Returning to the slick, seedy criminal underbelly of 1947 Los Angeles as rookie detective Cole Phelps has been a great ride. This homage to noir detective thrillers of old passes the smell test with flying colors as it also manages to be a great noir story in its own right.
This darkly bleak and honest, and at times darkly comic, look into the criminal underworld and high-level government corruption of the city of angels juggles many themes and poses countless moral questions with a level of maturity and introspection not commonly found in game narratives.
The protagonist of Cole Phelps himself is a deeply flawed individual constantly running from a past he'd much rather forget and finding himself drawn into webs of conspiracy that he's frequently ill-equipped to handle. It's really compelling stuff, and is a truly bold creative choice to put the players' in the shoes of a troubled and in many respects unlikable protagonist, but to also let the players themselves come to their own conclusions by the story's end.
The technical prowess on display here is truly a sight to behold, even today. There are definitely some gaps in the sleek presentation, namely that the body capture doesn't always match well with the facial capture, but nevertheless it's immersive enough to draw you in 9 times out of 10.
The core gameplay loop is simplistic, consisting of interrogations, gunfights, foot and car chases. However, even in its most tedious moments, these segments of gameplay are short and sweet enough to hold your attention while not necessarily depriving you of your time and energy.
Playing in black and white also helped add a lot to the experience, even if it largely is just a simple filter and nothing more. However, it almost felt wrong not to be playing it like that, given the context of the story and setting. It also helped to smooth out the graphics nicely and prevent it from showing its age too much.
A truly great yet troubled game with an equally great yet troubled hero from a great yet ultimately troubled studio.
9/10
This darkly bleak and honest, and at times darkly comic, look into the criminal underworld and high-level government corruption of the city of angels juggles many themes and poses countless moral questions with a level of maturity and introspection not commonly found in game narratives.
The protagonist of Cole Phelps himself is a deeply flawed individual constantly running from a past he'd much rather forget and finding himself drawn into webs of conspiracy that he's frequently ill-equipped to handle. It's really compelling stuff, and is a truly bold creative choice to put the players' in the shoes of a troubled and in many respects unlikable protagonist, but to also let the players themselves come to their own conclusions by the story's end.
The technical prowess on display here is truly a sight to behold, even today. There are definitely some gaps in the sleek presentation, namely that the body capture doesn't always match well with the facial capture, but nevertheless it's immersive enough to draw you in 9 times out of 10.
The core gameplay loop is simplistic, consisting of interrogations, gunfights, foot and car chases. However, even in its most tedious moments, these segments of gameplay are short and sweet enough to hold your attention while not necessarily depriving you of your time and energy.
Playing in black and white also helped add a lot to the experience, even if it largely is just a simple filter and nothing more. However, it almost felt wrong not to be playing it like that, given the context of the story and setting. It also helped to smooth out the graphics nicely and prevent it from showing its age too much.
A truly great yet troubled game with an equally great yet troubled hero from a great yet ultimately troubled studio.
9/10