I just recently got back from the PAX East and I have seen a lot of demos, played a lot of indie games, and had a very fair share of fun experiences. However, what I personally will most take away from what I saw (other than me winning first place in the Virtual On tourney
), is a game I was already pretty stoked for, but now has definitely reached "Most anticipated game of the year" status. The story is set in 1947 L.A., during a very corrupt era, in which you play a recently promoted detective named Cole Phelps. And when I say play detective, I REALLY mean you get to play as a detective. During the 30 minute demo, which I waited 2 hours to see, they showed all the aspects of how you play the game literally as a detective. Searching for clues, investigation, interrogation of suspects, case notes, and so on. The body & facial expressions during the gameplay are absolutely stunning, especially when you are trying to figure out if they lied or not. Getting the info wrong can make the case take longer to solve, and getting it right just helps solve it much quicker. I also liked how, since you have an in-game partner, you have the option of having him drive directly to the crime scene and skipping ahead or you driving yourself there for the whole experience.
The look and feel of the game is mind blowing. As a huge huge fan of Film Noir movies, this game exceeded all my expectations. The dialog, the music, the look. Everything felt right, and this was only from a 30 minute demo of the game of one minor case. There's still a huge overarching story to play, as well as what looks like many many cases to solve, cases that are actually from the police files from that era. From what they said, the research that went into this game is very in depth, and it definitely shows. This demo was 100% worth the wait to see, and I am now looking forward to this game more than any other coming out. Way to go, Rockstar. Way to go!
For more info on the game:
L.A. Noire