L. A. Noire (video game)

[Dagwood]

Based on the trailer (see 1 minute 14 seconds), it looks like the release date has moved from May 17 to May 20.

 

[RetroToday]

Based on the trailer (see 1 minute 14 seconds), it looks like the release date has moved from May 17 to May 20.

The North American release is still May 17, that was the only YouTube video I could find of the new trailer at that time.

The video on the official Rockstar website shows May 17. I'd link directly from the Rockstar site but the Lounge forum doesn't embed those videos.

 

[RetroToday]

A new L.A. Noire gameplay series trailer was released today, titled "Rising through the ranks":

[video=youtube;4BrUsQyLvho]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BrUsQyLvho[/video]

Still can't wait to play it.

 

[Jerekson]

I finally got my pre-order squared away with Gamestop. They have a few little perks that might be worth it for anyone who is thinking about it...

Can't wait to get my hands on this.

I still think the hats look bad, though.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Somebody showed the trailer for this to me. I may have to buy an Xbox 360 just for this game's sake.

 

[Matt Deckard]

An in-depth review from my roommate. Rockstar Games invited him to the Roosevelt Hotel for a sneak peak, and his historical point of view. He's a the foremost historian on LA architecture from the 1940s, and he wasn't very impressed with the lack of accuracy. Take a look.

http://www.1947project.com/47PplaysLANoire

 

[Dagwood]

An in-depth review from my roommate. Rockstar Games invited him to the Roosevelt Hotel for a sneak peak, and his historical point of view. He's a the foremost historian on LA architecture from the 1940s, and he wasn't very impressed with the lack of accuracy. Take a look.

http://www.1947project.com/47PplaysLANoire

What a great review!

I am a little disappointed to read that the game is not completely accurate. However, I agree with his ultimate conclusion that it is better that the game exist so as to introduce a little of "our world" to others.

 

[RetroToday]

An in-depth review from my roommate. Rockstar Games invited him to the Roosevelt Hotel for a sneak peak, and his historical point of view. He's a the foremost historian on LA architecture from the 1940s, and he wasn't very impressed with the lack of accuracy. Take a look.

http://www.1947project.com/47PplaysLANoire

Thanks for the 'heads up' on that review, very interesting to see the take on the game from someone that knows every detail of the scene at that period in time. :eusa_clap

Although, while reading the review, small feelings of "how dare you" brimmed up. I kept thinking "he doesn't know how good he has it" as I read his words on the incorrect signs, etc. That feeling was finally minimized when your roommate came to accept some of the historical flaws in favour of the overall experience of the game in the final words of the review.

If only there was a company willing to make a 1940s video game about where I live, I'd be overjoyed. I'd easily put up with a few incorrect signs and buildings if only I could tool around in a vintage car down the streets of 1940s Toronto and investigate our unsolved crimes.
But alas, our town isn't as famous, especially since it's not in the good ole' U.S. of A.

So, I will have to make due with playing a 1940s cop in a town I've never visited just because I'm in love with that era.

Even though we're sticklers for detail, in this case we should just smile and be happy this game has even been made...

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Very cool graphics and animations. A step above previous stuff. Hopefully this sets the standard for other games. I'd love to see some WW2 games along the lines of The Brothers in Arms series done this way.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I agree with you, and I am sure that it would be very, very expensive to completely accurately re-create the time and place. It still looks like it could be a lot of fun.

What a great review!

I am a little disappointed to read that the game is not completely accurate. However, I agree with his ultimate conclusion that it is better that the game exist so as to introduce a little of "our world" to others.

 

[RetroToday]

Rockstar announced today that they hired writers to create a series of short fiction e-novels based on the characters in the game and beyond, looks interesting.

Click the link below the image to see the page where you can download a PDF sample of the writing and see all the book covers.

http://www.rockstargames.com/lanoire/features/stories/

 

[Mr Vim]

I've been following the gameplay trailers for a while now and there are certain scenes where a character's fedora just looks wrong! It is seriously bothering me. I do not know if there was a problem with the render, because it looks like the hat is a separate game object to the character model. Anyway, in some scenes the fedoras look like metal stovetop pipes and in other moments they look decen. I'm a little confused and I may end up giving this a rent before shelling out the money.

 

[RetroToday]

I've been following the gameplay trailers for a while now and there are certain scenes where a character's fedora just looks wrong! It is seriously bothering me. I do not know if there was a problem with the render, because it looks like the hat is a separate game object to the character model. Anyway, in some scenes the fedoras look like metal stovetop pipes and in other moments they look decen. I'm a little confused and I may end up giving this a rent before shelling out the money.

You're quite right about the hats, that was one of the first things I brought up in starting this thread. There are some scenes where the hats look a little too large for the heads of the characters, with about an inch of space between the inside rim of the hat and the character head. Anti-gravity floating hats?

But, I'm not going to let that stop me, overall it looks like the kind of game I'll love. I just hope it has some re-play quality after all the cases are completed, there is after all no online multiplayer component to this game.

 

[Mr Vim]

That was another issue that I thought of. I spent last night at work reading every article and watching every video I could find on the game and the replay does seem to be a potential problem. A DLC for the map would take an awful lot of time what with the motion capture mapping they do for characters, unless of course they recycled characters which I do not think they can do at this time.

 

[RetroToday]

That was another issue that I thought of. I spent last night at work reading every article and watching every video I could find on the game and the replay does seem to be a potential problem. A DLC for the map would take an awful lot of time what with the motion capture mapping they do for characters, unless of course they recycled characters which I do not think they can do at this time.

Hi Mr. Vim,

Since you've already gone over all the information out there, you probably already know that there are two extra cases that will be offered in the near future as Downloadable Content. I'm guessing those even won't keep the re-play qualities of the game going for too long.
The cases are "The Naked City" and "A Slip Of The Tongue", which are already being offered as pre-order bonuses if you purchase the game through certain retailers.

It would be very nice if they keep making DLCs for this game as years go by, but usually the game makers would rather bring out a whole new game instead of adding more on to an older one. Reasons being higher profits, technology updates, etc...

 

[Richard Warren]

Just curious, but why is is "Noire" and not "Noir" ?

 

[RetroToday]

Just curious, but why is is "Noire" and not "Noir" ?

I wondered the same thing, because the "Film Noir" genre has never has an E on the end. The added E denotes a feminine use of the word in French.

Could very well have a double or triple meaning:
If title is said "La Noire", it means "the black" in French - A possible reference to The Black Dahlia murder?

Could also just be referring to the darkness of crimes in that time period in general.

Still no word from Rockstar on why, just speculation.

 

[Mr Vim]

There is a book by John Buntin titled L.A. Noir that is the history of the LAPD trying to take down criminal organizations... maybe the author has the name copyrighted? The book is quite good, I recommend it.

 

[Richard Warren]

The prior use possibility had occurred to me. Still seems like a less than brilliant choice in a game seeking to create the illusion of period accuracy. (Of course, its still just a game.)

 

[Mr Vim]

What if they spelled it wrong? ha ha!