Always a Side Mission

     I love video games. I love using them as something to release tension, get away from it all, and exercise my mind. I play music games, sports games, first person shooters, pretty much anything (No RPGs, Sorry). There is a little bit of a problem, as much as I love to play them, I barely finish them.

     It has to be special. It has to make me want to come back for more. Like a good book, a good video game won't allow you to turn it off. For me, I need one of two things a good story, or the ability to do things the way I want to do them. I don't want to be babied, I have a brain. Let me figure it out, no matter how much I struggle.

     And that's why I LOVE L.A. Noire. Sure, you can't really fail. Eventually, you will solve the case. That kind of sucks, but I'll take it. LA Noire is a lot of fun to play. I put about 10 hours in within the first 24 hours of owning it. That's nerdy, but it's true. Solving cases, the facial expressions, the stories, the dialouge. Great stuff.

     There is a problem, not just with this game, but with every game. You're always reminded you're playing a game. Fetch this car, do this side quest, there is always a side mission. The games can't let you enjoy the story to it's fullest. If you try to just play the main mission, follow the narritive, and beat the story, you feel great... for a minute. Then you realize that you only beat 60% of the game. Now you have to go find cars, search for landmarks, and other useless tasks. I don't want to play a game just to play it, (Herm Edwards) I want to enjoy it.

     So what was the point of this article? To tell you that if you like stories, give L.A. Noire a shot (no pun intended). And also I wanted to voice my opinion on how game developers can't just let a story be good, but sell you a game. And that sucks.