1. LA: Noire 20th May 2011 (EU)
When I heard that L.A: Noire was to be set in the late 1940s and was going to be so heavily story driven the wheels were going to buckle, it certainly got my interest stick up. And, for the first three hours it was a fantastic game, the characters were engaging, the scenery was brilliant and I liked how you couldnt whip out your gun willy-nilly. This isnt GTA boys and girls; youre not Niko Bellic, a man whos so trigger-happy Im surprised hes not American. Anyhow, the game is played through chapters and the serial killer section by far was the most appealing with its twists and turns finishing in a pretty intense pursuit through an underpass. After that however, the story seemed to call it a day and went home to have a quickie before bed. Once you have foiled the plans of a serial killer, heading down to vice and arson to either find some crack whore or lumber around a burnt down house for ten minutes isnt exhilarating...its awful. What really aggravates me is theres so much to like in L.A: Noire and yet it still didnt work. However, being the crafty man I am I have discovered why that is. It peaks too early like an inexperienced peeping Tom. I understand Rockstar wanted to start off with a bang, but remember after a bang there is the inevitable mess that must be cleaned up. Nothing thrilling happens for a massive amount of L.A: Noire and the impressiveness of the animation does begin to dither. The level of realism does go a wee bit over board when (after a mission) you are graded out of five stars which includes finding clues, interrogation technique, suit etiquette and damage to your car and the city. I understand youre a cop and you shouldnt smash the city youre trying to protect, but dont take away a star because theres a ding on the bloody bonnet. And while Im on cars, they handle quite differently from GTA4, meaning they turn faster than a straight man in the presence of Robert Downey Jr. The final nail in the coffin of L.A: Noire is the utterly out of place ending. The game till now has been about interrogations, locating clues and the controversy around Mr. Phelps. But then, we find ourselves armed with a flamethrower in a flooding sewer burning gangsters alive. Oh deary, deary me. Its like Rockstar couldnt think of an exciting ending to fit with the neo-noir mood so said: screw this, and opted for ridiculousness. On the well-animated face of it, L.A: Noire is a decent game for the first few hours, but it really phones it in after that. Its still a great concept, and I would like to see Rockstar have another crack at it. Lord knows we need games with actual story elements, rather than games where the writers create the plot by inhaling paint fumes for half an hour. There you have it, thats my list over with and I can at last go back to playing Far Cry 3. With any luck, it wont end up on my next disappointment list.