L.A. Noire

[James Bond]

I LOVE sandbox games, and I LOVE Rockstar. I will be getting this one, it's a great time we live in for videogames!

This is what I was talking about when I said I can see the game getting some bad user scores from GTA/RDR fans. LA Noire may allow some open world stuff you can't go round on sprees like in GTA/RDR and the game has a very linear esq side to it.

Rockstar did not make it just published it.

So is this sort of like Mafia II (obviously without the whole Mafia aspect)? Mafia II had a very linear story you had to follow, like a movie, but players had the ability to explore, shop, etc while not actually on a mission.

 

[Arrqh]

So is this sort of like Mafia II (obviously without the whole Mafia aspect)? Mafia II had a very linear story you had to follow, like a movie, but players had the ability to explore, shop, etc while not actually on a mission.

There's not any shopping to do. You can explore, find unlockables and do side missions but you have to specifically go into that game mode so it isn't seamless.

Noticed today that Giant Bomb put up a pretty good quick look for the game, it does a pretty good job of highlighting the investigation/interrogations which are the main course of the game: http://www.giantbomb.com/quick-look-la-noire/17-4133/

 

[Timby]

I LOVE sandbox games, and I LOVE Rockstar. I will be getting this one, it's a great time we live in for videogames!

This is what I was talking about when I said I can see the game getting some bad user scores from GTA/RDR fans. LA Noire may allow some open world stuff you can't go round on sprees like in GTA/RDR and the game has a very linear esq side to it.

Rockstar did not make it just published it.

So is this sort of like Mafia II (obviously without the whole Mafia aspect)? Mafia II had a very linear story you had to follow, like a movie, but players had the ability to explore, shop, etc while not actually on a mission.

It's Mafia II except not shitty without DLC.

I like the facial animation, but everyone looks like a damned puppet when trying to emote with arms, etc. -- Max Payne 2 levels.

It's an interesting game. The gunplay is terrible, but since it's not one of L.A. Noire's primary focuses, I can roll with it. Interviews / interrogation is, by far, the best element of the game, but this is easily a "play through it once, and toss it" title -- the replay value is nonexistent. I'm sure I'll enjoy the remainder of the initial playthrough, but I'll either toss it onto SA Mart or trade it into GameStop before soon ... there's nothing there to keep me engaged.

 

[ALF]

So is this sort of like Mafia II (obviously without the whole Mafia aspect)? Mafia II had a very linear story you had to follow, like a movie, but players had the ability to explore, shop, etc while not actually on a mission.

Mafia II was odd because there were people screaming that it wasn't sandbox and others stating that it was. I couldn't get a straight answer from anyone online or in person so I just downloaded the demo and was able to determine that it was "sandbox enough for me".

• Not A Sandbox! Many had thought it would be an open world, and it is, but you're surrounded by an almost impenetrable glass tunnel that lets you look outside at the pretty open world, but somehow prevents you from getting too far off the beaten track. So far, I've found only Saint's Row to be the best of all worlds, better than the GTA series

Sounds like a dealbreaker to me.
Maybe I'm an weirdo gamer . . . I bought Tron: Evolution and Mass Effect 2 a few weeks ago. Mass Effect 2 (and I did play the first one) was absolutely disappointing. I don't have the time to jump through hoops and have a story hand fed to me. Seriously- the one reason I need sandbox gaming is because I generally don't have much more than 20-30 minutes of gameplay time to invest. Incredibly enough, there's more mileage in that Tron game for me than ME2.

So if anyone can help clarify LA Noir for me, big cheers.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Sounds to me like an linear game with open-world sandbox elements. Not that it's a bad thing, of course. I haven't played RDR yet, but a friend of mine told me the same thing about it. I guess I'd call them hybrid games where story is the prime thing they're doing while giving gamers the illusion of playing in a sandbox world. What I'm curious about is how the game is played. Are you playing as part of a gang or are you a detective doing an investigation? Or is it that you're undercover?

 

[TheGodBen]

Sounds to me like an linear game with open-world sandbox elements. Not that it's a bad thing, of course. I haven't played RDR yet, but a friend of mine told me the same thing about it.

RDR's story is linear, but it's very much a sandbox game in the GTA tradition. There's a lot to do and see outside of the main missions, I spent a lot of time in that game playing poker or hunting bears in the mountains.

Bearing in mind that I haven't played L.A. Noire yet, the difference between the two games is that in RDR you had the choice about when to start a story mission while in LAN the cases never stop and as soon as one finishes you are thrown into another. There is a free-roam mode you can enter, but there's not much to do there other than sightsee, find collectables or do the 40 or so short side-missions.

What I'm curious about is how the game is played. Are you playing as part of a gang or are you a detective doing an investigation? Or is it that you're undercover?

From what I've read, you're supposed to be a very straight cop and the action element is sidelined by the investigations. I saw one guy saying that he completed the game only shooting 30 or so bad guys, which is a number you'd often kill in a single mission in GTA.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Ahh, thanks for that. It definitely piques my interest in RDR. I'll likely buying it the next game I buy, and buy LA Noire later on. My friend didn't like the game too much and said it was far too linear, but I'm attributing that more to him disliking some of the design decisions on their games in general, which is fine as not everyone is expected to like everything.

 

[Timby]

Red Dead Redemption is one of my favorite games of all time.

L.A. Noire is pretty solid, but it's not for everyone. If you're a fan of early '90s adventure games, then you should check it out. If you're looking for GTA in the 1940s, look elsewhere, because you're not going to find it here.

And I don't know how often this can be repeated: IT IS NOT A ROCKSTAR GAME. IT DOES NOT USE THE RAGE ENGINE EMPLOYED IN GTA4 AND RED DEAD REDEMPTION. ROCKSTAR ACQUIRED THE PUBLISHING RIGHTS AND WAS ONLY INVOLVED IN THE QA PHASE. DO NOT EXPECT A GTA/RDR GAME.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

This is what I was talking about when I said I can see the game getting some bad user scores from GTA/RDR fans. LA Noire may allow some open world stuff you can't go round on sprees like in GTA/RDR and the game has a very linear esq side to it.

Rockstar did not make it just published it.

So is this sort of like Mafia II (obviously without the whole Mafia aspect)? Mafia II had a very linear story you had to follow, like a movie, but players had the ability to explore, shop, etc while not actually on a mission.

It's Mafia II except not shitty without DLC.

I like the facial animation, but everyone looks like a damned puppet when trying to emote with arms, etc. -- Max Payne 2 levels.

It's an interesting game. The gunplay is terrible, but since it's not one of L.A. Noire's primary focuses, I can roll with it. Interviews / interrogation is, by far, the best element of the game, but this is easily a "play through it once, and toss it" title -- the replay value is nonexistent. I'm sure I'll enjoy the remainder of the initial playthrough, but I'll either toss it onto SA Mart or trade it into GameStop before soon ... there's nothing there to keep me engaged.

Are they planning on offering extra missions through DLC? If not, it definitely seems to be a one time through game, since I can't imagine much replay value.

 

[Arrqh]

Are they planning on offering extra missions through DLC? If not, it definitely seems to be a one time through game, since I can't imagine much replay value.

There's already some free DLC that is impossible to download because the PSN is still down, but the episodic structure will lend itself well to future DLC if they have it planned. Not sure if they've announced anything.

Personally, I do see some replay value here anyway... while you can't arrest the wrong person, the course of the investigations change depending on what you do, particularly if you screw up the interrogations. I've only put a few hours in, but I'm already thinking about replaying a few of the cases I've done where I botched some of the interrogations.

 

[TheGodBen]

Some guys from Rockstar or Team Bondi said that the game was too long so they cut out some cases and will probably sell them later as DLC. That might just be an excuse to try and get more money, but considering that this game already uses 3 DVDs on the 360, it might just be true.

I've completed the first homicide case, and that includes the Slip of the Tongue DLC case that I got from the store. I turned off the vibration and music cues to make the investigations a bit more realistic, that way I'm not sure if I missed important evidence when leaving a crime-scene. My only real complaint about the game so far is that the game reveals whether you asked the right questions during an interrogation and I'd prefer not knowing that. If I screw up and get sent on a wild goose chase, I'd prefer not to know that in advance.

I really got into the game towards the end of the second traffic case...

Spoiler: second traffic case

...when the guy and his lover betray one another, he shoots her and I have to give chase. That was a really involving moment.

Ahh, thanks for that. It definitely piques my interest in RDR. I'll likely buying it the next game I buy, and buy LA Noire later on. My friend didn't like the game too much and said it was far too linear, but I'm attributing that more to him disliking some of the design decisions on their games in general, which is fine as not everyone is expected to like everything.

The story in RDR is very linear, and on the few occasions where you can make decisions you normally end up doing the moral thing as that's what's in-character for John Marston. But the story being linear isn't a necessarily a bad thing as the story is pretty good (except, perhaps, the Mexico section). As a guy that normally can't stand westerns, I found myself completely engrossed in that world, which was quite an accomplishment.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Ahh, thanks for that. It definitely piques my interest in RDR. I'll likely buying it the next game I buy, and buy LA Noire later on. My friend didn't like the game too much and said it was far too linear, but I'm attributing that more to him disliking some of the design decisions on their games in general, which is fine as not everyone is expected to like everything.

The story in RDR is very linear, and on the few occasions where you can make decisions you normally end up doing the moral thing as that's what's in-character for John Marston. But the story being linear isn't a necessarily a bad thing as the story is pretty good (except, perhaps, the Mexico section). As a guy that normally can't stand westerns, I found myself completely engrossed in that world, which was quite an accomplishment.

Yeah, I agree. I tend to find linearity isn't necessarily a bad thing when you're trying to pull off a story. You can't exactly have it both ways, I guess. Some games, depending on the studio will try to hide that fact , and sometimes they do it well, sometimes they don't. In the case of Uncharted 2, its linearity was better for it, leading to a fantastic story that would have only faltered if it weren't linear. I see linearity in this case as a sort of wordless narrative. You go from point A to point B because the story demands it.

Timby, thanks for the reminder. I think too often we forget that the publisher isn't necessarily also the developer, especially when that publisher is known for publishing its own games, leading to people being confused about it being developed by them.

 

[firehawk12]

There's a case planned for June and presumably they'll sell the two retailer exclusive cases and the PS3 exclusive case at some point.

I think I'm about done with the main game (4 more cases) and I'm very mixed on the game. On the one hand, I'm glad it's a break from playing the psychopaths/sociopaths in the GT4 and RDR games, but every single investigation almost plays out the same way with the same beats. It's not quite the street cop game that I'd love to play - basically Police Quest 2, or hell, a video game inspired by the "Cops" police show - but it's not bad either.

The fact that there's almost no story connecting the cases together makes it an even more shallow experience. At some point in the game, a big event happens to the main character but it has zero impact because you really don't care about what happens to him.

Someone compared the game to Assassin's Creed 1, insomuch as there are some interesting ideas but very shallow storytelling/lacking game design. It's a fairly good analogy and I'm sure that if they make a sequel to LA Noire, they'll be trying to figure out how to expand the experience beyond what they've delivered in this game.

 

[Botany Bay]

I see Heavy Rain is about as popular on Trekbbs as it is around my part of the world I lent it to two different people, and both handed it back apologetically within days Neither could make it out of the architect's house. Ah well!

I diasagree with all of you though, I thought it was excellent. We played it non-stop for two rainy nights with the lights off here...it had us jumping plenty of times.

Anyway, I really am looking forward to LA Noire, and have been ever since I finished Red Dead Redemption (brilliant game!).

Thanks for the early reviews guys, and I appreciate Timby's warning for those like myself who were expecting Red Dead Redemption:1945.

It is definitely worth repeating for casual gamers...

IT IS NOT A ROCKSTAR GAME. IT DOES NOT USE THE RAGE ENGINE EMPLOYED IN GTA4 AND RED DEAD REDEMPTION. ROCKSTAR ACQUIRED THE PUBLISHING RIGHTS AND WAS ONLY INVOLVED IN THE QA PHASE. DO NOT EXPECT A GTA/RDR GAME.

 

[Capt_Pickirk]

One or two teeny tiny nitpicks with this game.

Due to the amazing work on the facial animation the motion capture looks very robotic, but I can live with that.

Also another thing that would've been great would be to show the main character's wife and kids. Just to show that not only is he a good cop, but he's also a good family man, adding a bit more of a connection with the character.

But apart from those this is a pretty solid game so far.

EDIT: Also, I LOVE the fact that you can play the game in Black and White, makes it even more Noir-y

 

[Haggis and tatties]

I see Heavy Rain is about as popular on Trekbbs as it is around my part of the world I lent it to two different people, and both handed it back apologetically within days Neither could make it out of the architect's house. Ah well!

I diasagree with all of you though, I thought it was excellent. We played it non-stop for two rainy nights with the lights off here...it had us jumping plenty of times.

Anyway, I really am looking forward to LA Noire, and have been ever since I finished Red Dead Redemption (brilliant game!).

Thanks for the early reviews guys, and I appreciate Timby's warning for those like myself who were expecting Red Dead Redemption:1945.

It is definitely worth repeating for casual gamers...

IT IS NOT A ROCKSTAR GAME. IT DOES NOT USE THE RAGE ENGINE EMPLOYED IN GTA4 AND RED DEAD REDEMPTION. ROCKSTAR ACQUIRED THE PUBLISHING RIGHTS AND WAS ONLY INVOLVED IN THE QA PHASE. DO NOT EXPECT A GTA/RDR GAME.

I thought Heavy rain was just amazing, and i found my experience and immersion into it greatly enhanced but playing it with the move controller....the level were you have to escape the two burglars who break into your room when your the female character is just amazing.....you just want her to get the hell out of there.

I got a lot of time for it.

 

[Jax]

Just read that LA Noire is selling 58% to 42% in favour of the X Box 360 though I've not heard anything about the total number of sales yet for the game apart from very good.

 

[Haggis and tatties]

Well if a game is good it deserves to sell well on all hardware, i like to see game Dev's who produce something good getting something back....Mass Effect 2 comes to mind as a game that I'm glad was released on both the 360 and PS3, its such a phenomenal game that everybody deserve to play it and the game Dev's deserve as much income from it as possible.

 

[SPCTRE]

Finished it today, fantastic game. Classic adventure games are back - with a $50 million budget blockbuster twist!

 

[Krisno]

Just finished it one hour ago. The graphics are amazing, and the facial animations in particular are a revolution in gaming. The digital LA is HUGE, although there is not an inch of gameplay to be found when you're just driving through LA. With the exception of the street crimes. I think the main character Cole Phelps is one of the most compelling characters in gaming history, and the story is satisfying.

The gameplay however is less stellar imho. Although the interviews and detective work are fun, the cases are impossible to fuck up. I mean this in a negative way. No matter what I do in the cases, the game makes sure you make it to the end. Thereby giving you the feeling that really thinking about the cases is a waste of time. After a while, it actually got tedious and the only thing that kept me going was the character development that the main character was going through.

Still a nice game though, although it doesn't come close to the quality and brilliance of other open world games such as RDR, AC2 Brotherhood and GTA IV.