In an article published by The Atlantic earlier this month, writer Taylor Clark posited that "video games, with very few exceptions, are dumb."

Is L.A. Noire—despite its running, gunning and vehicular cruising—essentially an elaboration on the point-and-click adventure game? Some critics and commenators have suggested that the title has more in common with Monkey Island than Grand Theft Auto IV, with the crucial difference being that L.A. Noire (unlike the…