L.A. Noire

[Arrqh]

Reviews are popping up today, looks like it's going to be in the mid-8's. My impression from what I've read is that if you go in expecting a GTA/Red Dead game you will be disappointed because the main focus is on the detective work, not sandbox stuff and the pace is a lot slower as a result. Gunplay is apparently a bit clunky, but it isn't the main focus of the game either. Sounds like less of a problem with the game and more a problem in the marketing message.

Looking forward to picking it up and giving it a try!

 

[Jax]

Gamespot gives it 9 out of 10 and other critics average 9.2 according to them but not many out. So far looking good.

 

[Rincewiend]

Gametrailers review:
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/review-l-a-noire/713929

 

[Timby]

Gamespot gives it 9 out of 10 and other critics average 9.2 according to them but not many out. So far looking good.

Gamespot reviews are bought and sold, though, so I really don't give them a whole lot of credence. Joystiq weighed in at 4.5 / 5 stars, but the actual review was really mixed -- praising Team Bondi for its ambition rather than the actual execution.

There's also quite a bit of hand-holding in this game, apparently. It's not quite Heavy Rain, but it is by no means non-linear.

 

[Arrqh]

There's also quite a bit of hand-holding in this game, apparently. It's not quite Heavy Rain, but it is by no means non-linear.

I don't think a game like this could not be heavily linear. I don't see that as a downside.

There's 19 reviews for the PS3 version on Metacritic, and it's at a 9.1 right now. Gamespot is pretty much in the center of the pack with Giant Bomb giving it a 5/5 and Eurogamer an 8. What seems pretty consistent is that the game is different, which of course will make it hard to review and would lend itself towards "mixed" review text. But as far as I'm concerned, different is good.

 

[Timby]

Yeah, I'm not opposed to different. I just hated Heavy Rain so fucking much that hearing references to it makes me pretty nervous.

It sounds pretty procedural, so I think I might enjoy it as Law & Order set in 1940s Los Angeles. I just don't think I'll drop sixty bucks on it.

 

[Jax]

Gamespot reviews are bought and sold, though, so I really don't give them a whole lot of credence.

I tend to look at user reviews and average score of critics and so far average is 9.1 but with plenty of reviews still to arrive. I think the user score will take a hit from GTA/RDR players who did no research on the game and thinks it will be a open world piss around game.

 

[Arrqh]

Yeah, I'm not opposed to different. I just hated Heavy Rain so fucking much that hearing references to it makes me pretty nervous.

It sounds pretty procedural, so I think I might enjoy it as Law & Order set in 1940s Los Angeles. I just don't think I'll drop sixty bucks on it.

I dunno, after watching some gameplay videos today (there's a 14 minute one here on Kotaku) it looks to me like "what Heavy Rain would have been if it didn't suck." It's linear because the cases are scripted by necessity, but it looks like you actually have to use your brain to solve them instead of just an endless string of QTE's and that alone is enough to make me pick it up.

I tend to look at user reviews...

The only thing more worthless then critic reviews are user reviews on places like Metacritic

 

[Jax]

Never go to metacritic.

 

[gh4chiefs]

Yeah, I'm not opposed to different. I just hated Heavy Rain so fucking much that hearing references to it makes me pretty nervous.

That's exactly where I'm coming down on this. I can't stress enough how I think technically it will be amazing. I'm just having a hard time thinking it will be fun to play, and like Timby I'm nervous about plopping down $60 for it.

I'm hoping they release a demo for it, or maybe I can rent it just to see if my fears are unfounded. The scores accross the board seem to be very favorable towards it. So it makes me think I'm wrong, but I just can't get past my "nervousness" about it.

 

[Timby]

Yeah, I'm not opposed to different. I just hated Heavy Rain so fucking much that hearing references to it makes me pretty nervous.

It sounds pretty procedural, so I think I might enjoy it as Law & Order set in 1940s Los Angeles. I just don't think I'll drop sixty bucks on it.

I dunno, after watching some gameplay videos today (there's a 14 minute one here on Kotaku) it looks to me like "what Heavy Rain would have been if it didn't suck." It's linear because the cases are scripted by necessity, but it looks like you actually have to use your brain to solve them instead of just an endless string of QTE's and that alone is enough to make me pick it up.

It's apparently impossible to fail the story cases (nor can you actually arrest the wrong person), and there are music and dialogue cues to indicate when you haven't picked up all the evidence at a scene, so there's still quite a bit of hand-holding. Not quite QTEs, but not quite Police Quest, either.

 

[TheGodBen]

After reading some reviews and watching some videos, I'm leaning towards getting it, if only for the interviews. I love the dialogue stuff in Mass Effect, so I'm all for an expanded dialogue system that changes how certain aspects of each case will play out. It would have been nice if the decisions you make could impact the overall story, but that's probably too much to ask for from a game like this.

Besides, I kind of want to investigate a crime-scene while repeatedly saying "fuck".

 

[Krisno]

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

 

[gh4chiefs]

Uh,

It's not really a sandbox game.

 

[Jax]

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.

 

[ATimson]

It sounds pretty procedural, so I think I might enjoy it as Law & Order set in 1940s Los Angeles. I just don't think I'll drop sixty bucks on it.

Order in 1940s Los Angeles, perhaps, but the "Law" half is a bit lacking.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Just think of it as Dragnet with less LSD.

 

[137th Gebirg]

Just started playing it last night. Overall, I really like it.

The good:

• Facial expressions and graphics in general - the best of any game I've seen rendering humans. The live game play quality is identical to the cut scenes with no pre-rendering. It's astonishing. The facial expressions are so realistic it's a part of how you can tell if someone is lying to you in an interrogation.
• Car driving is not super clunky. Every time one of my friends brought up GTA4, I get in my movie announcer's voice while saying "In a world...without sway bars or suspension". These vehicles definitely don't have that problem, while still moving like you would expect 40's era cars to move.
• I like the "street crime" interludes between main missions. Very well done and they help you to boost your experience points.
• Loving the super-detailed way that your character looks for clues. You really feel like you're working a crime scene and the NPC character witnesses are all well acted. Some of the rendered faces actually makes me recognize the actual actors they're based on.

The not-so-good:

• Game saves can be weird. I screwed up a couple of crime-scene interrogations and I had to go back to the beginning of the whole act if I restarted. There doesn't seem to be any in-game saving at the user's request. It happens periodically, but determined only by the game. This sucks.
• Combat seems clunky to me, coupled with the sometimes sluggish way your character moves around the room. I have yet to find a game that has a comprehensive-enough collision detection algorithm that prevents me from getting hung-up by a door or a fire hydrant within 5 seconds. In this respect LAN is no different from everything else.
• Interrogation mechanics took me a while to figure out. The way the cases are recorded in the player's "notebook" is cool, but it was not immediately evident how to use certain bits of evidence to tell an NPC they're lying.
• 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.

So, I would give it 4 out of 5 for now, as the technical novelty hasn't worn off yet. I'm hoping it continues to hold my interest, and I think it will now that I've figured out how to operate in this world. Curious to see what others think about it.

See ya!

 

[Arrqh]

Game saves can be weird. I screwed up a couple of crime-scene interrogations and I had to go back to the beginning of the whole act if I restarted. There doesn't seem to be any in-game saving at the user's request. It happens periodically, but determined only by the game. This sucks.

This is my only real complaint about the game so far. Not for screwing stuff up... they want to encourage people to continue on if you mess up an interrogation, and I think that's fine. I just hate you it doesn't make a save game when you quit. Last night when I wanted to stop playing, I couldn't stop because I had no idea when the last autosave was and I didn't want to lose any progress... so I had to go forward until it saved again. There's just no excuse for that sort of thing.

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.

There is a "free roam" mode that lets you drive around anywhere, discover unlockables and do any of the side missions you may have missed. But the main focus is clearly on the crime solving, this was never intended to be an open world game in the vein of the GTA games or the like.

 

[Sheep]

The only thing I've determined from this thread is that I should not buy Heavy Rain.

I became more interested in this game when I found out it wasn't Grand Theft 1947 (although I did LOVE RDR), but I can wait for a price drop given my crazy backlog of games.