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Welcome to Homicide, where every case is a "The Adjective Noun" case!     Also, let me remind everyone that this is an untagged spoilers thread, and there's a giant-rear end reveal at the end of the Homicide desk. If you don't want to know what that is before then, I recommend you stick with the front page for the next five weeks. Bobbin Threadbare fucked around with this message at 17:07 on May 16, 2016 |
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May 16, 2016 17:02
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| # ? Jun 9, 2024 20:11 |
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Notes for this case: - Newspaper is dated 18th of August 1947. This means that seven months have passed rather than six. - Floyd Rose was the detective briefly appearing in the first Patrol case. He apparently had some prior connection to Errol Schroeder. He was probably forced to retire early due to being crooked. - Phelps pokes a corpse with his bare hands (probably a big no-no) and in any case does not discover anything the coroner couldn't have told him. Also, he effectively only checks the arms, head and chest for clues, not bothering to do the fairly obvious check of the mouth and crotch. Nor does he examine the legs or turn her over to check the back. - The modus operandi does not actually match the historical Black Dahlia murder (she was cut in two at the waist). - Note how Mendez' behaviour is narratively convenient, and there is no chance to interrogate him like Jacob Henry. - Jennifer Horgan mentions that their children grew up together, though Celine had only been married to Jacob for three years, and he makes no mention of any children. Possibly offspring from a previous marriage that live with their father? Kopijeger fucked around with this message at 19:55 on May 16, 2016 |
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May 16, 2016 19:11
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Kopijeger posted:Notes for this case: Her husband is 45 and her old beau is 52. Chances are her kids are all grown up by this point and in college or elsewhere. Her old husband is as likely dead as he is divorced, but either way it's clear that he's out of the picture by this point.
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May 16, 2016 19:33
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Bobbin Threadbare posted:Her husband is 45 and her old beau is 52. Chances are her kids are all grown up by this point and in college or elsewhere. Her old husband is as likely dead as he is divorced, but either way it's clear that he's out of the picture by this point. That is a possibility, but Celine's age is given as 43, so her children would have to have been born when she was in her early twenties at the latest. Raising them would have put a damper on her aviation dreams long before she met Jacob, so it is strange that she blames him for her unsatisfying life. You'd also think McColl and/or Jacob would also express concern about the impact her murder will have on them, so this feels like minor plot hole/developer oversight.
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May 16, 2016 19:44
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Kopijeger posted:- The modus operandi does not actually match the historical Black Dahlia murder (she was cut in two at the waist). Oh, this isn't meant to be a facsimile of the Elizabeth Short murder; that one already happened, when Phelps was on the traffic desk, and happened as it mostly did in real life as Galloway describes. This murder is, however, based on a real life murder that happened in 1947 (as are I believe, all the murders on this desk), albeit earlier in the year: the murder of Jeanne French, a 45 year old Army nurse who was discovered stripped, repeatedly stomped, and BD written in lipstick on the body. All the murders of this desk are based on real life unsolved murders; really, if you want a game with a ton of unsolved murders to work with, LA in the 1940s is pretty much the crown jewel. So many dead women...The Grand Jury even launched an investigation into lack of competence in the police force, it was so bad.
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May 16, 2016 20:06
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Homicide has one of my favourite songs in the game, which in the files is called "New Drive (Non Urgent 02)". It's the song that plays when you and Galloway drive out for the first time. Galloway is fun though, he's rather pessimistic with a touch of misogyny but I like his world-weary attitude especially when you realise it's talking from a good deal of experience more intimately than he would want to admit.resurgam40 posted:The Grand Jury even launched an investigation into lack of competence in the police force, it was so bad. Once more, I am super glad at your taste in music because maaaan my face just lights up everytime I hear Shadow Hearts music in some way or other.  D.O.A sounds a pretty bizarre movie, I never expected a movie with a plot like that in the days before Alfred Hitchcock at least. But drat it sounds interesting, I might wanna check that one out.
FinalGamer fucked around with this message at 20:36 on May 16, 2016 |
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May 16, 2016 20:07
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"Why steal a lighter?" Cause it's a friggin awesome lighter, Phelps!
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May 16, 2016 20:19
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Galloway is a stupid, lazy, violent drunk, but listening to him mock Phelps never gets old.  Aren't the Homicide cases the only ones in the game with multiple endings? You can pin the murder on the husband if you don't find the license plate, and I remember future homicide cases doing similar things.
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May 16, 2016 21:46
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FinalGamer posted:Once more, I am super glad at your taste in music because maaaan my face just lights up everytime I hear Shadow Hearts music in some way or other. D.O.A. is great, but Hitchcock had already been directing some of his best work before 1950 - notably Notorious, but I'm a big fan of Rope (which was kind of the Birdman of its time - shot in several takes but spliced together to form one continuous shot.)
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May 16, 2016 22:07
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I actually skipped the 2nd husband interview my first time around and went straight to the other suspect's place, which ends the case because the guy's got the murder weapon in a box. Got marked down for leaving him there.
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May 16, 2016 22:12
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This series of cases always annoyed me. So the real killer breaks into his victims' families' homes to plant incriminating evidence against the husband or whomever, and no one sees him doing this? Is he Batman? And every case has a suspect with the same shoe size? Did the killer predict that too, or is it dumb luck? Does he just sit around, waiting for women to confide that their husbands have access to tools or rope and have small feet? I may be misremembering, but I think that's how the cases go.
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May 16, 2016 22:16
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Kopijeger posted:That is a possibility, but Celine's age is given as 43, so her children would have to have been born when she was in her early twenties at the latest. Raising them would have put a damper on her aviation dreams long before she met Jacob, so it is strange that she blames him for her unsatisfying life. You'd also think McColl and/or Jacob would also express concern about the impact her murder will have on them, so this feels like minor plot hole/developer oversight. It kind of seems like Celine Henry has two mashed-together backstories, like she had one history at one point but the developers switched midway through and couldn't remove all the traces of her old past. Her husband is on the old side for being an active member of the Marine Corps in World War II, for one, plus you think more than just her neighbor would mention the fact that she has children, adult or otherwise. Jay Rust posted:This series of cases always annoyed me. There are an awfully large number of men in Los Angeles with unusually tiny feet, I have to say. But if I may speculate, I believe what happened "behind the scenes" was this: Mendez took Henry home and the killer stalked them to his apartment. He then had Henry sleep it off at his place while he used her information to find her empty house and rob it. The killer took the opportunity to sneak up to Mendez's apartment, abduct and kill Celine Henry, and then drop off the box of evidence. Mendez may or may not have known about the box before the police showed up (I assume he would have waited until after dark to get rid of the box), but if he didn't know then he ran because of the robbery.
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May 16, 2016 22:44
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Jay Rust posted:This series of cases always annoyed me. He probably chose victims based on how well the POLICE could incriminate the husband. Size 8 shoes would cover his own footsteps, but he choses victims with people who are easily framed: access to the appropriate tools (maybe stakes them out and intentionally chooses items the husband has), grievance of some kind, anger management issues, etc. The point of Homicide is that while Cole is able to identify unusual similarities between the cases (like shoe size and methods), the cops are eager to take the easy route and convict the obvious suspect.
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May 16, 2016 22:46
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I like how this case could very easily lead to you pinning the murder on the husband, provided you missed the shoes.
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May 16, 2016 23:27
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chitoryu12 posted:He probably chose victims based on how well the POLICE could incriminate the husband. Size 8 shoes would cover his own footsteps, but he choses victims with people who are easily framed: access to the appropriate tools (maybe stakes them out and intentionally chooses items the husband has), grievance of some kind, anger management issues, etc. If he wasn't a police captain, he'd be an evangelist.
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May 17, 2016 00:54
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'You can't trust the Irish, they are all liars' Seriously though, he's not supposed to be a sympathetic character; this is the guy who tells you to go beat a confession out of your first arrest after all. He would almost be charming if you didn't think of all the lives he's probably ruined. Though I'm sure all of them did something wrong at some point, so they deserved it either way.
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May 17, 2016 01:15
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Why is there police corruption in my film noir video game? Next thing you know, my fantasy game will have swords and dragons.
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May 17, 2016 01:33
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Donnelly's pretty much a carbon copy of LA Confidential's Dudley Smith, right down to the Irish brogue and the fire and brimstone rhetoric. His attitude doesn't seem too far-fetched though, particularly for the time the game is set, because quick clearances are priority one for a homicide unit in a major city even occasionally at the expense of securing a conviction when the case finally goes to court. However, this does make it seem somewhat strange that Phelps gets bumped upstairs so quickly and praised for his acuity and work ethic when a e: Phelps should be Donnelly's Jimmy McNulty; good police, but a pain in the rear end who generates more trouble than he's worth.
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May 17, 2016 01:42
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TomViolence posted:Donnelly's pretty much a carbon copy of LA Confidential's Dudley Smith, right down to the Irish brogue and the fire and brimstone rhetoric. His attitude doesn't seem too far-fetched though, particularly for the time the game is set, because quick clearances are priority one for a homicide unit in a major city even occasionally at the expense of securing a conviction when the case finally goes to court. However, this does make it seem somewhat strange that Phelps gets bumped upstairs so quickly and praised for his acuity and work ethic when a I have zero idea what LA Confidential is, but Donnelly always struck me as nothing more than a massive cliche. He was my least favorite character when I played for that reason alone.
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May 17, 2016 02:12
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There's a theory going around that Galloway is gay, so keep an eye out for anything that hints towards that, because there's a bit of it. e: jesus christ cole gets some loving fire in his belly in some of these interrogations Grapplejack fucked around with this message at 02:46 on May 17, 2016 |
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May 17, 2016 02:13
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TomViolence posted:Donnelly's pretty much a carbon copy of LA Confidential's Dudley Smith, right down to the Irish brogue and the fire and brimstone rhetoric. His attitude doesn't seem too far-fetched though, particularly for the time the game is set, because quick clearances are priority one for a homicide unit in a major city even occasionally at the expense of securing a conviction when the case finally goes to court. However, this does make it seem somewhat strange that Phelps gets bumped upstairs so quickly and praised for his acuity and work ethic when a I dunno, I think Phelps works out for Homicide because he has such incredibly rapid turnaround. He won't take the easiest answer, but he's excellent at badgering witnesses and suspects to the point of using threats of violence to coax information and confessions out of them. LA Noire is basically the story of a really lucky rear end in a top hat bullying his way through cases.
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May 17, 2016 03:13
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Wanamingo posted:I have zero idea what LA Confidential is, but Donnelly always struck me as nothing more than a massive cliche. He was my least favorite character when I played for that reason alone. LA Confidential (the movie) is one of the best examples of neo-noir, and you should see it. LA Confidential (the novel) is by James Ellroy who is pretty much the best crime writer today, and a lot of his stuff is steeped in classic noir like this, including LA Confidential and The Black Dahlia. I have a soft spot for American Tabloid, which while not strictly noir is great if the secret history of US spooks and thugs from the late '50s until Kennedy gets shot appeals to you.
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May 17, 2016 03:14
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Psychotic Weasel posted:'You can't trust the Irish, they are all liars' the weird thing is later in the game, I find phelps to be a shittier person. because of various stuff during the war and decisious he makes later on with his marrage and the fact that even after he comes off as a self righteous prick.
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May 17, 2016 03:57
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FinalGamer posted:god knows how many innocents he's sent to the gas chamber compared to most out of a hugely-inflated superiority complex as some kind of Judge Dredd figure. Judge Dredd would never knowingly send an innocent man or woman to death to advance his career!
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May 17, 2016 04:14
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drat now I want a Judge Dredd game with LA Noire mechanics. One where all three dialogue options are variants of "coerce."
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May 17, 2016 07:42
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Loved that premise for D.O.A. - especially since the protagonist is doomed from the start and does end up dead, seems today we'd somehow get a happy ending.
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May 17, 2016 12:43
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monster on a stick posted:Why is there police corruption in my film noir video game? Donnelly is a lot of the reason why I like the Homicide desk so much. Traffic was a way to get your feet wet in terms of both gameplay and the trappings of Noir, but right out the gate in Homicide, Cole- along with the player- is confronted not only with the violence and cruelty of this crime and the jaded cynicism years of such violence engenders in the form of his partner, but the idea that the purpose of the police force is not actually to enforce the law, but to act as a sort of societal placebo. To not actually do the right thing, but to make the community at large feel "safe" by enforcing the status quo, and if that means a few people who didn't actually break the law get incarcerated or executed... well, as long as those people are "outsiders" enough that nobody who matters will make a stink, what of it? Jacob Henry might not be the suspect who murdered Celine, but he's the suspect that's here in the station, and the statistic might not be as high as Galloway put it, but most domestic murders are committed by the spouse, so why not put him away, to sooth the community and get the press off their backs? A lot of women died in the '40s around this area, as I said before, and a lot of people wrongly pursued and incarcerated, because of such prevailing attitudes. We'd like to believe that policing is better today, but...
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May 17, 2016 13:17
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White Coke posted:Judge Dredd would never knowingly send an innocent man or woman to death to advance his career! TomViolence posted:drat now I want a Judge Dredd game with LA Noire mechanics. One where all three dialogue options are variants of "coerce."
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May 17, 2016 18:12
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White Coke posted:Judge Dredd would never knowingly send an innocent man or woman to death to advance his career! In one of the now-closed threads here on police abuse, someone commented that despite comparisons being made between American cops and Judge Dredd, Dredd was actually a far better police officer than the real ones.
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May 17, 2016 18:33
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Well, so far we've seen that Cole has been a pretty through and level headed detective. Think of how much money the tax payers of California and the Federal Government would be saving if they just let him pass judgement on the spot for everyone he caught. I mean what's the worst that could happen if you just obediently followed his orders without question?
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May 17, 2016 21:04
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chitoryu12 posted:In one of the now-closed threads here on police abuse, someone commented that despite comparisons being made between American cops and Judge Dredd, Dredd was actually a far better police officer than the real ones. Sorry for the slight derail, my dad was a huge fan of Judge Dredd and I kinda picked up on a lot of this stuff a few years ago. Cole is a good police officer in the sense that he does actually care about justice and wanting to do right by people. It's just he has no bedside manner and never did. I can tell from his army days that he used to be a real hard-hitter shining out for a juicy sweet promotion, wanting only respect and adulation. But now...something along the way has happened during the war that made him want to just be a good citizen to help out other people. Problem is the war also took any want for him to be close to anyone again, in fact I'm surprised he's even married. Not that we ever get any indication of his wife like loving ever, which is legit the worst part of this game's writing. FinalGamer fucked around with this message at 03:41 on May 18, 2016 |
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May 18, 2016 03:38
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The thing with Cole is that he was ambitious and thought he was just better than the average man. Young, naive and ambitious he wanted to use the war to make a name for himself, becoming part of history. Too bad for him the war just chewed people up and spit them out. During the war he had a reputation of being a stickler for the rules, coming across as a holier-than-thou know-it-all and refusing to take suggestions from others (and also being able to sneak up on people). Typical Boy Scout. All of those eventually pile up on top of each other and the extreme hubris leads to him inadvertently causing a war crime. Back in LA he just wants to pretend it never happened, every time the war comes up he just clams up and waits for the person talking to get bored or changes the topic himself. His sticking to the letter of the law is either part of his old self shining though or him trying to atone for what he did. Though he's surrounded by some of the most hosed up people in America he never waivers (though he becomes really loving jaded during Vice) but for some reason falls for a Jazz singer and has an affair. There is literally no explanation as to why he does this, what caused him to turn on his wife (whom we only see twice) or his daughters (who are only ever mentioned in passing).
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May 18, 2016 04:05
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So what happens if the husband
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May 18, 2016 05:52
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I think you just get a "lol u dead" screen the same way if you get gunned down or run over by a car.Psychotic Weasel posted:Though he's surrounded by some of the most hosed up people in America he never waivers (though he becomes really loving jaded during Vice) but for some reason falls for a Jazz singer and has an affair. There is literally no explanation as to why he does this, what caused him to turn on his wife (whom we only see twice) or his daughters (who are only ever mentioned in passing). They could have just, I dunno, NOT had him married and make way less of a mess, but it's around her the story starts to come apart at its seams pretty clearly. I remember hearing the head writer of this game was rather insufferable, or someone higher up in the LA Noire development team and I'm not surprised frankly.
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May 18, 2016 19:53
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FinalGamer posted:I'd hate to see this fucker's arrest record, god knows how many innocents he's sent to the gas chamber compared to most out of a hugely-inflated superiority complex as some kind of Judge Dredd figure. For a while, I wasn't sure why I was getting the less than optimal rating on some cases on this desk. It wasn't until I realized that I wasn't supposed to accuse suspects based on which one I thought was guilty, but which one the department was most likely to be able to convict, and ESPECIALLY which ones the captain disliked the most. It was an interesting departure, especially from Traffic where things were less ambiguous. There's always a sense of doubt and uncertainty throughout the entire murder desk, no matter how good you do here, which I really like! It helps make everything feel a bit more human and less "I am playing a video game and looking for the optimal score at all times"
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May 19, 2016 22:39
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davidspackage posted:"Why steal a lighter?" Cause it's a friggin awesome lighter, Phelps! I agree and I feel like I should point out that Rockstar liked that lighter enough to create real versions of it for you to buy. Though I dont think they were puzzles as well.
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May 20, 2016 04:18
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May 23, 2016 17:17
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I'm sorry, but Phelps sternly saying "you're off the hook, for now" to a grieving child made me burst out laughing for like a solid minute
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May 23, 2016 17:45
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The girl arguably contradicts herself by first telling about the make-up present and then claiming they had a happy marriage. Plus, she suddenly switched to "mom and dad" at the end.
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May 23, 2016 17:54
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| # ? Jun 9, 2024 20:11 |
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Be on the lookout for noted video game celebrity and Giant Bomb member Dan Ryckert, who is one of the reporters in this case.
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May 23, 2016 17:54
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