Review for LA Noire: The VR Case Files. PC game, the video game came out on 15/12/2017
With LA Noire: The VR Case Files, Los Angeles returns to take on the dark shades of noir. The Second World War has just ended and we are again called to take on the role ofagent Cole Phelps, witnesses to a flash career built on murder and crime.
Six damage has passed since Team Bondi gave us a gift of one of the spearheads of videogame narrative, a biting experience that can leave its mark and remain etched in the player's mind. Today Team Bondi no longer exists and "Whore of the Orient“, Spiritual sequel to LA Noire, lies erased in oblivion.
Rockstar Games decides to propose a virtual reality re-edition of a selection of cases from the original game: LA Noire: The VR Case Files is born. Gods seven cases proposed, the first three serve as a mere tutorial to learn the basic dynamics of investigation and combat; there are only four real cases to be solved all by yourself.
In and Out
Once Cole is embodied, we will have to choose between two bizarre movement systems through which we move through crime scenes. In the first case we will use a sort of teleport towards the chosen direction, as in the other titles released recently (Fallout VR and Doom VFR), if it were not that Cole will move towards the destination making us leave his body as if we were ghosts who were. owning. This annoying and senseless gimmick is replicated during the films, in which the first and third person alternate seamlessly.
The second choice of movement will see us engaged in simulate running by waving your arms at your sides, depending on the intensity of the movement and the pressure of a button, we will move more or less quickly (this nice idea had already been applied in other virtual reality titles such as Gorn and Vindicta). This mode will not always be available: in some cases the game will force us to opt for teleportation.
Grand Theft Auto VR
The movement between one crime scene and another will see us driving the very fast police car. Just turn the key to start the engine and zigzag through the streets of Los Angeles teeming with life. This is perhaps the most successful part of LA Noire: The VR Case Files: it seems that Rockstar Games wanted to give a taste of what could have been (or will be?) A GTA in virtual reality, complete with contentious pedestrians to run over. Unfortunately we play the role of a police officer, so the theft of other people's vehicles will be precluded, limiting the nefarious fun linked to the driving phase.
LAPD!
Once we arrive at the crime scene we will have to move along the area to search for clues useful for the continuation of the investigation, then we will question the suspects according to the tradition of LA Noire: we will choose how to interact with witnesses and suspects, finding the best interaction to squeeze our interlocutors to contradict them thanks to the evidence collected.
The notebook plays a key role in the interaction with the surrounding world: thanks to it we will be able to keep track of the clues, choose the questions and set the destination to reach. To grab it and put it away, simply interact via the controller (in our case the VIVE controller) with the back pocket of the jacket and browse its pages thanks to the use of the trackpad.
Once we find the culprit of the crime we will have to drag him into the interrogation room to get a confession from him, based on our tests: by observing the facial expressions in search of the dear symptoms of nervousness and insecurity we will know when to strike, crushing the criminal thanks to a healthy provocation or the solidity of the elements in our possession. Confessed the wrongdoing, the villain will be arrested and we can enjoy it case evaluation, a vote based on our ability to resolve.
LA Noire: The VR Case Files looks more like a tentatively constructed demo, an attempt by Rockstar Games to break into the VR landscape with as little effort as possible. The seamless transition from first to third person is undoubtedly a gross error that even the pioneering indie games of the genre have not committed. More than a selection of cases, it seems that a crime has been committed that sees the corpse of LA Noire dismembered and thrown to the public. Careless driving on the streets of Los Angeles is undoubtedly the only successful element, but it does not justify the expense of 30 euros.
► LA Noire: The VR Case Files is an Adventure-Action game developed and published by Rockstar Games for PC, the video game was released on 15/12/2017
