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. 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
  2. Fr0s7y
    Nov 18, 2011
    7
    Considering that this title was ported by Rockstar, I'm rather surprised at how well it was optimized for PC (in comparison to GTA4, that is). The game is thoroughly enjoyable, and the new facial animation technology is really quite incredible. My only real complaints are with gameplay, in that the game feels quite linear and the enormous city of Los Angeles feels pretty dead outside ofConsidering that this title was ported by Rockstar, I'm rather surprised at how well it was optimized for PC (in comparison to GTA4, that is). The game is thoroughly enjoyable, and the new facial animation technology is really quite incredible. My only real complaints are with gameplay, in that the game feels quite linear and the enormous city of Los Angeles feels pretty dead outside of whatever investigation you happen to be on. That said, I find this game to be fun and would recommend it to anyone interested in the adventure genre.… Expand
  3. darkballz_pl
    Sep 17, 2012
    7
    Actually this game could have been done better. Controls are pain the ass, especially in fight or other sequences. You can skip them, sometimes it's the only way to move forward. City is huge but kinda empty. However very good music and sounds are remainding noir classics. Lets just say this game is decent console port but nothing more.
  4. crackuh
    Mar 16, 2012
    7
    A very unique and original game in my opinion. Loved the 1940's LA setting. Driving is one of the highlights - controls feel very smooth. One of the few PC games I preferred a gamepad over mouse/kb. With over 20 cases in the Complete Edition the storyline started to drag in the middle, but picked up toward the end. Interrogations can be frustrating if you repeatedly guess wrong. FeelsA very unique and original game in my opinion. Loved the 1940's LA setting. Driving is one of the highlights - controls feel very smooth. One of the few PC games I preferred a gamepad over mouse/kb. With over 20 cases in the Complete Edition the storyline started to drag in the middle, but picked up toward the end. Interrogations can be frustrating if you repeatedly guess wrong. Feels like too much time is spent watching cut scenes. Overall a quality experience, recommended.… Expand
  5. 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
  6. StavrosDim
    Feb 15, 2013
    7
    This game does some things average,some others very nicely,but it is also bad in other things.
    The PC version is just a console port,so don't expect anything better. Having said that,the facial animations on this game are very good,and I wish more games had that kind of animation quality. But while faces are a leap ahead,I can't say the same about how the rest of the bodies animate.    This game does some things average,some others very nicely,but it is also bad in other things.
    The PC version is just a console port,so don't expect anything better. Having said that,the facial animations on this game are very good,and I wish more games had that kind of animation quality. But while faces are a leap ahead,I can't say the same about how the rest of the bodies animate. Animation quality isn't on the same level for the whole body and that makes it look awkward sometimes. Sound and music do their job. What is interesting in this game is its story that hooks you up,as it has all the mystery you would expect from a detective's game! While the game's world feel too much like GTA, and car driving and getting around the world is exactly like it is in GTA4,this game has unique gameplay which is nice. I'd wish more games made moves towards innovating gameplay like this game does.
    The game is better played on short sessions,like a mission each time you run it. It's because each mission feels like a different episode of a tv series. Playing the game in large sessions and many missions each time won't feel the same and might get somewhat repeatitive.
    Initially this game got me frustrated because it doesn't follow a standard installation procedure.
    Might take you some extra time to figure out how to make it work,but after that you will be able to enjoy this game. The game has some unnecessary freedom. It contains a whole city for you to roam around, in a size comparable to GTA's cities. The thing is that it doesn't have that much side-missions and things you can do as in GTA games,so there is really not a reason to explore,as the city is empty,and driving around becomes boring after a while,but thankfully there is a fast travel option.
    It's a game that does detective gameplay really good,but other than that nothing ground breaking.    … Expand
  7. TheBank
    Dec 28, 2011
    7
    First off, the game runs fine for me. I had a glitch off the bat when I got it through steam: all of the animations and actions involving facial animation were omitted until I restarted steam, and then the game updated. Just so you know the game was about 12 gigs, and then a 2 gig update to fix the problem I mentioned (if bandwidth is an issue, buy it in a store). There are a couple ofFirst off, the game runs fine for me. I had a glitch off the bat when I got it through steam: all of the animations and actions involving facial animation were omitted until I restarted steam, and then the game updated. Just so you know the game was about 12 gigs, and then a 2 gig update to fix the problem I mentioned (if bandwidth is an issue, buy it in a store). There are a couple of gripes I have with this game. I would like to play through scenes a little more specifically rather than doing every case over from the beginning to try and obtain a perfect score (the save and load features didn't seem that obvious). This is a good game, but if you're buying this based off of "I like GTA" then this might not be for you. While the game does have a GTA feel, it is not really a sandbox and they give you the option to let your partner drive you to locations for a reason (saving time, and causing city damage lowers your score). This is a game for people who like point and click adventures, mystery games, or puzzle games more than a game like GTA.… Expand
  8. 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
  9. kravenhart
    Nov 18, 2011
    7
    Very good and interesting game. But the fact of play the full scene again and again, and don't be able to manually save frustrate me a bit, bad player experience for me. I feel like Groundhog Day. And some random crashes of the full pc... bad optimized for PC like ALL the Rockstar's games
  10. ineffable
    Nov 19, 2011
    7
    So the top rated negative comment blathers about bad controls... I would like to know what the hell this guy is talking about. The controls are fine. Took me about 5 minutes to get used to them.

    Anyway, it may be a bit early for me to write a review, as I have not finished the game, but oh well. The game is good. Not great. The cases are interesting (as are the WWII sequences). The    So the top rated negative comment blathers about bad controls... I would like to know what the hell this guy is talking about. The controls are fine. Took me about 5 minutes to get used to them.

    Anyway, it may be a bit early for me to write a review, as I have not finished the game, but oh well. The game is good. Not great. The cases are interesting (as are the WWII sequences). The gameplay is fun, good mix of detective work and violence (maybe a bit light on the violence for certain tastes). All in all, worth playing, even though I know it will have no replay value whatsoever.    … Expand
  11. JimCorbett
    Apr 21, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. If this game wasn't so unique it would have fared far worse than a 7/10. The crime solving and scouring for clues and reading peoples face expressions are all just so damn fun to do and you get a real sense of accomplishment when you correctly call someone out who was lying. The groundbreaking technology used for the facial expressions is amazing, unfortunately not every character in the game has it so the animations for those characters looks really bad when they are side-by-side with one that does. Also, sometimes people will do the exact same thing when they tell the truth and when they lie, making telling the difference quite difficult. The game also has numerous "noobie friendly" features such as intuition points that can show you locations of clues or tell you whether someone is lying. If you fail a chase sequence or shootout a few times in a row you will get the option to skip it and continue on with the crime solving.

    Unfortunately this game has a large amount of bugs and flaws. I have only played the PC version so I am not sure if some of these are specific to the PC version or not. The sound can glitch during some cutscenes. I had the sound of my machinegun firing throughout an entire cutscene a few times and then it continued after as well, forcing me to quit the game and restart. The actors use modern lingo a few times such as "legit" and that really bothered me as the voice acting was suberb and lingo from the 40's was prevalent throughout. Sometimes cars will just disappear off the screen. THis one was quite common and I found cars just vanishing from my screen as I approached an intersection. The controls are floaty and when you run you feel like you are that fat cop who eats donuts all day instead of an agile ex-marine. The combat and cover system is bad. I would commonly fund myself unable to move through my cover, leave cover or even go into it. You can still get shot while behind cover. Aiming isn't fluid and you will often find your crosshair skipping along. I can see why the xbox version had aim assist as it is just hard to do manually. The graphics on weapons isn't very good, but the effects of the guns shooting and the recoil of them is very well done.

    There are a lot of collectible that are made easy to find by the Rockstar Social Club which lists all of your accomplishments in detail on their site. The story was great and the ending was great as well (But it seems some people didn't feel this way) The big twist that came near the end of the game was seemingly out of nowhere, i'm not really sure why the character did that but what came after that point was a more sensible, easier to follow story that i really enjoyed. The biggest problem i had, and this was prevalent on all version of the game, is that the FPS lags a ton. THis is very noticeable during driving sessions as your vehicle will skip forward. Luckily you can fast travel anywhere in the world which is great. Overall, the uniqueness of this game makes it well worth a look, but there are many flaws to bring it down. Do careful research before purchasing.    … Expand
  12. qwasm
    Nov 19, 2011
    7
    Good adventure game with great characters, graphics, and atmosphere. The faces in the game are simply amazing. I have never seen a game yet with this detailed facial animations and expressions. I also really love the setting: a noire story set in the late 40's.

    However it's far from perfect, the controls are bad and the game is too short.
  13. theadam
    Apr 22, 2012
    7
    Boooring. I love noire movies. But those convey atmosphere and an interesting plot. The L.A. city looked very convincing, but the atmosphere was barely there. There was something missing. In the retrospective I cannot imagine how this could have worked in a sem sandbox world. The "noirness" of the noir movies comes from conersations, camera work, rightly cued music. Many of those elementsBoooring. I love noire movies. But those convey atmosphere and an interesting plot. The L.A. city looked very convincing, but the atmosphere was barely there. There was something missing. In the retrospective I cannot imagine how this could have worked in a sem sandbox world. The "noirness" of the noir movies comes from conersations, camera work, rightly cued music. Many of those elements cannot take palce when you are running around etc.… Expand
  14. nonaste
    Apr 6, 2013
    7
    It was an interesting game. Good graphics, story, voice acting, music score. Brings back a lot of memories when I was a little kid. Great attention to detail of that time period. The pc controls are a little bid clunky. I hated the ending but hell, I'm a sap for happy endings. Oh well.
  15. calla
    Dec 30, 2011
    7
    L.A. Noire is a good game, but it's far from perfect. The story is great, the facial animations are amazing, but the controls are a bit off. I played the PC version and it took a while to get used to. The controls aren't terrible, but I'm guessing the game is better on a console (bad port?) or with an actual controller. This game is definitely not for everyone. It requires a lot ofL.A. Noire is a good game, but it's far from perfect. The story is great, the facial animations are amazing, but the controls are a bit off. I played the PC version and it took a while to get used to. The controls aren't terrible, but I'm guessing the game is better on a console (bad port?) or with an actual controller. This game is definitely not for everyone. It requires a lot of patience and if you're the type of person who just wants to kill everything in sight and be done with it, this game is not for you. TL;DR ver. Rent. It's a good game, it just doesn't have a lot of replay value. I've been waiting a while for this to be released on PC and while it's not the best game I've played in a while, it's still worth checking out.… Expand
  16. Dm2k12
    Jan 11, 2012
    7
    I first played this on a mates ps3 so when it came to I got it on the first day this comes with all the extra add on stuff that ps3/xbox360 owners had to pay extra for on pc the only fault is the controls They will make you mad at first but I got used to them the fight controls are stupid this is worth a try
  17. PeyoteCoyote
    Jan 24, 2012
    7
    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
  18. indyogb
    Feb 22, 2012
    7
    This is a good game. Not as much freedom as the GTA series, but the ambiance of 1940's L.A. is great. The game doesn't have much replay-ability due to the aforementioned lack of freedom. You kind of have to go from one point to the next (even though you can choose to answer calls while en route). My machine is relatively modest, but tends to play most new games at medium settings, butThis is a good game. Not as much freedom as the GTA series, but the ambiance of 1940's L.A. is great. The game doesn't have much replay-ability due to the aforementioned lack of freedom. You kind of have to go from one point to the next (even though you can choose to answer calls while en route). My machine is relatively modest, but tends to play most new games at medium settings, but this one doesn't run smoothly even on the lowest settings. It appears to be a rather poor port from the consoles (shock). Despite this, the game is pretty good. I would especially say it is worth a try especially if you can get it at less than full price.… Expand
  19. HuckleberryPie
    Mar 13, 2012
    7
    Yet another brilliant port from Rockstar. *sarcasm* In all seriousness, I guess this is what happens when you focus more on the consoles than on all platforms, or maybe they're just too plain incompetent, as the only good port I saw from R* was the PC version of Vice City. And it didn't help that they used a clunky DRM system that reminds me of some draconian anti-cheat system from Korea.Yet another brilliant port from Rockstar. *sarcasm* In all seriousness, I guess this is what happens when you focus more on the consoles than on all platforms, or maybe they're just too plain incompetent, as the only good port I saw from R* was the PC version of Vice City. And it didn't help that they used a clunky DRM system that reminds me of some draconian anti-cheat system from Korea. The storyline and overall concept is brilliant though, plus the addition of licensed cars and a (mostly) accurate depiction of downtown Los Angeles adds to the charm.… Expand
  20. caralho
    Dec 4, 2012
    7
    I bought this game on steam during the black friday week for only 5 bucks. For the price paid, it was worth every penny. All in all, the story is great, the characters are enjoyable, the ending could have been definitely better. With the exception of shooting and driving, the controls are often awkward, remembering it is a console port. The graphics are great. The city is big, but theI bought this game on steam during the black friday week for only 5 bucks. For the price paid, it was worth every penny. All in all, the story is great, the characters are enjoyable, the ending could have been definitely better. With the exception of shooting and driving, the controls are often awkward, remembering it is a console port. The graphics are great. The city is big, but the interaction with it is limited to what pertains to the cases you are working on. The investigation is good, the questioning and intuition system is a great addition. For most people, it is a one play through game. For completionists, they will probably have a second play through. With the lack of alternate endings, I doubt I will play it over again.… Expand
  21. jim109109
    Jul 19, 2012
    7
    The game requires much more computer power than its graphics call for; the game was just badly ported to the PC with little thought about performance. Games like Just Cause 2 have better graphics, more textures and more amazing visuals with half that lag. What helped my performance was to run the game in single processor mode; for some reason, it ran faster since then. Now: about the gameThe game requires much more computer power than its graphics call for; the game was just badly ported to the PC with little thought about performance. Games like Just Cause 2 have better graphics, more textures and more amazing visuals with half that lag. What helped my performance was to run the game in single processor mode; for some reason, it ran faster since then. Now: about the game itself. It's cinematically a masterpiece, it feels like you're watching real actors - which you are! The story is the only reason to play this game, however, as the gameplay is just an excuse for progressing through the story and is nothing amazing. The funnest part of the gameplay is to watch the interviewed characters and decide if they are lying or not by their facial expressions, and to select the evidence that counters their claims. Although the game is not nearly challenging enough, or even challenging for a detective game, I found it satisfying to detect when the subjects were lying for the sheer satisfaction of being right. Otherwise, there is no real penalty apart from lengthened missions. I'd say this game is on par with games like bioshock, so I'm rating it a 7, for its unmatched acting, great story and good integration of detective work, however with some issues like being a laggy PC port, lacking challenge and having a boring gameplay if you strip away the story elements.… Expand
  22. shaunc356
    Sep 14, 2012
    7
    The story was enjoyable however I felt the gameplay became too repetitive and slow. The city was also too big and boring to drive around. The game for me only got good towards the end.
  23. kanpot2002
    Oct 1, 2013
    7
    The good
    - very high quality
    - the best animation - the best voice and sound The bad - not fun as a game - way too hard without walkthroughs - way too boring with walkthroughs This one has a very good quality. They produce the game that look much like a real world. The way people speak, act, and their faces are too real. But somehow it failed as a fun game. There is not much    The good
    - very high quality
    - the best animation
    - the best voice and sound

    The bad
    - not fun as a game
    - way too hard without walkthroughs
    - way too boring with walkthroughs

    This one has a very good quality. They produce the game that look much like a real world. The way people speak, act, and their faces are too real.

    But somehow it failed as a fun game. There is not much fun in it. The detective part is just too hard, especially for non-native English speaker.

    That's it. This game prove that even though how great your graphics are, it doesn't mean it will be a great game.    … Expand
  24. Toffenuff
    Jul 14, 2013
    7
    Bought this game because it was supposed to be a great one. Turns out it's not great, but not bad either. I personally found parts of it to be tedious, boring, and slow for my tastes. But there were fun, interesting, and exciting elements to it as well.

    Plot is interesting enough as it unfolds and I did want to find out what was going to happen next every time something I finished a    Bought this game because it was supposed to be a great one. Turns out it's not great, but not bad either. I personally found parts of it to be tedious, boring, and slow for my tastes. But there were fun, interesting, and exciting elements to it as well.

    Plot is interesting enough as it unfolds and I did want to find out what was going to happen next every time something I finished a part of a case or even a whole case itself. There is a steady progression in the overall story and it's admittedly exciting to see it all come together by the end.

    Voice acting is superb, however it seems like every interrogation is a shouting match and I didn't find that believable in some instances. There's A LOT of talking in this game so the high quality voice acting is of course expected. Sounds and music fit the era and add to the atmosphere.

    Content and gameplay are good. There's a lot of tailing/sneaking, car chasing, perp chasing, shoot-outs, and of course various cases to solve. Crime scene investigations are cool as you get to test out your CSI skills. Interviewing is particularly satisfying because you have to decide whether what they are saying is true, doubtful, or an outright lie and you can tell by their facial expressions (some are easier to read than others).

    Graphically decent, with particularly stellar work on facial graphics and character models in general they looked very life-like. Other than that though, the LA that they've created doesn't look anything spectacular given how other games look.

    I did not have any trouble running this on highest settings on my system, unlike some people apparently. 3GHz Quad Core i5, 8gb RAM, Radeon 7950 3gb.    … Expand
  25. 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.
  26. Adresadini
    Apr 12, 2014
    7
    This game looks coo, at the start,ut after getting halfway trough the game,it's pretty boring.
    You got the same things over and over again : Investigate, Interrogate, Go from place to place, On foot chase, Car chase and maybe a shooting sometimes, then some last interrogation.
    I know that looking at people faces to see if they are lying is interesting, but after sometime it gets boring.
    7/10
  27. 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
  28. mitzle
    Mar 22, 2014
    7
    I don't know if I am just too incompetent to play this game right or if it is the game itself that manages to demoralize me every step of the way. This game is about interrogation and I think it's a great idea but sometimes I get the feeling that you can't really predict anything Detective Phelps is gonna say nor do I know if there is anything to back up doubts or accusations. This feelsI don't know if I am just too incompetent to play this game right or if it is the game itself that manages to demoralize me every step of the way. This game is about interrogation and I think it's a great idea but sometimes I get the feeling that you can't really predict anything Detective Phelps is gonna say nor do I know if there is anything to back up doubts or accusations. This feels kinda blurry to me and crashes the fun a bit because you're not being rewarded. And even if you get 90% of the questions in a case right the tall grump (your boss) is gonna diminish your police work - that sucks at best!
    Okay, away from that main point to game mechanics:
    Walking and driving feels dull and clumpy. Your mouse won't respond the way you'd expect. Thanks for porting the game so badly... The shooting sequences should've either been taken out of the game or done better - those are really boring to be honest. Run. Duck. Wait for the others to reload. Quick shooting session. Done. Always the same. I don't even want to get started on certain bugs as auto climbing failing to work, your keyboard/mouse input is just being ignored by the game and so on...
    Conclusive it is a decent game with a very neat idea and overall awesome facial expressions that unfortunately WON'T give you any hint what people are up to... sad but true. So it's either me and my minimalized mind for crime or really the game. That's why 7/10    … Expand
  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. 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
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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.
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  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]
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