It's probably been mentioned before, but was anyone else annoyed due to Phelps having a complete and pointless affair with the German singer? It felt as though Team Bondi just wanted to throw in another noir cliche and complete the checklist.
The relationship just felt unmotivated.
I think there was a lot of pointless stuff in the game. That was definitely one of them. It came out of nowhere and just felt very forced.
share[deleted]
I was also very annoyed about the affair, but it was probably the biggest reason why the ending striked me so hard. Just when I was about to respect phelps again and "getting over" the whole affair thing, he dies! and the ending with the really silent "goodbye" was just amazing, and it still haunts me.
Yeah. I was affected by the ending as well. But the affair was unmotivated. He just fell for some beautiful singer, who has next to no characterization. Was it because she's German? Maybe cause he was in the war, he felt for his enemy. I don't know. They just made it very random and too late in the game. Maybe if they showed how his wife was annoying or a ball buster, we would have felt a bit more for the affair.
shareThe affair made no sense at all.
What little we saw/knew of Phelps' family, he was happy. He spoke of his wife and kids a few times, we saw them I think only once in the opening.
There was nothing to indicate Phelps would cheat for any reason.
But then he's having it away with a German sort.
A little insight as to why would have been nice.
One of the weakest points for me was the plot. Though I feel Brendan McNamara did a good job as the writer and director. Still it was "uneven" at times. The affair didn't need to be in there, it added nothing really.
The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he is God.
NO CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT! Sure, we saw the stuff in the war flashbacks, but nothing else, and then we see him interacting with his wife and it feels weird. He never indicates that he's unhappy.
Although maybe somehow he felt her pain? Elsa is constantly put down for being a "german junkie whore" but still sings beautifully. Cole is usually put down by his co workers but still does a great job.
Other than that, it's like "Whoa! That was unexpected! Why did that just happen?"
Why is it so easy for children to break into The Pentagon?
Totally. I get the there was some sort of reason. But it's never really picked upon and fully looked at.
And it doesn't make sense for him to have an affair, when he should know the repercussions of having one since everyone in LA knows his face from the papers; how he has established his name within the LAPD; and the fact that he has kids. That last one should play a very significant reason in not having an affair.
It feels weird because Phelps never gets a chance to explain. He's hung out to dry and the less information provided, the more the LAPD and everyone else looking to make him a fall guy can twist the truth.
I...drink...your...MILKSHAKE!
I DRINK IT UP!!!
Would they really do that if a cop cheated on his wife? Isn't that pertaining to his personal life rather than his professional life? It's like firing him if he had a child out of wedlock or something like that, how does it affect the LAPD?
Why is it so easy for children to break into The Pentagon?
Precisely. He wasn't suspended because of the affair, but to distract the papers from investigating the darker secrets of the "powers that be." How did Jim Gettys defeat Charles Kane in the gubernatorial elections? A sex scandal! How better to distract the public? (Anyone remember the Clinton-era?)
The truth is that, while I think everyone feels let down by Phelps by his affair (almost like he cheated on us!), he was too good to be true and difficult to relate to before we knew the truth. His war record and his affair humanized him, and made him a flawed hero...someone you could relate to.
As to motivation: how many men who see the horror of war have difficulties relating to their spouses and readjusting to civilian life? All of his hard work as a cop was a way to get rid of those demons, and he probably felt some kinship to a woman who had seen the darker side of life and offered him some understanding.
This all makes him a lonely, flawed, but compelling character. I honestly can't even believe that I'm typing this about a character in a video game, but it's true, and that's a credit to the genius of this game. And, as a film buff, it points to what video games always lacked for me: namely, why do I care about getting through this dumb maze to kill another frickin' zombie and get what??? This game uses wits and gut feeling as much as it does your thumbs, you care about the characters and what they are doing makes sense!
To finish, I knew Phelps was dead the moment we switched to Kelso's POV. I mean, where else did the Phelps character have to go but six feet under? It's such a classic storyline -- good man brought down by fatal flaw while his noble friend carries on the good work -- that the ending is, well, tragic.
I say "Good show!"
I loved the game, it was really unique, looked stunning in places and I loved the storylines in each case, but a few things really brought it down for me.
Mainly the overall plot, which I felt was very thin. Now that was fine at the start, I just loved getting into a new storyline with each new case, but I obviously do want some story throughout, even if it was just one cutscene at the end of each case.
(MAJOR SPOILERS) The following plot points annoyed me:
The very sudden love affair with the singer. I had an interrogation with her, she was quite stubborn and cold it seemed, then I go knocking on her door.
The sudden demotion because of it. I was a bit thrown by it to be honest, but that actually worked, I thought it was the start of a downward spiral. Unfortunately, it started and ended there.
The arson case was starting to link to the housing development guys, and I was quite tired so maybe I missed it, but it all just seemed to trail off and there was no big bang, no real arc there to feel anything about it other than it was a bit of a let down.
Cole Phelps dies. There was no point in that, if he'd have died because maybe the army guy shot him, or the housing development guy shot him, I could have lived with it, but it just seemed crammed in there.
I think the main reason those points annoyed me, and a lot of people on this board, was because it was the main things that make a noir, and it seemed that they made a game, and then wedged a cutscene for each of these plot points in to live up to its name, it just didn't seem natural. If the events played a part on the gameplay, that would have been cool, a downward spiral where Cole Phelps ends up investigating outside of the force would have been cool, even a few shots from outside Cole house as he and his wife fight would have been cool, but it all seemed a little rushed.
Loved the way it played and the look etc., just felt really let down by these points.
I got an appointment, with planet earth...
Great analysis. Thank you, I really enjoyed reading your thoughts.
shareIf you think about it for a second, Phelps didn't have an affair. Gamers saw Phelps go into The German Singers apartment, door closes & the screen fades to black. Therefore how can gamers know if Phelps had an affair at all? For all gamers know Phelps & The German Singer could have talked about each others problems for hours.
sharePhelps didn't deny it, for one.
The main issue that the affair was such a BIG thing was of course because he was the face of the police force (a modern example would be Disney stars actually being human and getting lambasted for experimenting as they're supposed to be "role models") and that Germans were REALLY not liked at that particular moment.
So, a combination of things, the overhyped affair, his built-up reputation, and Elsa's ethnicity were streamed into the newspapers and manipulated into painting him as well-intentioned but flawed beyond redemption.
As for the affair itself, I think he was supposed to be just gently seduced by her over the course of a year, not intentionally so but by physical cues. He was the Sword of Justice, he was a made man, he wasn't on the take or otherwise corrupt, he felt like he was untouchable and made a bad decision.
Jake Meridius Conhale, at your service!
Well I thought it was going to be revealed that Phelps was merely helping Elsa look into the death of her friend who we find out was behind the whole deal. He didn't deny the affair because it would compromise Elsa. When they had the make out scene later on, it's fairly logical that after he was already estranged by his wife and co-workers that a romantic relationship could develop with Elsa.
shareThis was the main thing that put me off to the game. In a game where everyone was lauding its great story telling there was absolutely no build up in his relationship. I didn't know that going to listen to her sing counted as the two of them building a relationship. I think they may have shared one line a dialogue (other than the crime interview) before they hooked up. There is also no establishing that he is a caring husband or even has a family other than some off the cuff remarks he makes when en route to a case. To me these problems reek of cut content for time? for DLC? I don't know but it really took me out of the story.
shareHis affair didn't need an explanation. Phepls just did it because he is kind of a jerk and a psychopath. Some guy actually made psychopath test on Phelps, which concluded that Phelps is a psychopath. He scored a 29.
|"If one man can create so much hate, you can just imagine how much love we can create together."|
LOL
shareActually I liked the whole affair, it made Cole Phelps' character more flawed despite genius at policework, he's a very professional and ethical man, who is paying for his past sins, I found the whole affair actually intriguing and interesting to his character.
Gaze not too long into the abyss, lest the abyss turn its gaze upon you
I liked the affair thing in the sense that it made Cole more of a human character and not just a flawless and perfect supercop. But what bothered me is that it wasnt any depth to it. We got to know his family to little to really feel much and we didnt get to know Elsa and Coles relationship before the affair.
Also I would have liked to know what exactly caused him to cheat, if he was just horny and a douche or if he really loved Elsa and not his wife or something.
"I like to rock n' roll part of every day."