![la noire won la noire won](https://uploadvr.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/LAN_Screenshot_VR-4.jpg)
Noire is that, when it comes to gameplay, it's a jack of all trades but a master of none. Throw in the odd chase sequence and a fair few gunfights on top of all the detective work, and you've got a varied adventure that tries lots of different things. Whether you're just cruising around and exploring the world, or tackling the side-quests that pop up while you play, it makes for an immersive experience. The action all takes place in post-war LA and, for the most part, the mood has been brilliantly captured thanks to an excellent soundtrack, keenly observed architecture, and the designs of the vehicles and citizens who inhabit it.
![la noire won la noire won](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ugjoog3dDLc/maxresdefault.jpg)
The game mixes up investigation and clue hunting with interrogation scenes where players have to use a combination of their own intuition and subtle tells from the characters they meet to inform their questioning. Importantly, it still has something to say. Now, in 2017, the quality of that work, with some well-written and beautifully acted scenes, means that the game stands up relatively well. At the time of its initial launch the game's unique selling point, beyond the setting and story, was the use of high-quality motion capture and the way that it was implemented during interrogations and interviews. Noire still holds up after all these years. The answer might come with caveats, but ultimately we'd say "yes", L.A. But in a year that has delivered some truly exceptional games, is it a cold case worth revisiting?
LA NOIRE WON'T LAUNCH PS4
Now, six years after its initial release, this crime-fighting thriller is back, this time with new controls on Nintendo Switch, and with updated visuals on PS4 and Xbox One. (The now defunct) Team Bondi's open-world action-adventure explores avenues not often ventured down in the world of gaming, and this is truly an experience for grownups, with challenging characters and a dark storyline that reveals some twisted crimes along the way. Similarly mesmerising is the game that he headlines: L.A. He's a deeply flawed man, moralistic on the one hand, irredeemable on the other, but always mesmerising. Despite the fact that he's a bit of a cold fish, Phelps is a fascinating character, and one of the more nuanced and interesting personalities we've come across over the years. Initially, there seems something a little off, but as the story unfolds and we get more insight into the man underneath the trilby, it becomes increasingly clear that this isn't the kind of guy that you'd take out for drinks after work. Detective Cole Phelps is a hard man to like.