What L.A. Noire did better than nearly every other game this year was achieve authenticity on a grand scale. The attention to detail brought about a convincing aesthetic style, this style complimented the wonderfully observed dialogue, which in turn supported the exquisitely paced storyline. Sure there was some repetitive gameplay in there somewhere, but it didn't matter, because the whole thing fit together perfectly. The characters were convincing and genuine and the plots lines exciting and unpredictable. All these things came together to create a truly memorable detective thriller.