L.A. Noire: The Complete Edition

 PC
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1358 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 994 out of 1358
  2. Mixed: 268 out of 1358
  3. Negative: 96 out of 1358
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  1. Animus_V0x
    Jun 22, 2023
    5
    I find it way overrated. Graphics were ok.
    But I hated the gameplay : the interrogation system was just way too frustrating, it's either truth or doubt, no in between. And the consequences were always so dramatic for a single "wrong" choice, absolutely unrealistic.
    Then sometimes I felt like one piece of evidence was good enough to call them out on a lie, but the game wasn't ok with it    I find it way overrated. Graphics were ok.
    But I hated the gameplay : the interrogation system was just way too frustrating, it's either truth or doubt, no in between. And the consequences were always so dramatic for a single "wrong" choice, absolutely unrealistic.
    Then sometimes I felt like one piece of evidence was good enough to call them out on a lie, but the game wasn't ok with it because... script. Really dumb.
    Main plot wasn't that bad and the whole Noire ambiance with the soundtrack made me stick to it until the end but I definitely won't play it again.    … Expand
  2. Rustick
    Jul 7, 2022
    7
    неплохие детективные миссии лицевая анимация геймплей сильно наскучивает но атмосфера вытягивает
  3. Uarabei
    Feb 21, 2022
    7
    Great noir atmosphere, cool facial animation for its time.

    But the game is terribly long, and the last part has already become a little boring.
  4. achittranshi
    Feb 9, 2022
    5
    One of the most overrated games I have ever played. So banal. I was bored to death
  5. AlexeySoltan
    Oct 14, 2021
    7
    unique project but with awfull graphics and optimisation (idiots from rockstar cant just port game from console properly), casual
  6. Axelle_1
    Sep 7, 2021
    7
    I like games which are interactive novels or movies. L.A. Noire neatly meets this criteria and brilliantly recreates a colourful period of L.A.'s history. I have never seen a game populated by believable characters who inspire compassion in the player. Nor have I seen real faces with real emotions, from the slight twitch of nervousness to red-faced, bulging eyes of fe
  7. Mehrshad_MB
    Sep 2, 2021
    7
    L.A. Noire is a fascinating game but with a bit of extra time and polish it probably could've been one of the best ever.
    The game takes place in 1940s (same as Mafia 2) and since it is my favorite decade, I really enjoyed driving in LA streets. The buildings, cars, and music were really good.
    Face expressions and emotions of characters in the game were mind-blowingly amazing and up until    L.A. Noire is a fascinating game but with a bit of extra time and polish it probably could've been one of the best ever.
    The game takes place in 1940s (same as Mafia 2) and since it is my favorite decade, I really enjoyed driving in LA streets. The buildings, cars, and music were really good.
    Face expressions and emotions of characters in the game were mind-blowingly amazing and up until now I haven't seen such exact face expressions in any game. As a result, this feature made the characters look so real.
    With that said, game also had some problems. High potential games like this, always seem to stumble right before the finish line. For instance, the arson desk felt rushed more than anything and the story went downhill all of a sudden.
    The other problem was that missions were repetitive. All cases had same procedure: find clues - speak - chase - repeat. Side mission was even worse. I was expecting something new as the story progressed but it was all the same. Only the last mission was different than the others.
    Also there was lack of activities to do in game. I don't really understand what was the purpose of making a huge map without anything to do in it. There are no garages to save cars, no bars to drink, no shops to buy clothes and etc.
    To conclude, L.A. Noire is one of the best, if not THE best, cop games with a lot of unused potential, but it doesn't mean that it's not worth playing.
    (August - September 2021)    … Expand
  8. AxeWould
    Aug 30, 2021
    7
    Двоякие впечатления оставила игра, с одной стороны реализация игры полная жопа, чтобы поиграть в 60фпс надо устанавливать какие-то левые патчи, вечные бесящие загрузки, а з другой стороны идея просто на 10, сначала думал что будет легко, но игра заставляла позадуматься, и играть было увлекательно, но тут в самом геймплее вылазит еще один минус, я на третей жертве убийце женщин понял ктоДвоякие впечатления оставила игра, с одной стороны реализация игры полная жопа, чтобы поиграть в 60фпс надо устанавливать какие-то левые патчи, вечные бесящие загрузки, а з другой стороны идея просто на 10, сначала думал что будет легко, но игра заставляла позадуматься, и играть было увлекательно, но тут в самом геймплее вылазит еще один минус, я на третей жертве убийце женщин понял кто он, и даже бармен намекнул, но мы нечего поделать не можем потому что такой возможности нет. Ну и сами допросы очень интересно и прикольно сделаны, но просто три выбора и мы не можем задать такой вопрос который нас бы подтолкнул чтобы расколоть преступника. Притом повествование и действие некоторых персонажей мне в упор не понят, почем Фелпс изменил жене, почему некоторые нпс, просто не скажут правду, им нечего не грозит, а мы должны их еще упрашивать что-то рассказать, я понимаю что это игровой процес, но смотрится не ахти. Вообщем игра годная, необычный как минимум продукт, попробовать обязательно нужно, но конечно есть и свои минусы.… Expand
  9. leSange
    Apr 4, 2021
    6
    +клевый сюжет
    -без бубна не запускается
    -устаревший графон
  10. Chubac
    Oct 29, 2020
    7
    It's a good game but for me it's too frustrating and hard. The facial animations hold up and even better than some AAA games that came out few years ago.
  11. Alexb1096
    Jul 24, 2020
    7
    ITALIAN:
    Premetto che ho giocato ad L.A. Noire nel 2020, quindi lo analizzerò con un metro di giudizio attuale.
    AUDIO E GRAFICA: Il comparto audio è più che buono, con ottimi dialoghi e suoni ambientali. Poco incisiva invece la colonna sonora, pur essendo adatta al periodo storico. La lista dei brani presenti non è ampia e allo stesso tempo nessuno di questi è memorabile. Per    ITALIAN:
    Premetto che ho giocato ad L.A. Noire nel 2020, quindi lo analizzerò con un metro di giudizio attuale.

    AUDIO E GRAFICA:
    Il comparto audio è più che buono, con ottimi dialoghi e suoni ambientali. Poco incisiva invece la colonna sonora, pur essendo adatta al periodo storico. La lista dei brani presenti non è ampia e allo stesso tempo nessuno di questi è memorabile.

    Per quanto riguarda la grafica devo dire che per l'epoca era buona, e anche adesso è godibile, per non parlare delle animazioni dei volti che fanno tutt'ora scuola. Allo stesso tempo alcune animazioni sono troppo veloci e poco fluide, così come è presente qualche piccolo bug grafico. Secondo me però il gioco pecca in stile, in quanto l'immagine risulta piuttosto piatta e senza personalità.

    Giocando su PC ho potuto rimuovere il limite dei 30 FPS e utilizzare Reshade. La rimozione del limite a 30 FPS rende il gioco nettamente più fluido (anche se a volte si limita da solo a 50 FPS, non so come mai) ma allo stesso tempo cambia la risposta di guida dei veicoli (più sterzata e meno frenata), oltre a creare un piccolo bug in una missione. Reshade invece permette di aggiungere effetti al gioco, come filtri per i colori, occlusione ambientale, anti-aliasing, bloom e altro. Può far perdere qualche punto di frame rate ma rende il gioco più al passo coi tempi.

    GAMEPLAY:
    Bene ma non benissimo.
    Mi sono approcciato al gioco con la speranza di trovarmi davanti dei casi da risolvere e delle trame interessanti, cosa che effettivamente succede ma non con la profondità che credevo.

    Innanzitutto bisogna dire che si può scegliere la quantità di aiuti che ci verranno forniti dal gioco, dove io ho scelto che il controller vibrasse in vicinanza di un indizio rilevante. Ho scelto questo per evitare di trovarmi a cliccare compulsivamente nelle situazioni più complesse.

    Dopo la fase di ricerca degli indizi si potranno interrogare le persone coinvolte nella vicenda, con un sistema ottimo per quanto riguarda lo scoprire se qualcuno sta mentendo (grazie alle espressioni facciali) ma che spesso risulta troppo semplificato nelle scelte portando a risposte di cui non si è sicuri. Secondo me "asseconda" (che sarebbe "verità"), "forza" (che sarebbe "dubita") e "accusa" (che in realtà significa dimostrare che l'accusato sta mentendo tramite una prova) a volte sono troppo vaghe come risposte e possono trarre in inganno.

    Non mi ha convinto troppo neanche il sistema di deduzione. Basta raccogliere molti indizi e chiamare la centrale qualche volta per risolvere i casi, non c'è ragionamento da parte del giocatore se non in qualche caso. Avrei preferito un sistema tipo quello della serie Sherlock Holmes, con i vari indizi che vanno uniti dal giocatore per formulare deduzioni e giungere ad una conclusione.

    Buone invece le sparatorie e le sezioni di guida (nonostante la guida falsata dalla rimozione del limite degli FPS), noiosi invece gli inseguimenti (sia in piedi che in auto), troppo scriptati e con animazioni irrealistiche.

    STORIA (no spoiler):
    Essendo un gioco investigativo e narrativo, le storie sono il punto forte. Nonostante ciò secondo me alcune trame sono troppo poco approfondite, a discapito di altre che sono inutilmente prolisse (che però allo stesso tempo sono quelle principali).

    Senza fare spoiler, le due trame principali, trasversali tra i casi secondari, sono belle ma vengono protratte solo per farti trovare sempre più indizi utili, senza però causare colpi di scena perchè la soluzione bene o male la si sa già da tempo.
    Le trame secondarie invece hanno più colpi di scena ma sono limitate a brevi filmati, spesso con la sola funzione di intermezzo.

    In conclusione, non mi sento di consigliarlo, non a tutti per lo meno. Su console è presente la versione Remastered ma credo mantenga il limite dei 30 FPS, su PC invece è già meglio potendo bypassare la cosa. Inoltre i giocatori più abituati alle sparatorie si potrebbero annoiare, mentre quelli più attenti alla storia (comunque valida) potrebbero rimanere delusi dalla profondità solo simulata dagli interrogatori.

    VOTO: 7.5/10    … Expand
  12. Kotofon
    Jun 6, 2020
    5
    L.A. Noire – криминальная драма-детектив, не лишенная жестокости и ужаса.

    События игры разворачиваются на просторах Лос-Анджелеса образца 1940-х годов. Это место – город греха и порока. Здесь как нигде в мире процветает преступность, власть – коррумпирована, в подворотнях после захода солнца то и дело происходит всякий ужас и убийства, повсюду снуют мелкие дилеры, желающие впарить    L.A. Noire – криминальная драма-детектив, не лишенная жестокости и ужаса.

    События игры разворачиваются на просторах Лос-Анджелеса образца 1940-х годов. Это место – город греха и порока. Здесь как нигде в мире процветает преступность, власть – коррумпирована, в подворотнях после захода солнца то и дело происходит всякий ужас и убийства, повсюду снуют мелкие дилеры, желающие впарить кому-то дозу наркотиков, а крупные наркоторговцы воротят свои грязные дела под покровом ночи. В таких условиях вам и предстоит работать.    … Expand
  13. ghosttoyou
    Mar 31, 2020
    7
    7/10................................................................................
  14. hunterhh
    Feb 26, 2020
    6
    Fun game problem is the ending...you will understand once you play it...other then that each case is interesting and gets you going you can probably get easly 50-70 hours if you wana 100% evrything
  15. Sybyriak
    Dec 19, 2019
    5
    Даже не знаю, что и сказать, с одной стороны, игра уникальная, в неё стоит поиграть хотя-бы ради того, чтобы получить довольно уникальный игровой опыт, ведь других подобных игр попросту нет по сей день, не говоря уже о том времени, когда она вышла, а с другой стороны у игры есть тонна проблем, которая сводит на нет весь интерес

    1. Отсутствие свободы действий, ты вообще ничего не можешь    Даже не знаю, что и сказать, с одной стороны, игра уникальная, в неё стоит поиграть хотя-бы ради того, чтобы получить довольно уникальный игровой опыт, ведь других подобных игр попросту нет по сей день, не говоря уже о том времени, когда она вышла, а с другой стороны у игры есть тонна проблем, которая сводит на нет весь интерес

    1. Отсутствие свободы действий, ты вообще ничего не можешь делать, если игра этого не разрешит. Выстрелил в человека, который открыто напал на полицейского - миссия провалена, это при том, что в реальности в США уже бы изрешетило и нападавшего, и его машину, я так понимаю разработчик яро пытался доказать всем, что полицейские и детективы США не такие, но ведь это глупо, многие наоборот уважают полицию США за то, что те могут остановить преступника выстрелами, по крайне мере в ноги точно, но вместо этого я обязан зачем-то гнаться за преступником... Полная чушь, не имеющая никакой реальности к настоящей полиции США

    2. Безумные скрипты ботов на машинах, бетонные боты, которых невозможно сбить с дороги, если этого не хочет игра, в миссиях с погоней, весь бот едет на лютых скриптах, поворачивая порой под 90 градусов на месте не сбавляя скорости, под конец игры меня окончательно задолбало

    3. Лютейший бред с мимикой лиц... Где вы в реальности видели, чтобы подозреваемые так корчили лица? Что это за чушь собачья? Игра адово хочет быть похожей на жизнь, но при этом главная фишка игры - её же и главный минус, ну нигде вы в реальности не найдете преступника, который сам себя будет сдавать сраными эмоциями лица, никто так не делает, все сидят с каменным лицом и не проявляют абсолютно ничего, в игре же творится полный цирк, порой боты выдают такие выражения, что я валялся под столом в слезах от смеха, это забавно по началу, но со временем ты понимаешь, что Рокстар определенно сделали что-то не то...

    По итогу скажу, что игра заслуживает внимания как минимум, ибо она уникальна, но сделана она откровенно топорно, главная её фишка, моушенкап лиц - её же главная проблема, ибо порой на экране происходит лютый треш с выражениями лиц, игра адово заскриптована и адово ограничена в действиях игрока, ты не можешь стрелять, если этого игра не хочет, ты не можешь догнать, если она этого не хочет, ты попросту ждешь, пока игра сама захочет определенных действий... Очень посредственный геймплей, но очень уникальна сама игра.    … Expand
  16. CoKronakan
    Feb 28, 2019
    7
    This game has a lot of fault and a lot of good elements to it, but I think it's the little things that make this game. The things that you find out by your own and the game does not tell you or hold you hand and show you around. The story is really solid and delivered in a real cinematic way, which increased the artistic value of it overall. But the thing was that it was hard to enjoy allThis game has a lot of fault and a lot of good elements to it, but I think it's the little things that make this game. The things that you find out by your own and the game does not tell you or hold you hand and show you around. The story is really solid and delivered in a real cinematic way, which increased the artistic value of it overall. But the thing was that it was hard to enjoy all this with the huge pacing issue that the main mission's struggle with. Only 10-15 mission are really relevant to the story of the total 21. And the game's chore get's really boring because of the repetitive nature of the core game play and forcing you in to doing more of the same thing over and over. So this is a really big flaw in the game base . The menus and the HUD was really simplistic and down with the story which was amazingly executed through the textbook and did not break immersion at all. This really is a special thing in gaming. The graphics did not age that well, but the facial animations are still the best in the gaming industry or in top, due to the facial motion capture technique that the animations where created. The gestures in the game are amazing as well., and not ones did I feel that they are off or not fit the given situation. The VFX and SFX on the other hand where somewhat poorly executed. Most of the cases the cues.
    Also the strict linearity of the game and the plot gives little space for naturally exploring the game, and sadly the collectibles do not help with that. The collectibles are repetitive useless things that you visit, or pick up once but the sheer number of them is annoying and the average player will leave them behind and forget them fast. The AI where actually challenging some times, but more or less they worked as intended, and behaved as such. The driving though was another big fall after GTA, which quickly gave the player the realization that it was simply more effective and time friendly to fast travel, which again cut out of the exploration factor in this great environment that was created by the development team but was neglected. The game mechanics and everything starting from AI behavior to systems, bugs and other technical issues the game was amazingly polished and flawless.
    The intuition system really did help and the leveling was a little exploitable but was not punishing so that was a fresh breath of air. The big fall in the game play was the pure complexity of some situations and conversations in the game, which some times let to really annoying dialog problems, and some times the evidence was fitting in my opinion but the game did not agree. So it was off in some situations which was really punishing in a bad/faulty way.
    Overall this is a good game which could have been an amazing piece of art, and storytelling if not for the simple lack of a solid conclusion and story wrap up, and the number of flaws listed above.    … Expand
  17. MetaCthulhu
    Oct 28, 2018
    7
    This is a good detective investigation game for sure. But sadly, it has many flaws: Driving car is clunky, the open world is not very interactive and the cases and investigation styles are repetitive. Biggest problem: Very often this isnt about deduction or interrogation techniques but just random choice clicking, hoping for the best result. You can't judge the face movements and behaviorThis is a good detective investigation game for sure. But sadly, it has many flaws: Driving car is clunky, the open world is not very interactive and the cases and investigation styles are repetitive. Biggest problem: Very often this isnt about deduction or interrogation techniques but just random choice clicking, hoping for the best result. You can't judge the face movements and behavior of the interrogated suspects properly because they are not well done. So in the end good new ideas and concepts, but somehow not the best implementation.… Expand
  18. killer1237
    Oct 24, 2018
    7
    A cool and unique detective game that gets stale and repetitive about halfway through.
  19. RealMuthaF
    Nov 22, 2017
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game just doesn't work as intended. And I don't mean any technical issues, I just mean the plot and the overall game design.

    In terms of plot and characters it borrows an awful lot from the movie called L.A. Confidential, which in 2 something hours manages to tell a much more compelling and engaging story than what we have here. The overall plotline with corrupt officials doing a scam with increased land price is plain boring, as are the characters, whose archetypes are blatantly stolen from Confidential. To add to this the game fails to invoke any feelings for the characters, any drama. The final death of you know who in the sewers was just laughable.

    Mechanically the game suffers from its linearity, namely, during interrogations. The fact that there is only one right answer to every question means that you are compelled to either look for a walkthrough in advance, or reload and try the interview again, which is tedious. The word "tedious" also applies to walking through scenes looking for clues. The action sequences suffer from clunky controls. And the open world here is just redundant, L. A. Noire is basically a high-budget quest game about picking up objects and guessing answers. The developers apparently realize that, hence the option to skip all the fight and chase scenes, as well as the ability to skip driving to the next destination. Moreover, the shooter part spoils some of the overall "realism" with things like Kelso and his friends raiding a mansion, killing a couple of dozen guys and there being no consequences whatsoever.

    It took me 5 damn years to beat this game. I bought it off a Steam sale back in 2012, solved like 5 cases and got bored. Then in 2015 I started over, this time making my way all over to Vice before giving it up for some more exciting game. Now I've finally finished what I started due to temporary lack of games on my PS4, and I got to say I'm not sure if the journey was worth it.    … Expand
  20. josei1985
    Jul 15, 2017
    6
    Voy a dar dos consejos que considero vitales para disfrutar de este juego, al menos desde mi punto de vista, ya que me ha costado bastante dar el pulgar hacia arriba y no hacia abajo:

    - Pon el juego en directx 11. Está capado a 30fps, pero si lo mantienes en directx9 te va a dar tirones y vas a cagarte en la madre que parió a los desarroladores. - Juégalo poco a poco, no vayas a    Voy a dar dos consejos que considero vitales para disfrutar de este juego, al menos desde mi punto de vista, ya que me ha costado bastante dar el pulgar hacia arriba y no hacia abajo:

    - Pon el juego en directx 11. Está capado a 30fps, pero si lo mantienes en directx9 te va a dar tirones y vas a cagarte en la madre que parió a los desarroladores.

    - Juégalo poco a poco, no vayas a saco. Un caso cada tres o cuatro días. De lo contrario te resultará un pestiño.

    Pros
    - Me ha sorprendido enormemente la calidad gráfica del juego dado los años transcurridos,
    - Las expresiones faciales (vital por la idiosincrasia de este juego),
    - Su ambientación y su música.
    - La historia que envuelve al protagonista.
    - Las cinemáticas cuando descubrimos los periódicos (coleccionable)
    - Colisiones de vehículos loquísimas

    Estamos ante un juego que es una montañaa rusa, tan pronto estaremos en lo más alto en cuanto a diversión y ganas de jugar como en una depresión donde se nos hará cuesta arriba. Lo mejor de las misiones lo encontraremos al final de las fases de Homicidios y antivicio y en las 3 últimas horas donde los acontecimientos se van sucediendo a buen ritmo dejándonos un buen sabor de boca que hará olvidarnos de todo lo malo que comentaré a continuación.

    Contra
    - Jugabilidad. Un tanto tosca tanto en la investigación como en su "modo gta". Las persecuciones a pie se hacen tediosas. Las que haremos con el coche, especialmente al final, son más divertidas pero tampoco para tirar cohetes.
    En general, todos los casos, con independencia de la división en la que estemos (tráfico, homicidios, antivicio, incendios), están cortados por el mismo patrón. El sistema de interrogatorios no me ha terminado de gustar (podemos elegir entre dar por bueno lo que nos cuenta el testigo/sospechoso, dudar o acusarle de mentir aportando prueba, y todo ello a partir de las expresiones faciales del interrogado). Por ejemplo, hacemos una pregunta y se va desarrollando un diálogo, elegimos "1) verdad 2)duda 3) mentira", la charleta continúa hasta que el bloc de notas del prota nos dirá si hemos acertado o no con nuestro juicio. A veces, al aventurarnos a acusar de mentir se produce un diálogo de acusión que no tiene nada ver que la pregunta inicial, por tanto habremos errado y quedaremos como Cagancho en Almagro al elegir una prueba que ya no tiene sentido. Esto suele pasar especialmente en los casos más aburridos.

    - En muchas fases se hace repetitivo, monótono, con casos de relleno donde, como comento arriba, es hacer lo mismo una y otra vez. Entiendo que el trabajo policial tiene unas pautas, pero joer, es que cambia el nombre de la víctima la manera de morir y ya, todo lo demás es exactamente lo mismo que habremos hecho en el caso anterior. Y para colmo, no son casos que se finiquiten en veinte minutos, sino que podemos encontrarnos con algunos de hora y media o más.

    - Misiones secundarias chorra, pero lo más estúpidas que te puedas echar a la cara. Nos surgirán al ir con el coche a otro escenario. La radio pedirá refuerzos y podremos responder o no.

    - Los tiroteos tienen su aquel pero su dificultad es ridículamente fácil.

    Cómpralo en rebajas o con key, no vale ni de broma 30€, ni 15 y si me apuras ni 10. Es de 2011, macho.    … Expand
  21. kman5473
    Aug 9, 2016
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Fairly solid game throughout, but with a few big hiccups overall.
    First, the story is solid and gripping up until the last act. Basically everything in the final parts of the game felt anti-climactic, and not intensely compelling or fascinating. In fact, the homicide part of the game is really the only part that really kept me intrigued. Add to this that the death of the main character is so lame (especially when compared to Red Dead Redemption), that I just laughed when it happened. What a wasted opportunity to make a great story, because everything else leading up to it was great.

    I also do not like that your character is incapable of performing any actions other than running and walking unless it is "necessary" to do so for that particular instance of the game (ie you cannot choose to jump off the top of a building so you don't have to run all the way back down or what not like in GTA). This is, by far, the most player-constraining game Rockstar has made. Worth playing, worth buying, but definitely not their best game.    … Expand
  22. Captain_Chaos
    Jun 22, 2016
    6
    L.A. Noire is too damn long and too damn grim. These same issues plague most of Rockstar's recent titles (At least in Max Payne 3, it will be justifiable). That said, it's linearity actually felt like a break from the daunting sandboxes of GTA IV and Red Dead Redemption, and its focus on investigation and dialogue evokes the feel of old-school adventure games. The combat felt tacked on,L.A. Noire is too damn long and too damn grim. These same issues plague most of Rockstar's recent titles (At least in Max Payne 3, it will be justifiable). That said, it's linearity actually felt like a break from the daunting sandboxes of GTA IV and Red Dead Redemption, and its focus on investigation and dialogue evokes the feel of old-school adventure games. The combat felt tacked on, but the car chases were probably my favorite sections, and I found myself wishing there had been more of them. The game's touted facial animation technology is indeed impressive, and the dialogue mostly well-writen, giving the game a true cinematic quality. It has a few story elements I could have done without, but there's a few sequences- the trail of riddles left by the Black Dahlia murderer, the shootout at the movie set, the entire Nicholson Electroplating case- that made the tedium of the overall length of the game feel somewhat worthwhile.… Expand
  23. GolovA
    Jan 23, 2016
    7
    By no means is it a GTA. No. L.A. Noire is rather an interactive movie. It is not a bad port - i have seen much worse, so this one is ok, although there are a couple of bugs like disappearing cars (when you drive around in one car, park, and enter another - the previous car is gone). Also - DRM. Really, devs - can you please stop with this DRM crap already? And the auto sign in doesBy no means is it a GTA. No. L.A. Noire is rather an interactive movie. It is not a bad port - i have seen much worse, so this one is ok, although there are a couple of bugs like disappearing cars (when you drive around in one car, park, and enter another - the previous car is gone). Also - DRM. Really, devs - can you please stop with this DRM crap already? And the auto sign in does not work, by the way, so every time i log into the game i need to input the Rock Star Social Club password. Seriously, i have good internet connection, but sometimes my internet goes down. What then? I'm pissed is what then! So minus one point just for that.

    Alright. Got that out of my system. Moving on.
    The story is pretty good and damn extensive - it's really a novel of a game. Unfortunately, that's about the only thing that kept me playing L.A. Noire. I thought long and hard about why the game just isn't working and i have come up with this - the style of the gameplay just does not fit the mechanic chosen by the developers. This is a detective game, but it's not an adventure in the classical sense - you don't really solve any puzzles. You blindly hunt for clues in a limited area, then confront the potential culprit via a dialogue. Yes, you do have choices as to how the dialogue proceeds, however, they are limited to three ambiguous groups which almost never fit the situation, namely "Truth", "Doubt", and "Lie". My game experience was that almost never could i predict the response of Phelps (the protagonist you play) based on these three vague categories. You would think that "Doubt" would mean what it says, but instead, when you choose this specific branch of response, Phelps intimidates, threatens, accuses, and verbally assaults his interlocutor, instead of politely and politically correctly doubting with some logical reasoning and supporting arguments. When you choose "Lie", Phelps will accuse the suspect of something and then has to present the evidence in support of the allegation. However, once again, you never know what he will accuse the suspect of - and many a times, i was completely surprised as to where the dialogue went, since i had no supporting grounds for the accusation. So, in short - dialogue is pretty unpredictable, "streamlined" as they call it, made for children who can read only one-syllable words. But RockStar, let me ask you this - you make such a deep game, with such convoluted and twisted criminal cases, and them you give us three dialogue choices which plunge a good game into the arcade genre? Why?

    Moving on. Phelps. As the protagonist, i did not enjoy playing him. But it doesn't have to be a bad thing. He is a very strong character, very well portrayed, pretty deep, and believable. However, playing him was not a joyful ride - it wasn't a torture - but i would rather play his "friend" (not gonna give away any spoilers).

    The gameplay basically comes to this - look for clues, talk to suspects, next case. You don't even have to drive around the city, since there is an automatic get-to-the-place feature. From these two, clue-hunting is interesting during the first few cases, then - it becomes a monotone routine. As for the dialogue - see above. Thus, the game is very repetitive and one dimensional. Compare, for example with GTA - every mission was so different it was amazing. Why not do this here. I mean every case in L.A. Noire is pretty damn good, interesting, intense. The characters (suspects and partners) are so damn good. The voice overs are amazing, the facial mimicry is photo-realistic! And yet the monochrome gameplay ruins it all with a wave of a wand.

    Well, thanks to the story which kept me going, i finished the game in 30 hours.
    Can i recommend it?
    For $5, Yes. Not for more. And keep it mind - DRM.

    Overall, such a good chance was missed in this project. Ouch.    … Expand
  24. renogza
    Dec 27, 2015
    5
    Pretty much just a storytelling game. The extent to which a player actually effects the outcomes is fairly limited. Sure you can pin a murder on x when it was probably y, but... so what. You still slog through the story same as before. As far as graphics and gameplay complaints voiced by others, I did not experience any problems whatsoever. I ran the game on full graphics with minimalPretty much just a storytelling game. The extent to which a player actually effects the outcomes is fairly limited. Sure you can pin a murder on x when it was probably y, but... so what. You still slog through the story same as before. As far as graphics and gameplay complaints voiced by others, I did not experience any problems whatsoever. I ran the game on full graphics with minimal tweaks and did not experience any framerate or crash issues at all. The detail level was fairly impressive. This game will keep you busy for a day or two, but after that, you'll either be finished or bored, and it's replay value is non-existant.… Expand
  25. NShep53
    Sep 11, 2015
    7
    L.A. Noire was a very hyped game for years. With countless delays and rumors, you never knew what was happening with it. Finally Rockstar released it in 2011 to great critical acclaim. But it L.A. Noire actually good? You play as Cole Phelps, an up and coming police officer in 1940s LA. The city is made very nicely, but besides doing the main story missions, there isn't anything to do inL.A. Noire was a very hyped game for years. With countless delays and rumors, you never knew what was happening with it. Finally Rockstar released it in 2011 to great critical acclaim. But it L.A. Noire actually good? You play as Cole Phelps, an up and coming police officer in 1940s LA. The city is made very nicely, but besides doing the main story missions, there isn't anything to do in it. The motion capture actors are amazing in this game. While the graphics alone aren't amazing, the expressions on people's faces are something no game has done before or since L.A. Noire. Besides the standard GTA run and gunning, the gameplay consists of solving crime scenes with a ton of variety. You can actually mess up an investigation, which is cool. The main issue with this game is the asking questions/interrogation mechanics/gameplay. It is simply awful. You may choose to ask someone something from the options given and Phelps might say something completely out of left field. This really hurts the game many times. Plus the story overall tries to be L.A. Confidential, but ends up just cheaply copying off of it. It L.A. Noire a good game? All I can say is: it's okay.… Expand
  26. VidyaBum
    Jul 29, 2015
    5
    Lots of things to say on that game.

    -Graphics Shameless, crappy port. My computer is brand new and this game is 4 years old, and I still have choppiness issues when I'm playing with all options on Performance. On Quality options, I get a screen freeze of about 0.3 seconds every other second. You have to REALLY want to play the game on those conditions, but the worst is that Final    Lots of things to say on that game.

    -Graphics
    Shameless, crappy port. My computer is brand new and this game is 4 years old, and I still have choppiness issues when I'm playing with all options on Performance. On Quality options, I get a screen freeze of about 0.3 seconds every other second. You have to REALLY want to play the game on those conditions, but the worst is that Final Fantasy XIII came out two years before, looks much better and its port isn't exactly great, yet I can play it with almost no lag ever.

    -Sounds
    Sound department did its job, lots of jazz and 40s music, voice acting is usually absolutely top notch.

    -Gameplay(action)
    The city is HUGE. And I mean this in the worst way. So many incredibly long drives in streets with absolutely nothing to do! There is a fast travel system but it isn't the solution to boring driving, the solution is interesting driving! The mechanics are neither as realistic as GTA4 nor as fun as other GTAs, it's in the uncanny valley of not fun and not realistic.
    The shootouts are sort of alike, but the problem with it is fairly simple: it's too easy. 99% of my gunfights I win by aiming fast and dumping all my rounds.

    -Gameplay(investigation)
    The whole scouring everything to find clues gets tedious but it is a real cop's job so it's fine. The interrogations are something wholly different though. Choosing between Truth and Doubt/Lie is usually very easy, but many times the questions are very unclear and so are Phelps' sentences.
    Let's take this example:
    -Mrs, where was your husband last night?
    -He stayed at the bar till 11pm.
    And I know for a fact that the husband did due to another testimony. But if I say "Truth", I get a penalty, I was supposed to doubt.

    Doubt often has completely unpredictable results, it goes from "I think you know a little more than you pretend" to "How many more children have you raped?" and you never get told what Phelps will say(just a first sentence would do a lot).

    Lie is pretty straightforward but unlike Ace Attorney, you don't get your HP bar down, you get to lose and not ask again or present another piece of evidence. And like AA, sometimes several different pieces can lead to the same conclusion, yet the game will only accept one piece.

    So every time I interrogate, I spend more time asking myself what Truth, Doubt and Lie will do than I spend wondering if I'm being told the truth or not. It's aggravating since interrogations are the most important part of the game.

    -Characters
    I'd love to say that like other Rockstar games this is where it shines, but doesn't. It has all the diversity you could want and lots of characters alright, but diversity does not make quality. This is the part of the game where the comparison to Ace Attorney skewers LA Noire; I can remember every single case and about 90% of Ace Attorney characters just from seeing their faces.
    Here, it's full of interchangeable characters who aren't special enough to be remembered. Realism is fine, but then the excitement and memorabilia must come from something else. Which leads me to the two killer points:

    -Atmosphere
    Supposedly a Noir game, I think it misplaced its time period by about 15 years. The prohibition and great mafia rise were not the end of the 40s and more than that, I sincerely never felt like I was in the 50s except with the homicide desk boss who is a full-blown McCarthyst. Everybody else, down to the last person, could be put in a 2000s setting and they'd fit just fine.
    The problem of the big empty city is omnipresent. There's so much 40s to see, but nothing to do with it. no actions, no specific 40s feeling, nothing. It just doesn't have atmosphere. I don't feel in the 40s, ever, partly due to the characters, in much greater part because there is nothing specifically 40s that I can do.

    -Story
    To put it short, the story is as clunky as the gameplay. The Homicide story is the best example: Homicide is 6 cases, 5 are murders where you convict innocent people and the 6th is finding the real serial killer. And the game does a great job at keeping a bit of doubt as to whether there is a serial killer or not, but since it's repeated at every case that it might be the same killer, then you eventually just guess that it will be. And when the real killer-catching case shows up, here's how it goes:
    -Get sent bits of poems
    -Guess the location of the next bit of poem by pinpointing landmarks on your map
    -Go get the next bit
    -Rinse and repeat 7 times

    Very boring? Oh yes. Driving and driving and clunky minigames. But the worst is the end.
    At the 7th, you find him. Then you straight up shoot him.

    So after 5 cases of wondering whodakilla, you just have the guy lead you on by the nose like he's sick of you failing, and you finish him off like a dog in the catacombs.

    Extremely underwhelming.

    And the whole game is sort of like that. 40s but no atmosphere, large story but tiny payoff(didn't finish the whole game yet), lots of characters that are forgotten. Underwhelming.    … Expand
  27. rodericrinehart
    Jul 8, 2015
    7
    More adventure and mystery than GTA or Red Dead Redemption, mind you, but Rockstar just makes amazing games. There is still some driving (which thankfully can be skipped 90% of the time with sort-of fast travel) and some shooting, but it is mostly clue searching and question asking. The meat of the game is judging every answer you get with Truth, Doubt, or Lie - and if you select Lie, youMore adventure and mystery than GTA or Red Dead Redemption, mind you, but Rockstar just makes amazing games. There is still some driving (which thankfully can be skipped 90% of the time with sort-of fast travel) and some shooting, but it is mostly clue searching and question asking. The meat of the game is judging every answer you get with Truth, Doubt, or Lie - and if you select Lie, you have to present evidence you've found to prove it.

    It did get boring and I wish it was about 30% shorter or tightened up a bit. It also got a bit repetitive. The story was pretty good with some minor holes, but probably worth your play. It's a unique game.    … Expand
  28. zaninif
    Jun 6, 2015
    6
    The good: facial animations are great, game feels unique.
    The bad: game gets old quickly, it fails to fully engage the player, graphics look dated.
    Conclusion: it's a pity that the developers could not deliver an engaging game for such unique idea.
  29. spooky1
    Jul 12, 2014
    7
    They should have done it like The Walking Dead. So many people took this option and so many people took that one... "were not saying your right or wrong, but this is how you compared to everyone else"

    Instead its *4 options in* "Nope your wrong, haha, you failed.,. now what?" well... im gonna restart my **** game... Restarting your "**** game" does not = good gameplay... that's    They should have done it like The Walking Dead. So many people took this option and so many people took that one... "were not saying your right or wrong, but this is how you compared to everyone else"

    Instead its *4 options in* "Nope your wrong, haha, you failed.,. now what?"

    well... im gonna restart my **** game...

    Restarting your "**** game" does not = good gameplay... that's the problem I have with LA Noire...

    everything is good at the base.. just don't tell me I screwed up or imgonna want to do it again and not screw up.

    ... and seeing how "doing it again and not screwing up," isn't an option (nor should it be) im sitting here, a good portion of my experience, restarting the damn game.

    it becomes more irritating than fun....

    im about to post this on meta-critic and give it a 7

    "Great game, with one hiccup, that completely kills it"

    and i would change "Doubt" to "Question" as that's pretty much spot on, gameplay wise, and eliminates a ton of confusion, and failed attempts, vs "Doubt"

    i don't know about you, but if i think,even in the slightest, that someone is lying, i "Doubt" them... even if someone is telling the truth, but letting certain **** slide...

    "My aunt keeps a lot of children, and would never hurt a child, because shes feeds the watermelons in her back yard" im gonna have **** QUESTIONS... she may be telling the truth about her aunt, i dont "doubt it" I even have proof..

    she DOES INDEED keep a lot of chilren and does feed teh water melons in her back yard.. but i got **** questions.

    #1 "wtf does your aunts watermelons have to do with taking care of and not beating children?"

    this is a VERY well done start up, of what could be a great franchise, with certain little critical problems, that need to be addressed, before it makes it to "the big time"    … Expand
  30. ingreenblue
    May 1, 2014
    7
    An interesting concept. The interrogation gameplay is fun and exciting on your first playthrough and the storytelling is excellent. The city of L.A. is beautifully presented but somehow doesn't feel alive. Do not expect a well optimized port.
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Awards & Rankings

32
#32 Best PC Game of 2011
26
#26 Most Discussed PC Game of 2011
15
#15 Most Shared PC Game of 2011

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 28 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 28
  3. Negative: 0 out of 28
  1. PC Master (Greece)
    Feb 29, 2012
    90
    A unique adventure game that borrows many features from mystery and action games, incorporating them seamlessly in the narrative flow, thus creating a truly special game that not everyone will enjoy. And that's because it has its own character, defying contemporary 'fast food' games that are churned out today and because it's reminiscent of endeavors made in another era, where immersion of an ultimate single-player experience was the first and last goal of their creators.
    Read full review
  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 19, 2012
    90
    Ingenious game merges a classic adventure with sandbox action titles, resourcefully. Playability is not always perfect but overall impression is stunning. [Christmas 2011]
  3. Games Master UK
    Jan 12, 2012
    92
    The wannabe detective's definitive version to plump for. [Feb 2012, p.101]
See all critic reviews »