“L.A. Noire” is a sprawling, epic journey into the dark heart of 1940s L.A. that borrows equally from Rockstar's open-world titles and classic adventure games.

‘L.A. Noire” is ambitious. It throws the player headlong into a complex, emotional detective saga set in 1947 Los Angeles. Team Bondi doesn’t conceal the game’s literary and film influences; allusions to classic noir abound, and the game succeeds in capturing the dark, morally ambiguous atmosphere that is the hallmark of the genre. It’s a game unlike anything else I’ve played, one that uses Rockstar’s familiar open-world template as a jumping off point to deliver a deliberately paced adventure game that stresses conversation over gunplay.

Much has been made of Team Bondi’s groundbreaking facial motion capture technology, which allowed the developers to effectively “film” real actors as 3-D models and put their expression and dialogue straight into the game. The results of this experiment are striking; never before have digital characters conveyed so much real emotion in a video game. In comparison to “L.A. Noire,” the characters in “Heavy Rain” and the “Mass Effect” series appear wooden. In addition, the casting of real-life actors like Aaron Staton (Ken Cosgrove from “Mad Men”) and John Noble (Walter Bishop from “Fringe”) pays off; this game hasn’t conquered the uncanny valley, but at times I began to accept these characters as real, breathing human beings.

As in any good film noir, appearances can be deceiving. Players take the role of detective Cole Phelps, a decorated war hero and new LAPD detective who must navigate the tense underworld of Los Angeles, negotiating the often-blurry line between cop and criminal. Cole is an honest man, but he’s often impetuous, selfish and haunted by the events he experienced in WWII. While feted as a war hero, the truth of what happened to him in the war is tragic and complicated, and the echoes of those deeds reverberate throughout “L.A. Noire.” Investigating a series of murders that tie into the real-life Black Dahlia killings, Cole begins to understand that the appearance of justice is all that’s desired by his superiors. While working vice, he also learns that the difference between gangster and police officer is sometimes little more than a uniform. Eventually, the web of deceit and corruption widens, implicating those at the highest levels of society and government.

As masterful as the storytelling is, games are meant to be played. In this regard, I’m conflicted. Cole’s career is divided into a series of cases that spread across the beat patrol, traffic, homicide, vice and arson desks (the fact that arson is the last is not a misprint; it ties closely to some surprising story events). The formula for most cases is uniform: You and your partner roll up to the crime scene, gather clues, and interview witnesses and people of interest. It’s best to gather as much physical evidence as possible, as each clue you log in your notebook opens up new lines of inquiry. At first, I relished the investigations. Anything in the environment could give you a big break in the case, from a ring to a prop shrunken head in a Hollywood production studio. However, over the course of the game’s 20 hours the repetitive search mechanic wears thin. Walking around waiting for a controller rumble to alert you to an item of interest feels more like an Easter egg hunt than an actual investigation. The cases occasionally challenge your deductive skills, but it’s mostly just a case of walking around until you find all the relevant items.

“L.A. Noire” could have used more action sequences to break up the monotonous investigating, but aside from a couple of frantic moments toward the end of the Black Dahlia plotline, most of the action vignettes are simple foot or car chases. That would be fine if they weren’t so predictable and repetitive.

At times, “L.A. Noire” is one of the most vivid, gripping game experiences I’ve had. Other times, it can be plain boring. As in much noir fiction, the truth lies in the gray area between those two extremes. It’s an adventure I won’t soon forget, filled with characters as fascinating as they are flawed — a bit like the game itself.

‘L.A. Noire’

8.75 (out of 10)

PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Rockstar Games, Team Bondi

ESRB rating: M for Mature

Top 10

HANDHELD GAMES

The editors of Game Informer Magazine rank the top handheld games for May:

1. “Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together” (PSP)

2. “Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection” (PSP)

3. “Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars” (3DS)

4. “Okamiden” (DS)

5. “Radiant Historia” (DS)

6. “Pokemon Black/White” (DS)

7. “Super Street Fighter IV: 3D” (3DS)

8. “Monster Tale” (DS)

9. “Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation” (DS)

10. “Pilotwings Resort” (3DS)

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

Weekly download

‘Gatling Gears’

For: PlayStation 3 (via PlayStation Network), Xbox 360 (via Xbox Live Arcade), Windows PC

From: Vanguard Games/EA

ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+

Price: $15

The age-old game design truth remains true: If something you do isn’t original, you’ll be forgiven as long as you do it well. “Gatling Gears” is the umpteenth twin-stick shooter (left joystick to move, right stick to aim and shoot) to appear in the last few years, and while the tutorial teases a technically (and visually) polished game with large levels and lots of firepower — gatling guns, rockets and grenades are all available immediately and in nearly infinite capacity — it also inspires no confidence that it does the same old formula better than the numerous games that preceded it.

Fortunately, after a few decent but slow levels, things change considerably for the better. “Gears” doesn’t rewrite the script, but it fills it with some terrifically frantic action that’s imposing without being cheaply difficult. An upgrade path allows you to significantly improve the oomph of all three weapons, and “Gears” counters by crowding its pretty outdoor environments with increasingly tougher enemy soldiers, vehicles and robotic contraptions. If you like the genre, this is one of the good ones.

— Billy O’Keefe, McClatchy-Tribune News Service

New game releases

The following titles were scheduled for release the week of May 22:

• “Crazy Machines” (Wii)

• “Kung Fu Panda 2: The Video Game” (Wii, PS3, X360, DS)

• “Emily The Strange” (DS)

• “Murder in Venice” (DS)

• “DiRT 3” (X360, PC, PS3)

• “Dead or Alive: Dimensions” (3DS)

• “NASCAR: The Game 2011” (Wii)

• “Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale” (X360, PC)

• “99Bullets” (DS)

— Gamespot.com