L.A. Noire

L.A. Noire is a 2011 detective-themed action-adventure video game set in Los Angeles, USA during the late 1940s. It follows Cole Phelps, a World War II veteran of the Okinawa Campaign, as he becomes a police officer and detective who progresses deeper and deeper into the seedy underbelly and enormous corruption of the city.

Summary

Characters

• Cole Phelps - WWII veteran and detective, main protagonist
• Jack Kelso - WWII veteran and fire insurance investigator, secondary protagonist
• Stefan Bekowsky - Traffic detective partner
• Rusty Galloway - Homicide detective partner
• Roy Earle - Vice detective partner and notoriously corrupt cop
• Herschel Biggs - WWI veteran and arson partner
• Courtney Sheldon - WWII veteran and medical student, becomes involved in organised crime
• Elsa Lichtmann - Singer and Cole's lover
• Leland Monroe - Wealthy property developer and brains behind the Suburban Redevelopment Fund
• Harlan Fontaine - Celebrity Psychiatrist in the Suburban Redevelopment Fund
• Ira Hogeboom - Traumatised WWII veteran and bug exterminator
• Mickey Cohen - Mafia boss

Content Warning: Many of the cases deal with themes of abuse, murder and rape

The game is divided into five main 'desks' which contain cases around a common theme of a certain kind of crime.

Upon Reflection

The first case of the game and the first of the 'patrol' desk, this sees Cole investigate the murder of a young black man in an alleyway, shot to dead. Cole finds the gun and traces it to a gun store, who links it to the victims employer. Cole visits his house and the employer claims innocence and that he was set up, before attacking the police to avoid arrest, but fails miserably. Cole also finds a notebook indicating that several officers are being bribed, but decides not to pursue it.

Armed and Dangerous

The second case of the patrol desk and the first gunfight, Cole stops an in progress bank robbery.

Warrants Outstanding

The third case of the patrol desk and the first chase sequence, Cole is driving and his partner recognizes a man he arrested who skipped parole. Cole leaves the car and chases him through the streets and onto several rooftops, engaging in a small fistfight before arresting him.

Buyer Beware

The fourth and final case of the patrol desk, Cole hears a gunshot while patrolling a street and finds a man shot dead in the middle a busy street. He quickly learns from a witness that it was done by a local Jewish business owner in retaliation for anti-Semitic harassment and attempted sabotage of his business. Cole interrogates him and discovers that he is behind the murder, arresting him, leading to Cole's promotion to detective.

The Driver's Seat

The fifth case of the game and the first of the 'traffic' desk, Cole investigates a car left abandoned by some train tracks that's interior is covered in blood, alongside an abandoned wallet and glasses, leading him to suspect a murder. Using the wallet he identifies the victims address and informs his wife, but soon discovers searching the house that the incident may have been faked by the victim to escape a failing marriage and to move to Seattle with his mistress. Cole soon discovers that the victim is still in Los Angeles, and arrests him for fraud.

The Consul's Car

The second case of the traffic desk, Cole investigates the theft and sabotage of a car belonging to the Argentine embassy, soon discovering that the car's owner, the Consul General, had been paying teenage boys to have sex with him. He soon discovers that one boy refused and knew about the car, leading Cole to investigate. He discovers that the boy is only 16 and is currently in a street race, leading to a car chase with Cole arresting him.

A Marriage Made in Heaven

The third case of the traffic desk, Cole investigates a hit-and-run outside a bar, and soon learns that the victim had been stabbed before being hit. Upon visiting the victims wife, he discovers that she had been cheating on him and they argued constantly. Cole soon learns that she had murdered him to claim his life insurance police, and soon arrests her and her lover.

A Slip of the Tongue

The fourth case of the traffic desk, Cole investigates a report of a stolen car, but soon discovers that it had been bought from a car dealership with legitimate paperwork. Tracking down the identity of the person that stole the car, Cole quickly learns through an interrogation that there is a California-wide car theft ring controlled by the mafia. Cole soon gains an address through various interviews and a gunfight occurs at a car-repair shop, leading to Cole eventually destroying the ring.

The Fallen Idol

The fifth of the game and final case of the traffic desk, Cole investigates a mysteriously crashed car with two people being alive in them, he discovers that these are a famous actress and her 15-year old niece who ran away to become a movie star. They had both been drugged and there are signs that the 15-year old had been sexually abused, and investigating the aunt leads to a discovery that she is embroiled in bribery, soon linking it to a prop-house that doubles as a pornography filming studio that often films teenage girls without their consent that is owned by the mafia and used to blackmail hollywood stars. Cole arrests the parties involved, and is promoted to the homicide desk.

The Red Lipstick Murder

The sixth case of the game and first of the homicide desk, Cole investigates a murder where the victim had been badly beaten, stripped naked and left to die on a grassy hill.

The Gas Man

The seventeenth case of the game the first of the arson desk (which Cole has been demoted to while he is considered for termination from the police), two houses have been set on fire, both owners had been offered a price which it is revealed was pressured by the 'Suburban Redevelopment Fund' using fraud. The fires were discovered to be caused by faulty heaters, the man who worked on said heaters admits to being paid by the company for doing it, but another suspect is an anarchist and communist who hates the heater company, either can be arrested for the crime.

A Walk in Elysian Fields

Another house is found burnt down with four people killed. More flyers and competition offers were seen and its revealed the neighbourhood had been bought by the suburban redevelopment fund. Soon, it's found a whole neighbourhood built by the fund had been burnt down, and that the houses were extremely shoddy. Cole interviews one of the lead housing developers, who is caught constantly lying but makes vague threats about the police officers pensions and job security if they pursue much further, but Cole manages to convince Elsa to ask Jack Kelso for help.

House of Sticks

Set from the point of view of Jack Kelso, one of Coles' companions in the Okinawa Campaign who has a strained relationship with him and works as a fire insurance investigator. Jack raises the issue with his boss who quickly dismisses it and tells him to drop it. Jack investigates anyway, and discovers that the houses are being built with shoddy materials, and discovers that the police, mayor and media are in bed with the Suburban Redevelopment Fund. Jack informs Elsa of his discovery and his bosses desire to cover it up, and later that night while working on a case he is kidnapped by mysterious individuals but escapes and informs Elsa, discovering her affair with Cole.

A Polite Invitation

Jack wakes up in a hospital bed and is soon asked by the DA to work for him as an investigator to take down corruption in the LAPD. He leaves and threatens his old boss at gunpoint and interrogates his boss, discovering that the Suburban Redevelopment Fund is a giant scam being used by wealthy businessmen and several key government figures to steal billions in tax dollars by buying houses for cheap, building them for cheap and burning them down to collect the insurance money and repeat, using blackmail and intimidation to stop anyone who gets in there way. While investigating, another group tries to assassinate Jack, but he survives and interrogates Courtney after discovering he's a member of the fund. Jack organises a small group of his old war buddies and they raid a mansion housing the key figures in the Suburban Redevelopment Fund, but is shot by a woman inside, sustaining a minor injury. He finds the Leland and shoots his leg, now knowing the true extent of his corruption and web of bribes and blackmail.

Nicholson Electroplating

Set during Jack's cases, Cole is in the middle of discussing a case with his partner, a giant explosion is seen in the distance, leading to Cole quickly driving to the scene while police radio is garbled and full of panic. Several city blocks have been completely destroyed and panic spreads through LA, Cole investigates the site and discovers that it was a metalplating factory and that there are signs of corporate espionage.