RipTen DLC Review – L.A. Noire “Reefer Madness”
Rockstar Games have just released their third and what was thought to be their final piece of DLC for L.A. Noire. Sadly, this lackluster case will be making you wish you were smoking the Reefer rather than investigating it.
Reefer Madness starts off with your department receiving a tip from Freddie Calhoun, a no good snitch junkie with nothing better to do with his time. When he decides to share information with the L.A.P.D about a city-wide marijuana distribution ring, it’s your job to raid your way to the top of the operation and learn how these crooks are smuggling fifty pound shipments of dope in plain sight.
You begin your investigation by visiting a local bar in Hollywood by the name of “Lyman’s” where you meet your first informant Freddy. He quickly squeals under pressure giving you your first lead on the operation. From here, the case quickly turns into a shoot-em up run and gun case.
Oh look at me! I haz a gun!!
Without spoiling anything, the basic rundown of the operation is a bunch of illegal immigrants are smuggling in fifty pounds of marijuana from Tijuana into a soup factory. From here, the drugs are being factory sealed into soup cans which are being distributed to various food markets to sell discreetly.
For the most part, you’ll end up fighting off tons of gangsters wielding Tommy guns that are held up in various locations throughout the entire case. Investigation and interrogation are extremely thin, offering only two real interrogations and one main investigating where you’re searching for clues throughout Parnell’s Soup Co. Factory. One of the greatest things about L.A. Noire is the amount of puzzle solving that can be found. Sadly, there’s only one very tiny puzzle in Reefer Madness and it’s so easy, they practically give you the answer.
The characters in Reefer Madness are unmemorable and not even entertaining in slightest way possible. They’re dull, boring, and offer no real believability that they’re even currently present in the world of L.A. Noire. It’s almost like they were thrown in the game simply for the sake of having new characters. Not only that, but their voice acting isn’t even on par with the rest of the cast.
I haz a gun too!! Screw interrogation, Call of Duty style baby!
Reefer Madness falls short as nothing but a pure disappointment. I was expecting an exciting, entertaining and engaging plot with memorable moments. Instead, I began to fall asleep as I progressed through the mission and it doesn’t help that the case only lasted about thirty to forty-five minutes, give or take. If you’re looking for a very action oriented, run and gun downloadable case for L.A. Noire, look no further than Reefer Madness. Yet even then I almost wouldn’t recommend it, despite it being only three bucks.
You’re better off spending your hard earned cash on Nicholson Electroplating. At least that case offers a lot of entertainment and a huge ass bomb goes off. Do yourself a favor and don’t even think about purchasing this case. If you do, you might as well be flushing three bucks down the toilet. If you have purchased the Rockstar Pass, then at least it won’t feel like a total waste of time. Case Closed!
Here’s The Rundown:
+ It was included with the Rockstar Pass
+ I got a quick power nap while playing
+ I had just as much fun downloading it, as I did playing it
- Boring and unmemorable
- Terrible characters and voice acting
Learn more about the RipTen scoring system and what this score means. Visit our review scoring page.
L.A. Noire’s Reefer Madness DLC was Published by Rockstar Games and Developed by Team Bondi for Xbox 360 and PS3. It was released on July 12th 2011. The Xbox 360 version was purchased by the reviewer via Rockstar Pass. Chris played for about 45 minutes (give or take due to dozing off) because that’s about all the time you’ll get out of this case.
