L.A. Noire (a small review)

[fallingskyline]

Got my copy yesterday and i was blown away.

Presentation:
the overall presentation of the city and the flair of the 50s is just stunning, eventhough the city seems not as living as liberty city in GTA IV but facing the fact that life during that time wasn't as hectic as in the time GTA plays it feels pretty adequat.
Gameplay:
for now it feels a bit repetitive, it always follows the same structure:
briefing
investigating the crime scene
interview suspects
drive to place a,b,c snoop around and ask people
nail the suspect with evidence
but it works like a charme, due to the fact, that all persons and places are individual it doesn't feel like doing the same over and over
Graphics and Audio:
it isn't a red dead redemtion even though it comes pretty close, there are some slowdowns and popups here and there, but that's marginal it looks good but not stunning. so much for the world, the real eyecandy are the faces and their animation, never seen something good as this before. remember the adds for the ps2 with emotion engine, now la noire shows what an emotion engine is!
audio is nice, here again its the characters and their voices which are nothing but the best i've ever noticed.
Story:
didn't find a string yet, every case is its own story, but i guess they all stick togehter from clues you find on every crime scene but i don't know yet.
Controlls:
basic GTA/RDR like control-sceme which works, i haven't had a moment with a feeling the guy on the screen doesn't do what i want.

Conclusion:
If you thought it would ne GTA in the 50s you'll be disappointed cause there is not a chance for a maniac killing spree through the city, also there's little action in it, it is more of a read the persons find the clues and such game. Open World Point and Click Adventure would be accurate. The game lives through its persons which are nothing than the best to be in a videogame.
i've played it for 6 hours straight yesterday and it felt like five minutes, and that's nothing but a good feeling.
score: 95%

[Gizzler]

cool review, thanks man! im still undecided if im gonna get it or not...but probably i will. sounds like some nice entertainment for rainy weekends....

im wondering how long it roughly takes to solve one criminal case? and are there any side missions like in gta? and how big is the city?

[fallingskyline]

For now i can say, that the cases are solvable in 30-90 minutes, depending on how long you take to investigate the crime scences. but i wouldn't rush it, 'cause its pretty enjoyable to actually search for clues and such.

there are some side missions were you hunt down criminals either shooting them down, or giving them a good beating. also there's a lot to collect from hidden cars, famous places, newspapers to filmreels spread across town.

size of the town is huge i'd say at least as big as liberty city, i guess i've only seen like 5% of the town yet

[replicant]

Curious, not sure if you've played it, but wondering if the city/world feel of it is like Mafia 2. Mafia 2 felt different than GTA IV with the old world charm and less population, but still felt good. Another great one was the very underrated "The Saboteur" which everyone should own now since it's like $20 or lower.

[fallingskyline]

haven't played mafia2 and saboteur, but as i said the city feels like a calmed down 50s version of liberty city, which is a good thing since it feels really good

[replicant]

haven't played mafia2 and saboteur, but as i said the city feels like a calmed down 50s version of liberty city, which is a good thing since it feels really good

Groovy, I recommend checking out the other two then if you get a free moment and a game rental/borrow. The Saboteur I recommend buying since that company needs our support and the game simply rules. Think... You play as a pissed off irish race car driver in WWII France that had his career ruined by Nazi's so you joined the French Underground for payback. I can't make that shit up, but they did and it works.

[heshfield]

Appears that it's basically a combination of Mafia 2 and Heavy Rain. Because of that, I dont feel like its a 'must-play'.
Im curious though as to how much player-choice there is, because Mafia 2 was very linear and this looks to be the same way.

[jest118]

Appears that it's basically a combination of Mafia 2 and Heavy Rain. Because of that, I dont feel like its a 'must-play'.
Im curious though as to how much player-choice there is, because Mafia 2 was very linear and this looks to be the same way.

It's extremely linear in the sense that you will always follow the same case pattern and order every playthough (though there are optional street crimes to solve given to you through radio dispatch) and the base setting makes sure you always solve the crime. You can change those settings though.

[Clayfighter]

La noire is very lineare but unlike mafia 2 noire's structure
complements it's straight narrative. Mafia 2 felt like more like gta with someone holding your hand like it has all the elements but your not suppose to do that and it taunts you. La noire feels more like an adventure game like uncharted where the story helps the gameplay. Like there's a basic path you must take but it enhances the experience and emurses you. It's a really good game especially when you start figure out how to read people

[Boxerman08]

thanks a lot for this review. I've been debating whether or not to get it, but I've had friends telling me that "it's the best game ever" and what not, but just this doesn't convince people to buy a game (atleast not for me). But from this review, I feel like making the purchase. I've really really liked GTA, but the whole interviewing people and trying to find out if they lie or not and shit like that intrigues me for some reason... and also because it's similar to GTA lol

[Shaydee UK]

I've been trying to avoid this thread all day for fear of bad reviews and spoilers but i couldn't resist any longer!!

I bought the game at 9am today, worked all day with the game in my car... and on my mind! And I still can't play it till 11pm tonight when the wife gets home from work >.>

I'm not expecting the game to be at all like GTA, I am hoping for a story driven, detective "whodunnit" type game. If it had no free roam at all I don't think I'd be bothered. Can't wait to see the character graphics in action.... just hoping it doesnt freeze every 2 minutes like I've been reading

[jest118]

I've been trying to avoid this thread all day for fear of bad reviews and spoilers but i couldn't resist any longer!!

I bought the game at 9am today, worked all day with the game in my car... and on my mind! And I still can't play it till 11pm tonight when the wife gets home from work >.>

I'm not expecting the game to be at all like GTA, I am hoping for a story driven, detective "whodunnit" type game. If it had no free roam at all I don't think I'd be bothered. Can't wait to see the character graphics in action.... just hoping it doesnt freeze every 2 minutes like I've been reading

It's kind of a crapshoot on the overheating. Mostly older "Fat" model PS3s.. but a few 360's have been reported as well. I haven't heard what type of 360's yet though. I will say, I have an original 60gb PS3 and have had no problems thus far.