Rockstar's L.A. Noire - debut trailer

[ProfessorChaos]

i'm so busy with trying to move back across the state that i probably won't even have time to play this for at least another 2 weeks. wonder how long it'll take to get to the "games on demand" feature on XBL...that whole 3 discs thing is making me think this may be my first digital purchase of a full 360 game. i think that black ops just went on demand, and that came out in november, so about 6 months.....i seriously doubt i can hold out that long for this one.

[Neil]

So if I understand this game, it's a huge investigation? So I assume, once you've completed it, that's it really? Chances are you won't want to do it as you now know Professor Plum did it in the library with the candlestick?

[MinionZombie]

So if I understand this game, it's a huge investigation? So I assume, once you've completed it, that's it really? Chances are you won't want to do it as you now know Professor Plum did it in the library with the candlestick? There are also "random events" throughout the game, so you can answer your police radio and take on the crims, but there's also the ability to solve a case in different ways as you might close off a line of questioning the first time around. However, being that it'll no doubt be as long as Red Dead Redemption - which took me 30 hours - that's plenty of game right there. It might even be longer than that. GTA IV took me 50 hours to complete (both times). So there's plenty bang for your buck, even if you only play it once. I recently replayed RDR using the "retry mission" option that was added in (GTA IV didn't have it until The Ballad of Gay Tony), so that was another 15 hours easily and while I knew how things played out, I still enjoyed it ... mind you, it was better to play it properly the first time. Being wrapped up within the setting really helps make these games what they are.

[Danny]

So if I understand this game, it's a huge investigation? So I assume, once you've completed it, that's it really? Chances are you won't want to do it as you now know Professor Plum did it in the library with the candlestick? eh, that put me off hotel dusk and heavy rain replays but the single experience made the money worth it.

[MinionZombie]

eh, that put me off hotel dusk and heavy rain replays but the single experience made the money worth it. But even still, if you've got a hankering to re-experience the vibe again, you'll replay it regardless. Like I played Doom 3 through five times, simply because I dug the vibe of the game. The first play was the best, as I was reading all the PDAs and experiencing it for the first time, but I still enjoyed it a lot (to decreasing amounts, natch) with repeated plays. There wasn't a huge need to replay RDR in terms of the plot, but I just wanted to re-experience the dying days of the old west and John Marston once again. Methinks I'll replay L.A. Noire sometime next year no doubt once I've built up a head of steam to explore that world again - but right now I'm really looking forward to that first time when this new world is, well, new. Heck, I replayed Mafia 2 a while back, not too long after playing it the first time, and there was not an awful lot of reason to in terms of the game itself, but I just wanted to play it again - and it's not even a great game, I just enjoyed it.

[Danny]

But even still, if you've got a hankering to re-experience the vibe again, you'll replay it regardless. Like I played Doom 3 through five times, simply because I dug the vibe of the game. The first play was the best, as I was reading all the PDAs and experiencing it for the first time, but I still enjoyed it a lot (to decreasing amounts, natch) with repeated plays. There wasn't a huge need to replay RDR in terms of the plot, but I just wanted to re-experience the dying days of the old west and John Marston once again. Methinks I'll replay L.A. Noire sometime next year no doubt once I've built up a head of steam to explore that world again - but right now I'm really looking forward to that first time when this new world is, well, new. Heck, I replayed Mafia 2 a while back, not too long after playing it the first time, and there was not an awful lot of reason to in terms of the game itself, but I just wanted to play it again - and it's not even a great game, I just enjoyed it. yeah but there all different dude. Think about the games i mentioned in one you know who the origami killer is from the off on a replay. you know when each quicktime event occurs and what not to do wrong this time around. In hotel dusk every puzzle has only one answer and the murder is always revealed in the same way. You can wait and hope to re-experience it but its not like just experiencing the game again. mystery games are a kind of one go deal. once you solve the mystery you will never solve it again. Its like star wars. we all remember being a little kid and hearing the "no, i AM your father!" line and having our tiny minds blown. the experience isnt cheapened as time goes on but its never ever the same again, nowhere close. Not a bad thing in the long run but it certainly means some games like this warrant being more of a curio in your collection than something you are apt to revisit every so often.

[MinionZombie]

Never said a re-experience was the same thing. I said the opposite in fact. Replaying a game will no doubt be because of the same sort of reasons (some anyway) as re-watching a movie over and over again. ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJG4D9m-SwQ Side Quests trailer - "40 unassigned missions" you come across on your police scanner, hidden newspapers that provide background detail, hidden cars (there's always something related to cars in these games, hehe), and apparently more outside of the main story. Methinks I'll spend a fair bit of time with this one.

[CoinReturn]

The review embargo just went up, so most major site are posting theirs: 1up - A Giant Bomb - 5 stars Gamespot - 9.0 IGN - 8.5

[MinionZombie]

The review embargo just went up, so most major site are posting theirs: 1up - A Giant Bomb - 5 stars Gamespot - 9.0 IGN - 8.5 Sounding pretty damn sweet. I've had this baby pre-ordered for a while now. Can't wait to finally play it come the 20th.

[Neil]

The review embargo just went up, so most major site are posting theirs: 1up - A Giant Bomb - 5 stars Gamespot - 9.0 IGN - 8.5 So sounds +ve then!!! I've just not got the time to invest in a game like this though

[ProfessorChaos]

put my pre-order in last night, got it from gamestop for the extra missions bonus. already received a shipping notice, but probably won't have time to fire it up till this weekend at least.

[Mr. Clean]

The review embargo just went up, so most major site are posting theirs: 1up - A Giant Bomb - 5 stars Gamespot - 9.0 IGN - 8.5 Can't wait....first thing in the AM tomorrow!

[MinionZombie]

So sounds +ve then!!! I've just not got the time to invest in a game like this though Bit of a bugger, but I'll let you know my impressions once I've had a day or two with it. The Gamespot review was an interesting read, not for their impressions necessarily (that's all subjective), but for the extra info about the game itself and how it works and what sort of things you'll be able to do and see along the way. I'm rather up for it, I'm just waiting for my pre-order. It is interesting how one site pissed and moaned about some of the movement/control and shooting mechanics - as if it was something new - er, GTA IV and Red Dead Redemption had the same mechanics (the latter slightly different and improved over the former), and being that L.A. Noire no doubt uses the same engine/tech as those two games, then I doubt it's going to be a major hassle. Although it is kind of silly how John Marston and Nico Bellic would occasionally get into real trouble (due to their wide personal turning circles) trying to get through a door - but then some people have continued to have real troubles with the controls in those games, while others haven't been all that affected by them (I've had the odd problem, but nothing hugely problematic) ... so I found it odd that one reviewer's tone concerning the controls was so uppity. Same person as well as moaning about the shooting mechanics - as in, wait behind cover and then shoot them when they pop out ... er, kinda like most shooters on the market, then? They mention Gears of War, but even in that you wait behind cover for some ugly bugger to pop their gurning mush out at you and then you replace their teeth with bullets until they fall over. So again, a bizarre thing to get uppity about for that one reviewer (I can't remember which, but I think it might have been IGN).

[Danny]

Bit of a bugger, but I'll let you know my impressions once I've had a day or two with it. The Gamespot review was an interesting read, not for their impressions necessarily (that's all subjective), but for the extra info about the game itself and how it works and what sort of things you'll be able to do and see along the way. I'm rather up for it, I'm just waiting for my pre-order. It is interesting how one site pissed and moaned about some of the movement/control and shooting mechanics - as if it was something new - er, GTA IV and Red Dead Redemption had the same mechanics (the latter slightly different and improved over the former), and being that L.A. Noire no doubt uses the same engine/tech as those two games, then I doubt it's going to be a major hassle. Although it is kind of silly how John Marston and Nico Bellic would occasionally get into real trouble (due to their wide personal turning circles) trying to get through a door - but then some people have continued to have real troubles with the controls in those games, while others haven't been all that affected by them (I've had the odd problem, but nothing hugely problematic) ... so I found it odd that one reviewer's tone concerning the controls was so uppity. Same person as well as moaning about the shooting mechanics - as in, wait behind cover and then shoot them when they pop out ... er, kinda like most shooters on the market, then? They mention Gears of War, but even in that you wait behind cover for some ugly bugger to pop their gurning mush out at you and then you replace their teeth with bullets until they fall over. So again, a bizarre thing to get uppity about for that one reviewer (I can't remember which, but I think it might have been IGN). well to be fair this game is being touted as the first truly next generation game. its not a bad thing that it has the same type of controls as current equivalents but thats not exactly ground breaking stuff if they have not attempted to innovate with it y'know.

[MinionZombie]

well to be fair this game is being touted as the first truly next generation game. its not a bad thing that it has the same type of controls as current equivalents but thats not exactly ground breaking stuff if they have not attempted to innovate with it y'know. And how exactly would you "innovate" the controls in GTA/RDR/L.A.N? I mean really, the controls were fine - generally speaking - in GTA IV and RDR - the only problem was your characters wide turning circle, and the movement from walking to running, which caused problems on occasion like moving from cover to going through the doorway you were right next to when in cover - an occasional problem, and something that needs tweaking rather than re-inventing. The controls definitely changed from GTA IV to RDR, and no doubt there will have been some new changes/tweaks in Noire. However, clearly, the focus for Team Bondi was the type of sandboxer they were creating. Focusing on investigation and more of a slow-burn (with action) tale that requires you to pay attention - visually - to dialogue scenes so you can read people's reactions and figure out if they're bullshitting or not. Plus, it seems like they've gone all-out to recreate the L.A. of 1947. Games put out by Rockstar are consistently brilliant when it comes to the game worlds presented. I was brought right into GTA IV's world, and even moreso with that of RDR, and I'm oh-so-looking-forward-to getting myself wrapped up in 1947 Los Angeles, chasing perps through back streets, examining crime scenes, and answering calls on my radio. ... Interesting to note that in the comments of the IGN review, someone points out that the reviewer didn't like the pace of the plot in Red Dead Redemption ... and he didn't even complete the game apparently. So I'm not lending much credence to IGN's reviewer if that's the case, for that reason and for those I mentioned above about their bizarre moans about controls and shooting mechanics.