but with the other still alive I don't see him letting himself take all the blame.

A good point. Excluding the ones who were killed, the names of Monroe, Benson, Mayor Bowron, Chief Worrell, DA Sandler and LA Times chief editor Gordon are still on the land registry. Petersen somehow struck a deal with Worrell for the former to replace Sandler, but how the others will get away with things (if they do) is highly unclear.

# ? Sep 20, 2016 19:16

Bobbin Threadbare: Jan 2, 2009; I'm looking for a flock of urbanmechs.

Kopijeger posted:

A good point. Excluding the ones who were killed, the names of Monroe, Benson, Mayor Bowron, Chief Worrell, DA Sandler and LA Times chief editor Gordon are still on the land registry. Petersen somehow struck a deal with Worrell for the former to replace Sandler, but how the others will get away with things (if they do) is highly unclear.

Historically speaking, Chief Horrall would resign two years later thanks to the Black Dahlia failure and the Brenda Allen prostitution scandal. The other characters are somewhat less based on their real-life counterparts.

# ? Sep 20, 2016 20:02

hexedangel: Mar 13, 2005; It's just a game we play... in the dark...

I always get a kick out of watching the credits for Rockstar games - my cousin has been listed since GTA San Andreas.

Great LP, Bobbin - and now I have 17 noir movies to watch that I hadn't seen before.

# ? Sep 20, 2016 20:41

Tecman: Sep 11, 2003; Loading the Universe...
Please Wait.; Pillbug

Thanks for the LP, Bobbin! I've tried getting into LA Noire a couple of times but it just wasn't clicking for me gameplay-wise. I was glad to see it this way.

...you're LPing WHAT as the next game? :aaaaa:

_{If there's anything I can help with DXHR stuff, please, let me know.}

# ? Sep 21, 2016 10:09

Zeniel: Oct 18, 2013

Awesome lp as always Bobbin. Been the highlight of my Tuesday evenings for a good while now. I actually quite enjoyed L.A. Noire, I never got past the Homicide desk for non-game related reasons though. It was good to see the rest of the game finally. It does get a bit janky and confusing towards the end there but it's pretty fun all the same.

# ? Sep 21, 2016 11:00

Stare-Out: Mar 11, 2010

L.A. Confidential-related sad news; the director, Curtis Hanson, died today at 71.

# ? Sep 21, 2016 13:05

Aishlinn: Mar 31, 2011; This might hurt a bit..

Excellent LP, as always Bobbin!

So i have a question regarding your next one.

Are you the foxiest of the hounds?

# ? Sep 21, 2016 15:22

Bobbin Threadbare: Jan 2, 2009; I'm looking for a flock of urbanmechs.

Aishlinn posted:

Excellent LP, as always Bobbin!

So i have a question regarding your next one.

Are you the foxiest of the hounds?

I earned Foxiest of Hounds, Pacifist, Legend, and Factory Zero all in a single New Game + playthrough.

# ? Sep 21, 2016 16:14

Halser: Aug 24, 2016

Thanks for the LP! I've been watching your videos since the Thief days, but didn't buy an account here until last month.

LA Noire is one of the few games I never beat. It was fun initially, but the murder case took a bit too long to reveal the twist everyone knew was coming, so I kinda just stopped out of boredom.

# ? Sep 21, 2016 16:38

Dilettante.: Feb 18, 2011

Great LP bobbin, LA Noire is probably one of the few games I've finished to 100% completion.

Just heard that the director for LA Confidential died. :witch:

# ? Sep 22, 2016 02:20

Aishlinn: Mar 31, 2011; This might hurt a bit..

Bobbin Threadbare posted:

I earned Foxiest of Hounds, Pacifist, Legend, and Factory Zero all in a single New Game + playthrough.

that was more me asking if that was going to be part of the upcoming thing. I had no doubt you'd been able to do it, Mr. Master thief.

# ? Sep 22, 2016 02:59

Bobbin Threadbare: Jan 2, 2009; I'm looking for a flock of urbanmechs.

Aishlinn posted:

that was more me asking if that was going to be part of the upcoming thing. I had no doubt you'd been able to do it, Mr. Master thief.

Not such that I'll be aiming to get the achievement. I plan on showing off different playstyles in different areas.

# ? Sep 22, 2016 03:47

Panboy: May 20, 2010; Le'me tell ya'll about them Apples.

I rarely post in bobbins threads but i assure you I watch them all, Another Great LP from you here, and know the silent majority appreciate them all , i know i speak for them.
And from the last few messages I assume the next Lp to contain Gears of Metal ?!

I just hope the la le lu lay oo have no affect on you, else we might have issues.

# ? Sep 22, 2016 03:54

CommissarMega: Nov 18, 2008; THUNDERDOME LOSER

My big question is whether or not it'll be a lecture series, because to me that's a bigger selling point than any number of playstyles.

# ? Sep 22, 2016 07:26

Scaramouche: Mar 26, 2001; SPACE FACE! SPACE FACE!

This was a terrible game. Meaning the gameplay, the interrogation scenes, the chases, the gunning down bits, all just very haphazardly implemented, and I'm not sure "fun" was ever something they were thinking of when developing it. At the same time though, it has this almost auteur-esque appeal. You didn't really want to play the game, but you did want to know the story it was telling.

The one thing the game succeeded at for me, was Cole Phelps. You weren't supposed to like him. They pretended a bit at first, but as you found out more about him you realized this just isn't a good guy. The final revelation, and him choosing his ignominious end, make a lot of sense to me. What was driving his relentless careerism and case closing? A streak of insecurity and guilt a mile wide and chasms deep. And this is a game telling us this story; not a noire film (though a cutscene heavy game), and it's entirely noire that the unlikable "protagonist" gets killed, is jankily eulogized by the people who contributed to his downfall, and justice is defeated.

# ? Sep 22, 2016 07:43