click me to buy(Available on PS3, Xbox360, & scheduled fall release for PC, rumored 12/29/11)
This...game...is...IMMACULATE. Absolute in every aspect. Rockstar never disappoints, and this game is a crowning achievement and my definite game of 2011, no question. Every element of this game was as beautifully done as a Bob Ross landscape. The look, the feel, the experience, every detail and subtle nuance was meticulously perfected past the point of perfection. The recreation of 1947 Los Angeles was rendered as historically correct and visually representative as any game, fiction or fact, has ever been. The gameplay, the graphics, the sound, it all meshed to form a nostalgic post WWⅡ landscape in which a brilliant story unfolds.
Your story begins as beat cop Cole Phelps, fresh from duty serving in the USMC during WWⅡ. The story progresses at a quick pace with Phelps drawing attention from higher-ups and quickly gaining ranks through the LAPD. From beat cop to Detective, your objective remains the same - solve the case, no matter what. The game ranks how you solve each case and rewards you with points to progress your characters level. You can pick and choose during each case how you plan to proceed. With variances like multiple suspects to question, multiple locations to search, and different outcomes, there's an approach for every style. The cases usually begin with investigation, but often lead to a car chase, foot race, or even an intense shoot out with hostages in danger.
This game plays like a dream, from the well done investigation mechanics, to the ease of driving your ragtop Lincoln Continental, to the simplicity of basic and necessary controls. Driving is the main mode of transport in this game, you do a lot of it. The controls are so easy and the vehicles handle smoothly, you might end up driving past your destination just to enjoy the mileage. As far as the investigation portion of the game, Rockstar decided to keep it basic and uncluttered, with simple one button responses to almost every situation. It's reading and making decisions based on people that gets tricky. Gunplay is also very easy to execute, whether chasing a suspect or hiding behind a police cruiser during a shoot out, you can hold your own.
As far as sound and design go, this game is top notch. With the most unique NPC's, and I believe highest number of non-recycled character models ever! Each case, each person is indeed their own model, their own voice, their own....self. The focus and attention paid to character modeling was epic, from individual character creation, to facial rendering, to watching a nervous bartender swallow a lump down his throat while I questioned him. It was all brilliantly done and beautifully rendered. The setting was built to represent, as truthfully as possible, post WWⅡ LA, which it visually and through gameplay successfully managed. The detail to every aspect was incredible, there were moments when I stared at a NPC and I felt like I knew what they would sound like before they spoke, because they were so realistically recreated.
Sorry to everyone that this review was on the long side...this game is a tall drink to take in. If this is a glimpse into the future of gaming then we have a very bright one at that. This game is a must buy, a must have, and an absolute gem. It has to be one of the most outstanding concepts in one game ever. That's why my final rating for this is a perfect clear cut 6 Kingly bags out of 5, this game made me confident for a return to originality in gaming. This game is definitely going to be the game of the year, if not decade.