7. LA Noire
Let me take you back to 2011, a year when every gamer became accustomed to two short piano melodies in LA Noire. Both used during interrogation sequences, the first melody was slightly more upbeat than the second, and usually resulted in the player giving a subtle nod of satisfaction. The second melody had a more piercing quality than the first, and was usually followed by "What the f**k! That f*****g b***h was lying! Why the f**k else would she be biting her bottom lip and looking nervously around the room!? What a load of s**t! Oh, Jesus f*****g Christ - mum, I need a new controller!" Some say this second melody, or 'The Four Notes Of Depression', was the musical manifestation of Satan himself, whilst I'm more inclined to believe the theory that there is no melody, and that what we hear is a musical signal from our brain telling us that we've failed on a gargantuan level. Either way, the nightmares persist. But despite this troubling feature, LA Noire was a revolutionary title that offered something different to the gaming experience. Never before has it been so necessary to understand the emotional reactions of computer generated characters, making key decisions based upon facial expressions portrayed by real-life actors. There were some moments in the game that you really did feel like you were watching a movie - and a stylish, well thought-out and intriguing movie at that. It was a brave move by Team Bondi and Rockstar Games to rely so heavily on a relatively unproven game mechanic, and like all first time ideas there were a few faults (Phelps's overly forceful nature when you selected the 'Doubt' option during interrogations had a way of destroying the atmosphere), but all in all LA Noire's unique presentation held our attention securely from start to finish. For its audacious and highly successful attempt to bring a new element to the 7th generation adventure, there has to be a place on this list for the wonderfully engaging neo-noir crime game that is LA Noire.