Uncover the Mysteries Behind L.A. Noire

Posted May 25th, 2011 by Keadin
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Rockstar's recently released L.A. Noire is a dramatic police narrative that lets players take on the role of detective Cole Phelps in a 1940's Los Angeles. The game challenges players to solve murders using deductive reasoning and a new facial animation system brings new life to interrogation sequences. With the refined animation, players can now see physical cues when suspects are being less than honest.

What's intrigued me most about the game is that a number of the crimes players will solve through the campaign are actually based on real-world murders, adding a depth and realism to the experience. After doing my own investigative work I've come to appreciate the realism in these cases even more.

The Black Dahlia
The real-life murder of Elizabeth Short terrified the public when her body was found in Leimert Park during January of 1947. When local newspapers publicized the story, a frenzy of panic and fear swept the city. Police had an incredibly difficult time collecting evidence as journalists frequently followed their cruisers and disrupted the investigation for the sake of a story. Because of this, despite the gruesome nature of her death and the calling card Glasgow smile left by her assailant, Short's killer was never found. While L.A. Noire doesn't directly feature the case, there are plenty of references to it throughout the game. From the letters B.D. (Black Dahlia) appearing on bodies of similarly injured victims, to obnoxious journalists trampling through crime scenes.

The Red Lipstick Murder
In one of the more disquieting cases you'll investigate the murder of Jeanne French, a woman found dead with disturbing messages scrawled across her body in red lipstick. While it may sound like complete fiction, Rockstar actually based this chapter off a real homicide investigation of the same name. Shortly after the Black Dahlia murder was so widely publicized, copycat killers began popping up across Los Angeles and the surrounding area. Many details from the case, including the suspects and their motives are mirrored in the game. Just like the real case, players will have to overcome a string of dead end clues and misleading suspects. However unlike its real-world counterpart, by the end of the chapter the murderer will be locked up for good, whereas the real killer of Jeanne French was never found.

The Miley Hitchhikers
It always pays to be careful when dealing with strangers, as proved in a handful of 1947 cases involving hitchhikers being picked up in the Los Angeles area. One real-world case saw a driver murdered over spare change by his newfound passengers, but another and more interesting case saw the tables turned when the hitchhikers were disarmed and beaten by their victim. Victor Miley, a 72 year-old "man you can't push around", served as the inspiration for one of the cases in L.A. Noire. After having a gun pulled on him by three young men, the senior citizen forced them to flee until the police showed up and chased them down. Despite all odds, Miley left the situation with nothing more than a scratch on his hand.

From the disturbing to the bizarre, L.A. Noire was heavily some of the most interesting real-world crime stories. Playing through the game you can easily get a sense of what the period was like and just how frenzied the town got over some of the more high-profile deaths. It may all seem a little weird, but then again truth is always stranger than fiction.