One of my favorite actors, Mandy Patinkin, left his esteemed character portrayal on the detective show Criminal Minds for a very significant and personal reason. He felt the show was desensitizing the effect that violence and death had on the audience. 

His comments (above) on how the show exchanged a spotlight on the exploration of our inner mind's and how they function in everyday life for a focus on the action and violence aspect, struck a resonant chord with me. Patinkin's decision to quit the program was very honorable in my eyes. 

While I do love action video games as they continually produce innovative additions to the gaming community and future titles, they do hold a desensitizing effect that, up until a few months ago, seemed to prove immovable and a permament aspect of action gaming.

What I'm getting at, is how upcoming video game L.A. Noire seeks to change that among many other things. Eager fans couldn't wait to see game-play as, up until this week, the only footage was that of the dramatic cut-scenes which frequent the campaign and accompany them with drama and ground-breaking actor recognition technology.

It's hard to picture game-play as something else than gun fights when referring to Rockstar. But with the dramatic appeal and focus, they can pull back from the glorification of constant violence and focus on the human aspect of it all. The detective work as you follow the story written and scattered between clues opens immense possibilities to include a deep journey through the subtext of our human instinct. 

This is where Patinkin's interview reflects on L.A. Noire. He felt the show was glorifying the acts of violence and decided to leave. Rockstar obviously sees that most action games today hold a one tone highlight of their mechanics, and don't go into character or plot development enough.

This screenshot from a trailer showcases dramatic and intense scenes.

Video games have the power to have emotional impact on the audience that is rarely tapped into. Seeing L.A. Noire features this potential not only between cut-scenes, but the varying game-play adds the potential to show those moments while in control, rather than through a scripted scene.

To impress action audiences today, you need cool guns, explosions, and multi-player. L.A. Noire not only acknowledges that, but challenges it head on. With the ability to make aspects of action stand out with emotional stress, L.A. Noire has the definite potential to meet this challenge.