MANILA, Philippines — Noire – the French word for “black”is befitting for the title of Team Bondi’s breakthrough game, LA Noire.  No this is not a movie, but a somewhat creative crossover of the good things about a detective/crime movie, and the thrills and joy of a video game.

Players play as detective Cole Phelps, and his job is to clean the merry city of 1946 Los Angeles from arsonists, murderers, frauds, and other law offenders. The story itself is fast-paced and compelling leaving players on the edge of their seats. Pitched into the game are also elements of gunfighting, car chases, and fistfights. But the cream of this game is how it approaches storytelling and how it immerses the player in a virtual world filled with realistic emotions and visuals.

As a detective, you go around the city of Los Angeles together with your partner to gather and solve cases. For some parts, you may feel of playing Grand Theft Auto in WWII as the city is alive and free to be explored in a sandbox environment. Gunfights are also present in-game as not all criminals are expected be prancing about willingly giving themselves.

LA Noire is one of those games that feature unforgettable faces and memorable emotions. It’s a video game that has amazingly and shockingly intricate depictions of the faces of the actors that portray the characters.

The lifelike faces are done through the use of a technology called MotionScan. It features 32 high definition cameras, the same cameras used to shoot space shuttle launches, to capture the movements of the actors. Think of it as actor Andy Serkis playing Gollum in the LOTR movies. (Yes, he is an actor, not just some CGI character)

Armed with that technology, the road opens for thecreation of the main part of the game--- interrogation and evidence gathering. As a detective, players have to acquire a number of proofs and statements to nail or to acquit suspects of the crime. Gathering statements takes place with the player guessing if the witness or defendant is bluffing or telling the truth.

In an interrogation scene, the player is given three options on how to approach a subject, these are: truth, lie, and doubt. Truth is more in believing the statement made. Choosing doubt is pressing on the subject and insisting on the falsification of some facts.

Lastly, the lie option is insisting on the truth by presenting cold hard evidence in front of the subject. Doing things right would net the player additional information which could easily close the case. Doing otherwise would lengthen the game, and may even spell a game over for the player.

Playing as Cole Phelps is comparable to playing out your own noir movie. The story is so compelling and is somewhatcomparable to reading a novel, or watching a movie, yet you have control of what is taking place in the game.

Team Bondi did a fantastic job in immersing the players with the lifelike presentation of characters, complete with the acting, sneers, and cheers. LA Noire is one of those games that make you feel that you’re not playing a video game. Having won numerous awards this past year, maybe it’s ripe to have it part of your gaming shelves.  Definitely, it will keep you wanting for more.