RazuMasu Rocks!

Who played Max Payne?

I was in the shower this morning (it’s where i do my best thinking) and suddenly a thought struck me. Who was that actor who played Max Payne again?

I quickly realized that Max Payne wasn’t an actor, it was a 2D/3D model, and a voice - not a real person.

Now that i think of it, i guess a success criteria for any game designer/writer should be to have their characters remembered as a real person, or a real actor. That would be a mark of success.

(and yes i am completely ignoring Mark Wahlberg right now…. as should you)

21 May 2011 ·

• Tags
• max payne
• Mark Wahlberg
• violence
• acting
• design

Noir NOT Noire

I have been playing L.A. Noire all day. First let me get my first annoyance with the game off my shoulders.

There is no such thing as a Noire genre. Dear Rockstar, it is called Noir…. Noir…. Noir. NOT NoirE!

Okay with that out of the way, here are my initial impressions of the game.

1. The controls are sometimes really annoying in the investigation scenes. It just feels flaky and random sometimes when you know there’s a clue, but you have to move and point the camera just right….even though the controller is vibrating like mad telling you that you are standing right on top of the clue.
2. I already figured out who (one) of the main antagonists (murderers) are. This might be because i have seen so many crime shows or it might just be bad planning on the side of the writers. The problem is now that I, the player, know who the murderer is. Which makes me less motivated, and kindda annoyed when the game forces me to jail and gaschamber other people for murders they (clearly) did not do.

That was the bad parts….. now for the awesomeness that is L.A. Noir(e).

Even though i have not played the game to the end yet, this game has totally gripped me and i have already deemed it one of the best games i have played in a very very long time. The style, the setting, the acting, the action - it all leads to an amazing experience. When the game started i felt that it was a bit light in the “noir” feeling, but after having played it for 10 hours straight i can tell you that it gets worse (better). I took myself beginning to look over my shoulder to check that no one was standing behind me (to stab me) in my living room, and as the murders in the game get more and more bloody, i started feeling more and more paranoia and disgust. The fact that the game can also be switched into a pure noir look by changing it to black and white adds to the flavor of the setting. I did however switch back to color after a while - murder scenes just aren’t as nasty in black and white.

I will write more about this game (since i am using it as a main game in my Master Thesis) - but i just wanted to jot down some impressions about it here. 

More will come later….

20 May 2011 ·

• Tags
• Noir
• Noire
• LA
• Game
• Rockstar