[h1]L.A. Noire: The Story Behind the Man[/h1]Rockstar and developer
Team Bondi are trying something totally new with
L.A. Noire. It's a detective story that truly puts you in the shoes of a cop, searching crime scenes and interrogating suspects. To date, we only know Cole Phelps as a hard-nosed cop. But there's more to Cole than just his badge and his gun.
To find out what else we can expect from L.A. Noire, we caught up with Rockstar's VP of Product Development Jeronimo Barrera.
IGN: When we first meet Cole Phelps, we know him as a war hero and a paragon of the police department. But there's more to him than what's on the surface, right?
Jeronimo Barrera: There's a lot more to Phelps than we have revealed so far. We want that to be revealed as Cole strives to rise through the ranks of the LAPD. When you begin the game, Cole's a patrolman who is eager to go the extra mile in order to solve a case, which automatically sets him apart as a man destined for big things within the department. The further you progress – and the better you are at investigating crime scenes – the more you will learn about Cole's past and his time in the war.
IGN: Why did Phelps become a cop?
Jeronimo Barrera: Cole is highly educated, the product of good schools and a good family, who is instilled with a deep sense of duty and the expectation that he was born to lead. However his experiences in the war profoundly changed him, leading him to try another path by enrolling in the LAPD.
IGN: How do the events of Phelps' time in WWII influence the story in L.A. Noire?
Jeronimo Barrera: Phelps' time in the war is the backdrop and main motivator for him to want to do the right thing within the LAPD. He enrolled as an officer believing that right would always be on his side and that he had what it takes to lead men. But by the team we meet him, he views the Silver Star he won during the Battle of Okinawa – and the reputation that precedes him - as much as a burden as an honor.
IGN: Though he rubs some people in the department the wrong way, Phelps is commonly regarded as a "great case man." What makes him so good?
Jeronimo Barrera: Cole has great analytical and investigative skills and a strong college education, making him perfect detective material. He works the evidence, carefully analyzing a crime scene for clues and then meticulously chasing leads. He also has a strong detective's instinct and is not afraid to push a suspect for more information. At first, Phelps seems a little too clean-cut to really dig deep as a detective, but Phelps quickly proves he's prepared to make difficult decisions.
IGN: Each desk brings a new partner. Can you tell us about the people who will be sitting shotgun?
Jeronimo Barrera: When we originally meet Phelps, he's partnered with Officer Ralph Dunn on Patrol. Dunn is your average beat cop: a nice guy, working hard to make his way but lacking the initiative or self-confidence to take the same kind of steps as Phelps.
Stefan Bekowsky is Phelps's partner on Traffic. A young detective who's earned his mettle on the streets of L.A., Bekowsky views Phelps with suspicion due to the department's fast-tracking of the young war hero, but the pair forms a working relationship quickly.
A hard-working, hard-drinking detective of the old school, Rusty Galloway does not want or need a relatively fresh, young star of the department working alongside him in Homicide. Homicide deals with the most gruesome cases on the force so convictions are the priority, and Galloway is ever ready to provide them.
Roy Earle works the Vice desk – the most glamorous desk of the LAPD – and he knows it. Vice work the seams of L.A.'s high life, where drugs, prostitution and gambling are the flip side of Hollywood's well-attended parties and late-night speakeasies. Roy Earle is a smooth-talking, flash-dressing product of his environment.
Herschel Biggs is a 30-year veteran of the force. At the tail end of a long and difficult career that has taken him all over the LAPD, Biggs works the Arson desk like a man who's seen it all.
IGN: Is there any one partner that stands out to you and why?
Jeronimo Barrera: Each partner brings their own dynamic to a desk. Cole gets along with some partners better than others, and players can learn a lot about each partner while driving with them to locations during cases. It would be impossible to pick out a favorite, although Rusty has a way with women that, while acceptable at the time, would not get far in this day and age.
IGN: After a few hours with L.A. Noire, I'd say most players will see Phelps as an altruistic, noble, heroic do-gooder. How much will that perception change by the end of L.A. Noire?
Jeronimo Barrera: Like many great noir characters, Phelps is more complicated than he first appears. That journey is at the core of the experience of playing the game: in a town like Los Angeles, everybody has something to hide.
Link:
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/116/1167002p1.html