L A Noire

[Tsakali]

when will it be released for pc?

[tnf]

I'm enjoying it but I am also disappointed in some aspects because I had very high expectations. So first I will put on my nit picky reviewer hat and start bitching - The foot pursuits are largely pointless as there is nothing required of you save holding the run button and pointing yourself in the right direction. They could have done something to make this a bit more interactive and skill-based. Searching for evidence gets a bit repetitive with the ubiquitous beer bottles, cigarette butts, etc. used as the same distractors. Car pursuits aren't bad, but I wish I could zoom out a bit more in the view - and the controls are almost too responsive - slight stick movement and the car veers quite a bit. Also wish the free roam mode was more seamless instead of being a mode you enter at the start - it would have been nice to be able to free roam between missions as you wanted, the map is incredibly detailed and very large for exploration. The street crimes don't seem to fit in the flow of the game with how they are implemented, doesn't seem like two detectives would be likely to detour some of the bigger crimes they are investigating or whatever to handle something that would be the responsibility of uniformed officers. Gun battles are a bit simple as well.

On the other end of things - the facial animations are incredible, even when you aren't interrogating a suspect and using the facial expressions as a gameplay aid all facial features are amazingly detailed and realistic. Good voice acting, great detail to the map - it doesn't feel like you are driving through a bunch of recycled textures and building fronts as you go through the city. And even with all those criticisms its a fun game to play and it keeps you interested because of the episodic nature of each case (with an overarching storyline behind them).

[o'dium]

I'm loving it so far, just got onto Disk 2. Its a shame that while the facial shit is sooooooooo good, the actual head models are a bit of a mess (like the Irish chief at the station) and the textures there are amazingly low res. However, theres been times where I've been watching and totally forgot I was playing a game, the animation is that spot on.

I agree that some aspects are a little naff. The gun play is the same old poor Rockstar stuff, same as the camera, and some other things like the car chases, on foot chases and redundant clues are a bit silly, but overall this is shaping up to be a total game of the year contender.

[Pauly]

I am loving it, but it is a little disjointed in places. I'm also finding the driving scenes a pain and find that I just get my partner to drive straight there. I don't see the benefit of driving yourself. Is it just to get the emergency calls?

The clues are pretty cool but so far have been as subtle as a sledgehammer in the face. On the flip side, it seems almost impossible to read whether someone is lying or not unless they're acting is really bad.

Saying all of that, it is still an excellent game and for the most part, incredibly polished. I am also liking the side stories (newspapers) and the story arc of Cole. I assume that is going to play a part in it at some point.

[o'dium]

I found the lie/truth/doubt bit easy enough when it came to truth or "not truth" but finding out if I theres doubt there or if its a lie is pretty tough... I *THINK* the difference is in body movement for lie as well as eyes/facial. Its pretty tough, but still cool.

Also, the whole "get the partner to drive" bit is silly I agree, however you will miss certain case information in some parts if you don't drive yourself(This means clues), as well as a lot of character backstory, banter and misc info, plus the random city crimes too.

BTW, has anybody found any film reels yet...? These things are so wel fucking hidden... At least in GTA you could hear the damn pigeons...

[brisk]

I finished it yesterday. Generally a very good game, but the formula does start to grate a little by the end, since essentially you've played every single gameplay mechanic the game offers by the 2nd case. Still, I loved the characters, the setting, the general environment and the ultra-awesome facial animation. Seriously, i'm playing The Witcher 2 at the moment and although the textures are as good as anything i've seen, it just looks weird not having the full gamut of emotions in the facial animation ala LA Noire. I feel i'll feel this way for a long time until more games adopt it (and they should!)

Ending was a little crap, but it felt like the perfect length for the game. It also has John Noble in it, so that makes it awesome by default.

[brisk]

I found the lie/truth/doubt bit easy enough when it came to truth or "not truth" but finding out if I theres doubt there or if its a lie is pretty tough... I *THINK* the difference is in body movement for lie as well as eyes/facial. Its pretty tough, but still cool.

It works like this:

Truth: You think they're telling the truth (very easy to spot, since there is little to no change in facial animation on the suspect)
Doubt: You think they're lying but you don't have the proof in your casebook to call them out on it.
Lie: You think they're lying and you have proof in your casebook to question them on it.

[Tsakali]

I finished it yesterday. Generally a very good game, but the formula does start to grate a little by the end, since essentially you've played every single gameplay mechanic the game offers by the 2nd case. Still, I loved the characters, the setting, the general environment and the ultra-awesome facial animation. Seriously, i'm playing The Witcher 2 at the moment and although the textures are as good as anything i've seen, it just looks weird not having the full gamut of emotions in the facial animation ala LA Noire. I feel i'll feel this way for a long time until more games adopt it (and they should!)

Ending was a little crap, but it felt like the perfect length for the game. It also has John Noble in it, so that makes it awesome by default.

was it as short as mafia 2? that felt like a kick in the nuts to be honest.

[o'dium]

Its no GTA4 lets put it that way... Only 20 odd cases (But they are quite long). I'm about half way in, but I have been playing it most of the day.

[brisk]

I finished it yesterday. Generally a very good game, but the formula does start to grate a little by the end, since essentially you've played every single gameplay mechanic the game offers by the 2nd case. Still, I loved the characters, the setting, the general environment and the ultra-awesome facial animation. Seriously, i'm playing The Witcher 2 at the moment and although the textures are as good as anything i've seen, it just looks weird not having the full gamut of emotions in the facial animation ala LA Noire. I feel i'll feel this way for a long time until more games adopt it (and they should!)

Ending was a little crap, but it felt like the perfect length for the game. It also has John Noble in it, so that makes it awesome by default.

was it as short as mafia 2? that felt like a kick in the nuts to be honest.

A bit longer, but they felt like quite similar games at times, for obvious reasons. In reality though, LA Noire plays more like a point-and-click adventure game. Not a bad thing if you ask me.

Edit: I spent 16 hours on LA Noire in total. I believe Mafia 2 was about 12 or so, but really can't remember. I enjoyed both games actually.
Edit2: Also, the cases tend to be much longer as the game progresses. First few are quick, others take an hour or so.

[Pauly]

16 hours?? Games are so short these days.

[Mogul]

~15 hours sounds about average to me, and sounds reasonable for most games to come out in the last decade or so. When considering the length, you also have to consider the amount of content that's presented within each case. The sheer amount of discussion/voice acting... it all takes a lot of time. Related to that, there are multiple ways to solve a case depending on the clues you are able to find and the answers you're able to correctly identify as being truthful or lies. I am sure it takes ~15 hours no matter how you play it (on the first play-through, at least) but because there are multiple paths (in a way) to the end of every case, there's a lot of "game" that can be experienced on a second run.

Also, since I pre-ordered this, I got the Naked City case, which I'm on right now (somewhere in disc 3). Seems like one of those-hour long ones. Glad I pre-ordered.

[Pauly]

I am not really liking the interrogation process too much. It just seems like guess work.

[o'dium]

It will be guesswork if you don't have all the right clues and don't check the facts. If you do have them, then its just a process of elimination and they are quite easy.

[brisk]

~15 hours sounds about average to me, and sounds reasonable for most games to come out in the last decade or so. When considering the length, you also have to consider the amount of content that's presented within each case. The sheer amount of discussion/voice acting... it all takes a lot of time. Related to that, there are multiple ways to solve a case depending on the clues you are able to find and the answers you're able to correctly identify as being truthful or lies. I am sure it takes ~15 hours no matter how you play it (on the first play-through, at least) but because there are multiple paths (in a way) to the end of every case, there's a lot of "game" that can be experienced on a second run.

Also, since I pre-ordered this, I got the Naked City case, which I'm on right now (somewhere in disc 3). Seems like one of those-hour long ones. Glad I pre-ordered.

There is zero re-playability in my opinion. You do get multiple choices occasionally, but as a whole, missions are very linear and will almost always play out the same, regardless of what you choose in interrogations. It's definitely very different to Heavy Rain, which had real consequences for the story depending on your choices. When LA Noire was finished, I felt pretty satisfied and it was done. Moving on!

[brisk]

I am not really liking the interrogation process too much. It just seems like guess work.

I know what you mean, but just don't accuse someone of lying unless you know you have hard evidence to back it up. If in doubt... use doubt! And if you're still wrong, you probably missed a vital clue somewhere along the way. Many clues/evidence are only achieved if you actually get the clues out of someone you interrogated earlier. Many witnesses act as evidence/witnesses for the next person you speak to, and so on.

If you really fuck it up, just start/quit and you'll restart from the previous safe point, usually outside the door.

[Eraser]

I finished it yesterday. Generally a very good game, but the formula does start to grate a little by the end

No shit if you play it from start to end in... what... three days?

[brisk]

I finished it yesterday. Generally a very good game, but the formula does start to grate a little by the end

No shit if you play it from start to end in... what... three days?

Nope, leaked about a week early sir. Took me about a week to finish, playing a few hours every day. I've said it before and i'll say it again, if i'm spending money pre-ordering a game, then i'm sure as shit not letting people who pirate it play it before me. So I just download whenever it leaks and support the developer by buying it. Best of both words and I have absolutely no qualms in doing it.

[shaft]

You found it boring towards the end, there was zero replayability so you canceled your order. Don't tell us you gave up $60 on principal after you were already finished with it.

Also modding your console and downloading 7GB is a lot of work just to play the games that you "preordered". Don't try to sound like you're Mr. Honest.

[brisk]

Yeah, you got it Shaft. I've never spent a single penny on a video game and i'm a chronic liar on the internet. Thanks for pointing that out.

Not quite sure where all these games on Steam came from, but thanks to the person who magically put them on my account for me! Also, quite weird how by the time my actual order arrived from amazon on Friday, I still hadn't even finished the game and used the retail third disc to finish it. But hey, i'm a liar. Believe nothing I say, because Mr. Bitter on the internet said so!

PS. Downloading 7gb from usenet takes me about 30 minutes. Modding a PS3 even less so. I'm interested in having a PS3 that offers proper multimedia functionality (namely MKV support), not being a skint flint on games. Believe what you want, but I won't lose sleep over it. Until distributors get their head out of their ass and offer everyone in the world the game at the same time, it's a practice i'll have no qualms in continuing.

[Eraser]

proper multimedia functionality (namely MKV support)

That would be a great addition for XBox 360 as well (with H.264 support) but I'm not going to mod my console. Too afraid they'll ban my Live account.

[shaft]

Yeah, you got it Shaft. I've never spent a single penny on a video game and i'm a chronic liar on the internet. Thanks for pointing that out.

Not quite sure where all these games on Steam came from, but thanks to the person who magically put them on my account for me! Also, quite weird how by the time my actual order arrived from amazon on Friday, I still hadn't even finished the game and used the retail third disc to finish it. But hey, i'm a liar. Believe nothing I say, because Mr. Bitter on the internet said so!

PS. Downloading 7gb from usenet takes me about 30 minutes. Modding a PS3 even less so. I'm interested in having a PS3 that offers proper multimedia functionality (namely MKV support), not being a skint flint on games. Believe what you want, but I won't lose sleep over it. Until distributors get their head out of their ass and offer everyone in the world the game at the same time, it's a practice i'll have no qualms in continuing.

I guess I was right, since you posted a dumb picture of Shepard instead of yourself holding the disc.

I never said you never spend a penny on games. Obviously there is no way to circumvent mp pc games unless you want to play on Himatchi with other poor people. You also spent $1000 on headphones while trying to convince your wax clogged ears that you could hear the difference. Maybe thats why you need to steal games. Also good to know that you modded your console so you could steal games AND movies in mkv format from usenet. cuz last time I checked PSN had a video store which works great (I use it all the time). Lets keep it real, no one mods their console for legal reasons.

[Tsakali]

Even though shaft is a complete and utter cunt with no signs of redemption I have to agree with him. Your story's plausibility is too corny even for a children's book. But it's ok, i torrent games here and there myself.

[brisk]

lol @ having to post pics to prove you own games to q3w now. sure, i'll just go take a picture of my disc, my receipt and upload my tax return while i'm at it. i'll get right on it!

and you said it yourself. if i can afford to spend $4000 on an audio setup, do you really think i'm so poor as to be able to afford a video game? think about it.

also lol @ using the psn video store to watch films. if that is really your justification for why modders don't need to unlock their console, then i give up. i suppose you'll want me to post pics of my blu-ray collection now too?

[shaft]

lol @ having to post pics to prove you own games to q3w now. sure, i'll just go take a picture of my disc, my receipt and upload my tax return while i'm at it. i'll get right on it!

You can't becasue you dont own it. We understand.

and you said it yourself. if i can afford to spend $4000 on an audio setup, do you really think i'm so poor as to be able to afford a video game? think about it.

You steal games and movies, you probably think its alright to steal audio equipment also.

also lol @ using the psn video store to watch films. if that is really your justification for why modders don't need to unlock their console, then i give up. i suppose you'll want me to post pics of my blu-ray collection now too?

Yeah, it is. unless you're trying to tell me you rip your 30GB blurays in order to watch them at poor quality on your modded ps3 instead of taking 2 seconds to put in a disc...rofl. My ps3 does what its supposed to and there is a video rental store and netflix. I don't get mad at Sony because it doesn't play illegal movies and games I download from the internet. I certainly wouldn't post about how its my right to steal games because someone else stole a disc before release and uploaded it and thats somehow the game company or publishers fault.