L.A. Noire

 Xbox 360
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 998 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 717 out of 998
  2. Mixed: 207 out of 998
  3. Negative: 74 out of 998
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  1. Yojimbo2015
    Jun 26, 2023
    8
    On the surface a 1940's version of GTA, but the meat of the game is actually in the investigations where you have to meticulously examine crime scenes for clues and interrogate suspects. The most realistic characters yet with genuine body language and facial expressions make for an atmospheric detective story with the odd hot pursuit and shoot out to break things up a bit. Very nicely doneOn the surface a 1940's version of GTA, but the meat of the game is actually in the investigations where you have to meticulously examine crime scenes for clues and interrogate suspects. The most realistic characters yet with genuine body language and facial expressions make for an atmospheric detective story with the odd hot pursuit and shoot out to break things up a bit. Very nicely done and different enough from the GTA formula to feel like quite an original game.… Expand
  2. george_bondo
    May 9, 2023
    9
    my favorite rockstar game after red dead redemption 2, i would like to continue this concept on a new generation more than gta 6, but i think everyone has heard about the game
  3. reiskorn
    Jan 8, 2023
    10
    This game is a clear must-play for the Xbox 360. No other game for this console has this good graphics thanks to the MotionScan technique utilizing 32 high-definition cameras to capture every single one of the over 400 actors individually. The detective story is also very captivating. 10/10
  4. Jattaman
    Sep 25, 2022
    8
    Gioco molto bello, una sorta di GTA in ambiente vintage.
    Ottima grafica e giocabilità, longevo e trama interessante.
  5. Hiccup3319
    Aug 21, 2022
    10
    A masterpiece. This is not you're regular game but it's to tell a story. A story that the past will always come back and haunt you. This game displays that incredidably and how Cole and other Characters change throughout the Story.
  6. JJ2FAS4U
    Dec 28, 2021
    8
    Atmosphere: 8
    Enjoyment: 8
    Gameplay: 6
    Graphics: 9
    Music: 7
    Story: 8
    Total: 7.67
  7. Xbluannax
    Nov 20, 2021
    9
    Amazing played this on 360 when it first came out but would also like to experience gameplay with the remastered version and play the DLCs which I never did.
  8. CloudStrife05
    Aug 21, 2021
    9
    I love how people try to compare this game to the technology and knowledge law enforcement has today. Morons. Anyways, this game is great. I love how you have to figure out if the suspect you are investigating is telling the truth or not. If you piss him/her off then they wont say **** Graphically amazing, simple controls. How cops had to be back in the 1950's.
  9. Mirowave
    Aug 11, 2021
    10
    A great Game on Xbox 360 and one of the best Rockstar Games. I think this is an Masterpiece.
  10. DonCorl3on32003
    Dec 13, 2020
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. L.A Noire
    Un gran juego en Cuanto ambientación se refiere,realmente se sientes en la época de la posguerra en la soleada y bella California. Describe perfectamente la sociedad y los problemas de esos tiempos. Grandes controles a excepcion para correr. Muy buenos gráficos lo único malo que el final no estuvo muy bien planteado pero no estoy en desacuerdo en que haya perecido    … Expand
  11. BoogieRichie
    Jul 16, 2020
    9
    La historia es increíblemente genial, los personajes se sienten realalidad, la ambientación de la ciudad de los angeles en los años 40's es bellísima junto un soundtrack al puro jazz en un estilo Noir. El guión es está de calidad de una película con profundidad y realismo. Y los gestos de los personajes al hablar e interactuar con el entorno superan a videojuegos del mismo 2020. TotalmenteLa historia es increíblemente genial, los personajes se sienten realalidad, la ambientación de la ciudad de los angeles en los años 40's es bellísima junto un soundtrack al puro jazz en un estilo Noir. El guión es está de calidad de una película con profundidad y realismo. Y los gestos de los personajes al hablar e interactuar con el entorno superan a videojuegos del mismo 2020. Totalmente recomendado para alguien que disfrute la década de los 40's y no necesariamente para alguien que busque violencia y destrucción como es el caso de la mayoría de juegos de Rockstar.… Expand
  12. Dave_F
    Mar 13, 2020
    10
    Still one of my favourite games that rewards patience and an enquiring mind
  13. xLeTudex
    Nov 6, 2019
    8
    I've just completed this game, and it is exceptional. The look of this game is amazing, beautiful graphics and wonderful facial animations, most of all though i like the clever use of lighting in this game, it really feels like a 'noir' inspired game. The attention to detail is amazing and every part of post WWII LA is perfectly recreated. The story is excellent and the twist at the endI've just completed this game, and it is exceptional. The look of this game is amazing, beautiful graphics and wonderful facial animations, most of all though i like the clever use of lighting in this game, it really feels like a 'noir' inspired game. The attention to detail is amazing and every part of post WWII LA is perfectly recreated. The story is excellent and the twist at the end certainly shocked me. Gameplay is good, but is pretty much identical to GTA 4, which is not a bad thing. The only couple of points that im disappointed with are, firstly the driving, which could use a lot of tweaking. It took me quite a while to get use to, so i mainly just let my partner drive, and also the outcome of your own personal decisions - whatever option use choose to take, the outcome is the same each time. You'll understand me when you play this game. It's not enough of an issue though to stop me giving this a 8. Brilliant game..… Expand
  14. tk_sb
    Oct 28, 2019
    10
    Masterpiece! Story, characters, music, atmosphere, gameplay - everything is amazing.
  15. Rahsmoove
    Dec 17, 2018
    8
    This game feels nearly like a movie. You're this detective, Cole Phelps of whom was formly in world war against Japan. It sets out in the 40's, in LA and crime is at it's all time high. This isn't a GTA clone in no way, and if you're knocking it because of that you are an idiot. So basically the game requires you to pay attention to detail, and look for clues. At most points, you'll haveThis game feels nearly like a movie. You're this detective, Cole Phelps of whom was formly in world war against Japan. It sets out in the 40's, in LA and crime is at it's all time high. This isn't a GTA clone in no way, and if you're knocking it because of that you are an idiot. So basically the game requires you to pay attention to detail, and look for clues. At most points, you'll have to tell if a persons Lying, telling the truth, or holding out on you. You have to check dead bodies too. You will be able to tell do rockstar using actual spot on facial animations. Tha map feels so hugh, even though there's not much to in the world you will be traveling for minutes. Due to it having so many blocks. You an reply to street crimes. (Which do get very repetitive) Well you make you're way through 5 ranks abd you get different partners:

    Patrol (This is sort of like a totourial) Partner Ralph Dunn
    Traffic (You deal with car accident crimes) Partner Stefan Bekowsky
    Homicide ( Dealing with murder crimes) Partner Rusty Galloway
    Vice (Dealing with drug crimes) Partner Roy Earl
    Arson (Dealing with fire crimes) Partner Hershel.
    All partners act different, my favorite partner was Rusty. My least favorite was Roy. He's such a racist and a sexist.
    My favorites were Vice and Homicide. Searching for shipments, or trying murders were really interesting. As you progress through the game you'll become famous. NPC will say "Hey, you're the dectective in the paper."
    The voice acting is spot on.
    The shooting and the car physics were great.

    Now let's talk about why I didn't give LA Noire a 10 or 9. there are quite a few cons too it.

    1. It doesn't feel like an open world game. This game has a big and dense map, however there's nothing to do in it. I know this isn't GTA, but that still doesn't change the fact that there should be more content. It

    2. The Graphics. the facial animations were good, but the graphics weren't all top notch in the vegatation areas. In some areas it looked less detailed than RDR

    3. It's very repetitive. Mostly every mission's the same, and that get's boring.

    But other than that it's a great game.    … Expand
  16. canceRnya
    Oct 29, 2018
    8
    Великолепная игра, когда сможэшь побыть дэтэктивом, так еще от таких парней как Рокстар, при этом расследую известные и не очень дела, типа как the Black Dahlia? Правда концовку совсем не понел.
  17. TatsMcGee
    Sep 8, 2018
    6
    This is a game that I never sat down and played on PlayStation 3 but I was always intrigued by the game mechanics. It seemed interesting and the fact that the game is a crime-solving detective game, it sounds like something that would be right up my alley. The truth is, it’s an okay game.

    In case you didn’t figure it out by the name but its a Crime-Solving Noire game based in 1940’s Los    This is a game that I never sat down and played on PlayStation 3 but I was always intrigued by the game mechanics. It seemed interesting and the fact that the game is a crime-solving detective game, it sounds like something that would be right up my alley. The truth is, it’s an okay game.

    In case you didn’t figure it out by the name but its a Crime-Solving Noire game based in 1940’s Los Angeles. You play as a Detective who is considered a War Hero from World War II. Cole is his name he’s fresh on the force and he’s motivated to move up the rank.

    The games main gimmick is when you’re interviewing NPC’s or Non-Playable Characters the characters have impressive facial animations for the Xbox 360 game. You then have to read their facial animation and presume if they’re lying, if they’re telling the truth or if there is doubt. Maybe it’s just me but I had a hard time distinguishing between the three.

    This is a game going into it that I had very high hopes for but the more I played it, the more I realized the more I realized that I don’t know about the game. I can’t tell if its a game that didn’t age well or if its a game that wasn’t great, to begin with. I think if I played this game in 2011 I would have a similar view of the game. Its an average game with an interesting gimmick and a story that doesn’t fully come together. If you haven’t played this game, I personally wouldn’t bother.    … Expand
  18. velikaplana
    Jul 7, 2018
    9
    For all of its attention to detail, L.A. Noire hits the occasional false note. For instance, the way people you pass on the street constantly comment loudly to nobody in particular about having seen you in the papers or indicate that you could use a bath is awkward, and it sticks out like a sore thumb in a world that tries so hard to be believable. But this is a minor nitpick with a gameFor all of its attention to detail, L.A. Noire hits the occasional false note. For instance, the way people you pass on the street constantly comment loudly to nobody in particular about having seen you in the papers or indicate that you could use a bath is awkward, and it sticks out like a sore thumb in a world that tries so hard to be believable. But this is a minor nitpick with a game that gets under your skin the way few games do. L.A. Noire's length can vary significantly, depending on how many street crimes you respond to and how much of your own driving you do, but in any case, the 21 story cases make for a complete and satisfying experience. You come into contact with the seamy side of the movie industry and with major players in the gambling racket; you meet working stiffs and powerful businessmen; you encounter low-ranking mob thugs and Mickey Cohen, one of the most powerful gangsters in Los Angeles at the time. L.A. Noire is a unique game with a terrific sense of period atmosphere, absorbing investigation mechanics, and a haunting tale with plenty of moments that would be right at home in a classic film noir. Those smoky nights spent listening to jazz at the Blue Room, and the price you paid for them, will stay with you long after you've retired your badge and gun.… Expand
  19. joao1198pedro
    May 16, 2018
    9
    Although is not as good as other rockstar games ,l.a. noire is destined to be a cult game, it's narrative and it's climate is amazing and the graphics still looks good today.
  20. karelpica99
    Dec 21, 2017
    10
    Anyone who says this is a bad game is a little girl. This game has the graphics, characters, storyline, everything is there. the storyline is very intence with cases that will keep you guessing for the whole game it also has a back story (srry no spoilers) I kust really loved this game i dont no what to say.
  21. Jack97
    Sep 9, 2017
    9
    L.A Noire is an amazing creation. Team Bondi have made a stylish, thrilling and immersive game that engages you with the story and has players bringing out the LAPD detective in them. It is both challenging and enjoyable and a must play for gamers everywhere.
  22. Barnes1987
    Mar 28, 2017
    7
    A decent game that showed a lot of potential before launch. When it did launch things didn't quite go to plan though. The game can get real boring real fast but is still worth a play through.
  23. MiguelNeto
    Dec 30, 2016
    9
    diferente dos outros da produtora, agora voce controla um policial que vira detetive depois, tem ótimos momentos, mesmo nao sendo como GTA, onde voce mata todo mundo e faz muitas zoeiras, é um ótimo jogo, os personagens tem expressoes faciais impressionante, parece gente de verdade, tem momentos dificeis, e uma belo visual da cidade, mesmo nao sendo o melhor game da Rockstar, entraria nodiferente dos outros da produtora, agora voce controla um policial que vira detetive depois, tem ótimos momentos, mesmo nao sendo como GTA, onde voce mata todo mundo e faz muitas zoeiras, é um ótimo jogo, os personagens tem expressoes faciais impressionante, parece gente de verdade, tem momentos dificeis, e uma belo visual da cidade, mesmo nao sendo o melhor game da Rockstar, entraria no meu top 5. Nota 9.2… Expand
  24. InkstaindWretch
    Jan 6, 2016
    3
    I wanted to enjoy this game. I really, really did. I absolutely love film noir flicks and hard-boiled detective novels, so a game inspired by them was right up my alley, I thought. Play a tough cop in post-World War II Los Angeles solving mysteries? Sign me up! But dear god was this game frustrating to play. Eventually I just had to give it up.

    The central mechanic in solving mysteries    I wanted to enjoy this game. I really, really did. I absolutely love film noir flicks and hard-boiled detective novels, so a game inspired by them was right up my alley, I thought. Play a tough cop in post-World War II Los Angeles solving mysteries? Sign me up! But dear god was this game frustrating to play. Eventually I just had to give it up.

    The central mechanic in solving mysteries -- a mini-game of reading non-player characters' reactions during interviews and interrogations to determine if they are lying -- just doesn't work. The game's supposedly innovative animation just cannot mimic a real-life person's face accurately enough to make this possible and so trying to "read" the animations is endlessly frustrating.

    Similarly, the mechanic to find "clues" -- making the controller vibrate when the player gets close to them -- is actually less realistic than the usual video game method of highlighting objects the player can interact with so they stand out from the backgrounds. At least then you do have to pay attention and look around.

    Couple all that with the clunkiest, least intuitive driving system I have ever played and the game's insistence that you continually use it and you have a perfect recipe for aggravation, not enjoyment. It really undermines the immersiveness too. It's hard to view the game's protagonist as the stalwart law enforcement officer the designers want you to see him as when you cannot travel anywhere without him repeatedly smashing into other cars or running over pedestrians.

    It's a shame too because the designers clearly put a lot of work into re-creating the L.A. of the 1940s and genuinely tried to create something new and unique that would stretch the boundaries for future video games. But it just doesn't work.    … Expand
  25. Rem
    Oct 8, 2015
    7
    L.A. Noire, for its time, was a technical marvel, impressing the gaming community with its facial scan technology and almost uncanny recreation of the corrupt 1950s Los Angeles. Backing up its gameplay was the slew of detective work playing as Detective Cole Phelps, an incredibly flawed yet nuanced character that you spend your time doing interrogations, linking clues, and chasing/shootingL.A. Noire, for its time, was a technical marvel, impressing the gaming community with its facial scan technology and almost uncanny recreation of the corrupt 1950s Los Angeles. Backing up its gameplay was the slew of detective work playing as Detective Cole Phelps, an incredibly flawed yet nuanced character that you spend your time doing interrogations, linking clues, and chasing/shooting perps. Through almost 20 cases, you perform these tasks in tandem, which over the course of several cases is refreshing, but eventually loses steam towards the end over how monotonous it can be. The real treat lies in the immersion of the city, where every single detail is succinct down to the last hairbrush and the music is on point with 50s classics. Advertisements hint at the corruption in the city and the cars are incredibly faithful to the time. Another sticking point would have to be the script in which it evokes the true noir that many games fail to emulate what LA Noire delivers in spades. Of course this is also lent by the incredibly lifelike facial animations which in turn is not voice acting, but acting in a technical sense. While there exists an open world, it's devoid of anything to do for the most part aside from optional police missions and even then those are brief. For a game so bent in immersing you, LA Noire teases you with much but gives you little and sets you on a straight path towards its narrative conclusion, to which is kind of disappointing. Nonetheless, nobody can deny the amount of work went into this landmark achievement of technical and artistic design that is the corrupt city of Los Angeles.… Expand
  26. MCK123
    Jul 27, 2015
    9
    [LA Noire Review]

    LA Noire is a truly impressive videogame, with a gripping storyline and some of the best tech on the last gen. Writing: The storyline is a great one, but it's not very smooth; It's badly paced at some parts, but this is expectable and acceptable do to the fact the game is more than twenty hours long. Anyway, the story is a hard-boiled noir story, and a good one at    [LA Noire Review]

    LA Noire is a truly impressive videogame, with a gripping storyline and some of the best tech on the last gen.

    Writing: The storyline is a great one, but it's not very smooth; It's badly paced at some parts, but this is expectable and acceptable do to the fact the game is more than twenty hours long. Anyway, the story is a hard-boiled noir story, and a good one at that. It follows the career Of Cole Phelps (expertly played by Aron S.) a determined but overconfident cop rising the ranks. His story gets more gripping and interesting as the game delves deeper into his personal life. It's very captivating and emotional by the end, and worthy of the kind of films it's based on. The side characters are also very well written, especially Cole's old friends and partners. They all have great Kelso and ? Being a few of my favorites. Also this game benefits from not having many combat scenes. So many games end up with the cutscenes and gameplay feeling very separate and different. Your character will kill hundreds of highly armed enemies in one mission, and in the next cutscene it's treated like a small run-in with some hoodlums. But LA Noire is mostly investigation and interrogation, keeping you immersed in the story. It has one of the best stories in videgame history.

    Story: 10/10
    Characters: 9/10
    Overall Writing: 19/20

    Sound And Acting: The acting is some of the best in gaming. The actors have atmosphere and emotion. The tech helps Team Bondi capture the performances better than anybody had before. The music in the game is incredible. The score is rousing and exciting. It makes the game feel so much more like a classic noire film. The music is used to signify different events (each type of event has a little theme song, there's one for a gunfight, evidence search, ect.) is clever. The sound effects are also pretty good, but not as big a deal as in many games, as the game doesn't really need a huge variety of sounds. But the sounds that are there, really just a few gunshots, car sounds, and some footsteps, are well done.

    FX: 8/10
    Acting: 10/10
    Overall Sound: 18/10

    Animations And Physics: Most of the animations are superb the characters look incredibly realistic while climbing ladders and stairs, and while walking around. The facial animations are also great. All of the emotion on the actors face's is captured. The wrinkles and stubble are clearly visible. The only weaker point of the animation are death animations. They aren't horrible but are pretty stiff still. So in all the animations are some of the best of the last gen. When I went into the game I knew it was very story focused so I didn't expect anything great from the physics. I was pleasantly surprised. The cars crash and handle realistically, and there are plenty of physics objects to run into. There is also a soft body deformation system for the cars, making every crash realistic and unique. The ragdoll physics are also not to bad, but nothing like that of other games Rockstar had been involved in.

    Physics: 6
    Animations: 9
    Overall Animations/Physics: 15

    Environment: The atmosphere is top notch. Everything from the clothing to the interior design feel perfectly at home with the noire story. Everybody feels like someone from a 40s movie. The open world is also pretty awesome. It's one of the most convincing open world I've seen. The world is modeled after a huge amount of photographs of 1940s which is quite impressive. There are tons of 40s style ads, vintage storefronts, and tons of cool old cars. The game world also has a remarkable amount of enterable buildings for a decent size game, one of the largest amounts ever. Sadly there aren't any side activities that involve interacting with the city other than some cool but short lived squad calls you get while driving around. These end up with you subduing some criminals. The only activities are collecting trinkets throughout the city, sadly you can't go to bars, watch TV, or play some mini-games like in many other open world games. The controls are not very good. First I'd like to add that picking up and manipulating objects is surprisingly smooth. But other movements are not as coordinated. Sprinting is quite hard to control, you'll end up running into doorways and accidentally jumping over things (there's no jump button, so climbing and jumping is automatically activated when you sprint near a scale-able object). This is also because the camera hard to control and sometimes sluggish. The shooting isn't too bad, but it's not very precise. The interrogation and investigation scenes are the highlight of gameplay though. There's no other game with anything quite like them. You must judge if victims are lying or not and search through houses for evidence like an actual detective, both of which were very interesting and well functioning mechanics. The car handling on the other way is quite good. You can pull of all sorts of cool jumps and tricks once you get used to the handling. In all the gameplay was a bit repetitive and flawed, but unique enough to win me over.

    Atmosphere: 5/5
    Entertainment: 3/5
    Environment Design: 4/5
    Gameplay/Controls: 3/5
    Overall Gameplay: 15/20

    Graphics And Performance: Visually the game looks very good in both black and white and color. The black and white mode looks a little under tested as it impair you from seeing how injured your character is. Other than that, the tone of the black and white filter gives the game a distinct noire style. The color mode is very high contrast with a large color scope, making the whole game look like a vintage movie. Textures have a decent resolution, but are used in place of three dimensional objects far to often. The lighting and shadow effects are also some of the best I've seen on a last gen game. Small details of objects are actually visible on the shadows, but with closer examination shadows are very grainy on the 360 version, but I had to cut it some slack because the game was originally developed exclusively for PS3. The frame rate is also pretty steady, and I didn't see to many glitches.

    Visuals: 4/5
    Lighting: 4/5
    Resolution: 5/5
    Processing: 4/5
    Overal Graphics: 17/20

    LA Noire is a compelling and unique experience that I highly recommend to anyone who likes slower games.
    [94/100- Amazing]    … Expand
  27. sems1193
    Jan 29, 2015
    9
    It’s really hard to think of a game that has done something similar to L.A. Noire. It’s not just the fact that the player has at his/her hand the availability of a 1940s Los Angeles sandbox, but the fact that it’s never been this intriguing to play as a detective and well enough love it.

    Set in 1947, the player plays as Cole Phelps, a former war hero who rises and shines through the    It’s really hard to think of a game that has done something similar to L.A. Noire. It’s not just the fact that the player has at his/her hand the availability of a 1940s Los Angeles sandbox, but the fact that it’s never been this intriguing to play as a detective and well enough love it.

    Set in 1947, the player plays as Cole Phelps, a former war hero who rises and shines through the ranks of the LAPD. As a detective, Phelps will take charge of several exciting cases, each revealing new grounds to the overall plot, only to find that his past will play quite the role in this story, and the line that divides good and evil is quite blurred.

    The game does a grand job progressing the story, giving good background and development to every character the player meets, including Phelps himself. It is safe to say that not one moment throughout the game does a feeling of dullness come to mind. Each case the player is presented with is a fresh and exciting segment. This is by no means a Disney kind of story, so do not expect a cliché at the end. But that’s a good thing, right? It is, however, a very intriguing and grasping experience.

    Setting presentation is above expectations. The 1940s atmosphere is immersive and grand. The urban environment is very detailed. The graphics in this game are quite beautiful. It would be a crime not to mention L.A. Noire’s character dialogue, which is to say at the very least – superb. The amazing performances are enhanced by L.A. Noire’s amazing face-capturing technology. No game, even at this point in 2013 has yet captured the detail facial expressions in L.A. Noire have. Thanks to this, the characters feel alive, they feel like real people.

    Gameplay, for the most part, involves the usual sandbox mechanics. There’s the common shootout and chase side missions which are ever fun (and there are 40 of these missions throughout the L.A. area), but when it comes to the detective part of the game, L.A. Noire gets quite peculiar and unique. When asking a question, the player is faced with three options: Truth, Doubt, or Lie. In a detective game, it’s expected to talk to people in order to solve cases, and it is this why the face-capturing technology used in this game is key to the overall experience. Good part of the overall game involves the player interacting with many, many characters. The player must interview people and use clues in order to get to the bottom of things, and the way a character’s face looks and reacts with each answer they give is essential for the player to conclude whether the interviewee is lying or not. Every case presents several scenarios where Phelps finds clues. Clues give context to what’s going on, and the player is expected to use these clues during interviews to further help prove when somebody is lying. It’s very gratifying to get through a list of questions correctly, getting the truth out of a suspect without missing one question, yet a feeling of guilt can present itself every time the player misses good judgment upon their interviewee. And that’s the beauty of L.A. Noire. Interviewing people does not feel like a chore. It’s fun and exciting. The sandbox elements, which cover exploration, collection items, side quests involving police work, and cars (cars are so authentic to the period and they are cool) are well made and serve to the immersion of the game.

    Given the concept of the game, which involves interacting with people a lot, one would expect for it to have RPG elements. The story, however, never changes. The player will get the same ending regardless of how you judge your suspects. It’s a shame, really, but by no means makes the game bad. Each case works as an individual “mission”, and the way the player gets through it, i.e. – getting all the clues, catching the right suspect, getting questions right, will ultimately show how well you performed at the end of the case. This performance is judged by stars. Do a great job and you’ll be awarded 5 stars, do poorly and you’ll earn as low as one star. This gameplay concept gives great replay value giving the player good reason to go back and perform better in a case after completing the game. That’s another plus, if the player wishes to play a specific case, he/she only has to select it from a list of cases – no need to start over from the beginning.

    L.A. Noire is a unique experience. Characters are amazing, story is solid and interesting, and the setting and atmosphere make up for an awesome experience. Through a regular play-through, the experience can be as long as 25 hours, and thanks to the great variety in characters as well as cases, it will not feel like 25 hours in the end. It will leave behind a feeling of wanting more, and that’s a great thing to say about a game. There are instances where the player is presented with 6-8 hour games and somehow, halfway through the game, it becomes tiring just getting through it. But not L.A. Noire. This game does a great job keeping the player interested, and will, no doubt, bring him/her back to play it again.    … Expand
  28. truxton
    Jan 1, 2015
    8
    This game is a master piece in every way, from its detective noir style story to its shootout moments, to its tense and jazz style music. Its hard to imagine you won't like this game. You play as Cole Phelps a new detective proving yourself to the force. While dealing with the real world, you learn about Phelps cold past. Overall a solid game.
  29. fullmetalcritic
    Dec 11, 2014
    9
    This game is a must play for anyone who likes an open world game, because this is that. But it's also so much more. It's a visually stunning, brilliantly written story that is matched only by the risk they took that succeeded more often than not. Admittedly not for everyone, it is worth a trial run thru to check out.
  30. Calebd2
    Dec 11, 2014
    4
    First off, the design and graphics in this game are very impressive. Everything about it looks good. However, that is about all I can say positive for this title. Once you get past that there is very little holding this game up. The story and characters are incredibly boring. The mechanics are sloppy and slow. Tasks become very repetitive and unrewarding after just a few hours. One canFirst off, the design and graphics in this game are very impressive. Everything about it looks good. However, that is about all I can say positive for this title. Once you get past that there is very little holding this game up. The story and characters are incredibly boring. The mechanics are sloppy and slow. Tasks become very repetitive and unrewarding after just a few hours. One can quickly decipher the formula for the correct responses to character interactions.… Expand
  31. Jamison12
    Jul 21, 2014
    10
    What truly makes L.A. Noire great is how different it is, not just from Rockstar games, but from games in general. You play as a detective solving murders and other crimes. I love it, it's truly a thinking man's game and requires actual skill.
  32. papamarblemocha
    Jul 4, 2014
    9
    One of the best xbox 360 games you can play, even though it is a few years old. The graphics are advanced for its time and there is a very extensive amount of content. It took a few missions for me to get into the game, but once the ball got rolling i could not put it down. The city is gigantic and the AIs are well done. There is a lot of effort put into this game, and you really have toOne of the best xbox 360 games you can play, even though it is a few years old. The graphics are advanced for its time and there is a very extensive amount of content. It took a few missions for me to get into the game, but once the ball got rolling i could not put it down. The city is gigantic and the AIs are well done. There is a lot of effort put into this game, and you really have to play it to understand. This is a game you can play with your girlfriend and she wont mind watching.

    I will admit, the interrogation aspect can be frustrating and some of the character reactions can be confusing, but you will love this game, especially for the low price you can get the complete edition at EB Games (18.00)

    Overall, Just a very well made game that every Xbox owner needs to own    … Expand
  33. treywar25
    Jun 28, 2014
    9
    Gets a little repetitive (like a lot of games) after a while but is a lot of fun solving crimes, chasing bad guys,shooting bad guys, and questioning suspects. I just bought this recently and GTA4 and have played L.A Noire about 75% through and GTA4 about 25% and I have to say I am enjoying LA Noire a lot more. You should definitely pick it up! You can find it now for around $5-10
  34. DADCOP2
    Jun 15, 2014
    10
    One of the best games of all time I think. The story has a lot of deep, hidden meaning and it took me a couple of times to play through to understand it completely. It does have some problems. The cars are too grippy, the combat feels a bit stiff, and the Tommy gun has way too much ammo. But that doesn't take much away from the game. The story and dialogue are the main focus, and itOne of the best games of all time I think. The story has a lot of deep, hidden meaning and it took me a couple of times to play through to understand it completely. It does have some problems. The cars are too grippy, the combat feels a bit stiff, and the Tommy gun has way too much ammo. But that doesn't take much away from the game. The story and dialogue are the main focus, and it excels in that to movie-like quality.… Expand
  35. TEM
    May 25, 2014
    10
    My favorite video game of all time. The graphics are unrivaled even 4 years later. The city of L.A is bigger and better than ever. The story is top notch and the biggest reason why I love this game. All the characters are compelling and interesting. How the story unravels is an amazing experience each and every time I play.

    Sure, the game play outside of investigating and interrogation    My favorite video game of all time. The graphics are unrivaled even 4 years later. The city of L.A is bigger and better than ever. The story is top notch and the biggest reason why I love this game. All the characters are compelling and interesting. How the story unravels is an amazing experience each and every time I play.

    Sure, the game play outside of investigating and interrogation can get dull but it doesn't take away the greatness of it all.

    Interrogations are challenging even after multiple plays and can always take a new turn.

    Getting a 5 star score after a case is more rewarding to me than anything else ive ever experienced in a video game.

    This game is almost played out like a movie which suits me well.

    Speaking of movies, if you like this game watch the movie, LA Confidential.    … Expand
  36. Skulb
    Apr 26, 2014
    10
    I am writing this after finally playing the PC version of the game and it`s one of the most pleasant surprises I`ve had in gaming. The reason is that according to Metacritic there is no PC version, and yet I felt I had to put my two cents in here about LA Noire.
    Not being a huge GTA fan due to my profound lack of interest in Russian pimps with fake accents, f-bombs and car chases I wasn`t    I am writing this after finally playing the PC version of the game and it`s one of the most pleasant surprises I`ve had in gaming. The reason is that according to Metacritic there is no PC version, and yet I felt I had to put my two cents in here about LA Noire.
    Not being a huge GTA fan due to my profound lack of interest in Russian pimps with fake accents, f-bombs and car chases I wasn`t expecting too much from this game. But by golly did it have one of the best stories I`ve seen in a game to date. It is also a technical marvel, recreating 1946 LA faithfully enough, which is where the game takes place. The graphics and sound are good and the game play excellent. Occasionally there isn`t a whole lot where you`d expect there to be at least something, but considering that the game simulates a huge city it can hardly be avoided. Even so, LA Noire does an admirable job of making LA appear fully inhabited anyway,. And a mini game of sorts of police radio emergencies means that you`ll have small twists interrupting your pursuit of the main quest all through the game, so giving you more variety than games like Mafia for example. As for the sound the only problem I had was the car radio that keeps going every time you step into the car. When you hear the same news story and the same semi-annoying 1940s song every ten minutes for the entire duration of the game it loses some of its immersive quality. Of course you can turn the radio off, but then it`s all quiet and weird.... But the voiceovers and sound FX are all good, as is the music.

    Basically you play as a police detective and follow the ups and downs of his career while uncovering the main story. But since it`s open world you can do this whenever you want to, and me I had a blast just driving various cars way too fast around town and regularly forgot what I was supposed to be doing.
    Anyway, police officer Cole Phelps drives around chasing bad guys and investigating crime scenes before interrogating witnesses and suspects. The interrogations make use of a facial motion capture technique to hint at when suspects are lying, and it is so realistic that I could actually recognize several real life TV actors Rockstar had hired to play the parts. Do all this well enough and you`ll move on to the next case, and the next desk and eventually to the grim ending to the game. The investigation of cases is somewhat similar to what games like CSI have done, but in my mind a lot more interesting because they are in fully interactive environments and part of a larger story going on. In particular some of the main cases for Phelps to solve at the end of each chapter are large, involve multiple crime scenes and feel just riveting. This part of the game really sucks you into what`s going on and gives you a constant feeling of achievement.
    But the thing that really makes LA Noire shine is the amazing story and the compelling characters you`ll get to know while progressing through it. There are really no one-dimensional cliche figures. Rather with almost all the main characters, including Phelps, you tend to think you have them figured out just to have something emerge that makes them more nuanced, and therefore more convincing and interesting. On rare occasions computer games can play like interactive versions of quality novels and this is such an occasion. Saying more might spoil it though, so I won`t.

    If you like adventure games, detective simulations, driving games or just plain old great game design and story telling then rush out and get LA Noire with all haste. The only negative thing about this game is that something this good only comes along every five years or so, if we`re lucky, so you will inevitably enter quality-withdrawal just as soon as you finish it.

    PS: Judging by reviews above there are some loading issues on the console version but obviously none of that on the PC. If there are other differences I wouldn`t be able to tell you.    … Expand
  37. JSXero
    Apr 7, 2014
    9
    Instead of going down the usual route of sandbox games these days, L.A Noire implements some unique features and ways to tackle your objectives that whilst not satisfying the cravings of those wanting GTA set in the 1950s, makes for one of the most unique games that came out for it's generation and one that we most likely will not see ever again.

    Not everything is perfect, clues and    Instead of going down the usual route of sandbox games these days, L.A Noire implements some unique features and ways to tackle your objectives that whilst not satisfying the cravings of those wanting GTA set in the 1950s, makes for one of the most unique games that came out for it's generation and one that we most likely will not see ever again.

    Not everything is perfect, clues and questioning suspects can be deep and rewarding if you really pay attention to every detail, but the game still wanders into the same direction if you succeed or fail. It can zap some of the fun and reality out of the situation when you come to realize after your second failed interrogation, that you do not really "fail". The ending result remains the same whether or not you picked up ever clue or noticed every tell in a liar's face.

    Whilst the environments are beautiful in the game, finding every clue can be a hassle as use of highlighted sound whence near a inspect-able object isn't perfect, but it works enough to give you a sense of accomplishment when you gather enough evidence to have a reasonable idea of how to tackle your next witness or suspect.

    The formula stats to wear thin after a while and the action sequences aren't enough to bring the level of excitement a shootout in other sandbox games would normally deliver, but the game is unique enough that it is worth playing, and the achievements of creating almost next gen like visuals on a 5 year old console is a must see.    … Expand
  38. S0me_Guy
    Mar 29, 2014
    9
    GOOD: Great story showing the police career and WWII flashbacks from the protagonist, Cole Phelps; Plays out like a movie; Not one bad performance from any of the actors(not voice actors, real actors); Innovative crime scene and interrogation mechanics; Cases show stuff that people would actually do to each other in real life(especially Homicide which is brutal); If you struggle on a case,GOOD: Great story showing the police career and WWII flashbacks from the protagonist, Cole Phelps; Plays out like a movie; Not one bad performance from any of the actors(not voice actors, real actors); Innovative crime scene and interrogation mechanics; Cases show stuff that people would actually do to each other in real life(especially Homicide which is brutal); If you struggle on a case, you can ask your partner for help; If you have online, you can use intuition points to help you(use wisely because, the points are limited); If you mess up on a case, you can replay it to do better which would add a lot more time for you to have fun playing this; Fun gun play and brawls; Team Bondi did a good job making the game a near exact depiction of LA in the 1940's; All of the cars were real and actual cars from real companies; Over 90 cars to collect; Fun car chases; Good soundtrack; Funny Mad Men cameos that made me smile, even from the protagonist in the game, Aaron Staton; street crimes were optional

    BAD: Boring street crimes; some of the desks like Traffic and Ad Vice were too short; The Ad Vice was inappropriately cut off right when you were about to finish; needed to have fun side activities(bowling would have been perfect as a side activity since the cops go there every week); The game ends rather abruptly(needed to be a little bit longer)

    FINAL VERDICT: This game barely misses a 10/10, so it will end up as a 9/10. Needed to add side activities and make more cases to seal a 10/10. Despite the problems, it is one of the best games I have ever played and the most innovative out of all. I say this game is an ALL TIME LEGEND. Just on this game alone, there is something I have to say about Team Bondi: DEVELOPED AS A LEGEND, DIED AS A LEGEND, AND RESURRECTED FROM THE DEAD TO DEVELOP ONCE MORE! That's right, Team Bondi is back and developing a game that is planned to come out in 2015 called, Whore Of The Orient, I cannot wait. Play this game immediately if you haven't already, especially if you are a fan of detective stories.    … Expand
  39. H1P1
    Feb 24, 2014
    6
    L.A. Noire's biggest attraction is that it's from a genre many of us don't play too often. Without this, the game is just 'ok'. The game's best asset is the facial animations which will definitely impress. The two things really holding this game back though is the repetition and core game mechanics. Early on you discover every case essentially involves the same investigate, interrogate,L.A. Noire's biggest attraction is that it's from a genre many of us don't play too often. Without this, the game is just 'ok'. The game's best asset is the facial animations which will definitely impress. The two things really holding this game back though is the repetition and core game mechanics. Early on you discover every case essentially involves the same investigate, interrogate, chase sequence which gets old pretty fast. Sure you can drive around in the open world but there is absolutely nothing to do, which really defeats the purpose of designing this game as a sandbox. Further you can even skip driving scenes which although handy, again makes you wonder why this game is open world. The second issue though is really what holds this game back, being the questioning for investigations and interrogations. Whilst it makes sense to have a limited number of clues and questions from a gameplay point of view, the problem is that many responses and outcomes do not logically connect or are used in ways inconsistent with how they should or could be used. Many times you will know the answer to the case however you will be marked wrong because the game does not describe the dialogue lines that will accompany the evidence you choose, or when the game fails to recognise that the evidence can be used in more than one way. Other times you can convict someone with little or no evidence at all, or evidence that would never hold up in the real world ( I was once somehow able to prove a person wasn't home the night before because he had a wet jacket on his door despite the fact it was raining when I got there and it was 24 hours later.... what??) The unfortunate outcome of this is that there is really no intellectual component to the game at all, but rather trial and error. To cap this all off the game is littered with glitches and bugs that completely ruin missions as events won't trigger (or did somehow trigger but you never saw it), locations won't show, or missions will have to be completed in specific sequences of events to be able to get the mission completely correct with no indication or guidance whatsoever which can completely ruin your mission. I was unable to complete a case perfectly because I elected to skip a car ride which was supposed to trigger a radio call- why should the game penalise you if it gives you the option in the first place and gives no warning you are to receive the call!!! Later when I triggered the event I was unable to proceed with the investigation because I had missed the order of events and could not go and question the suspect with the new information despite them being in the lock up... which just makes no sense whatsoever. Did anyone at Team Bondi even test this game? All in all an ok game with no replayability - worth a try once but that will be enough.… Expand
  40. SaraSassypants
    Jan 15, 2014
    9
    One of my favourite games ever. I played it twice through and it was still as good the second time around. Anyone looking for an action game probably won't like it but anyone who likes playing games set in an era gone by you'll love getting lost in here. Homicide Desk was a winner, Arson not so great which is why I gave it a 9/10.
  41. Matty888
    Jan 2, 2014
    8
    This game comes with 3 discs. The first was much better than I expected, a story about a soldier turned cop whose excellent detective work allowed him to rise through the ranks. The second disc was him at the height of his career, bent on catching a serial killer, and this disc was amazing. This game would be a 10 for me if the game ended with the capture of the main villian, 10 out of 10.This game comes with 3 discs. The first was much better than I expected, a story about a soldier turned cop whose excellent detective work allowed him to rise through the ranks. The second disc was him at the height of his career, bent on catching a serial killer, and this disc was amazing. This game would be a 10 for me if the game ended with the capture of the main villian, 10 out of 10. But then disc three started. First of all, Cole has an affair for literally no reason, and tbh, the subject of his wife wasnt even touched upon in the last two discs. So he gets demoted to arson, the dullest series of cases ive ever seen. Then you find out that stuff happened in the war that makes Cole feel guilty. And because of this, he pointlessly sacrifices himself at the end for a girl he doesnt even love. WTF rockstar???… Expand
  42. aprlthms
    Dec 27, 2013
    9
    I adore this game. It's a welcome change from mind-numbing non-stop violence such as that in GTA. Love the occasional chases, fistfights, and I absolutely adoreeeeee the interrogations. Everyone has a tell that gives away when they're lying, and it's loads of fun to theorize about who really did it. My brother and I play it together.
  43. thecurriepower
    Dec 25, 2013
    10
    Best game of 2011 hands down. It is absolutely stunning graphic wise, and has a gameplay like no other game. This game is almost as unique as heavy rain, which is my favorite game of all time. So many games which are released these days are not innovative and plain boring. This game is the most innovative game of the year and I have fallen in love wiht it. The suspense is incredible, tehBest game of 2011 hands down. It is absolutely stunning graphic wise, and has a gameplay like no other game. This game is almost as unique as heavy rain, which is my favorite game of all time. So many games which are released these days are not innovative and plain boring. This game is the most innovative game of the year and I have fallen in love wiht it. The suspense is incredible, teh interogations and the control that you have as a player over the criminals makes you feel powerful. If you want an innovative, exiting, different and engaging game then you must buy this masterpiece. Anyone who rates this badly simply does not have the emotional capacity to enjoy a masterpiece like this and are too used to playing call of duty to know any better.… Expand
  44. twos
    Nov 27, 2013
    5
    I am giving this game a five as an indication of what I believe is an middle ground average game, my compliments would go to the game design, investigation and interrogation themed gameplay was something different and very interesting, and the era cars noire feel was beautifully captured. Negatives I would say are the story, the driving which mostly just felt like a chore, the gun playI am giving this game a five as an indication of what I believe is an middle ground average game, my compliments would go to the game design, investigation and interrogation themed gameplay was something different and very interesting, and the era cars noire feel was beautifully captured. Negatives I would say are the story, the driving which mostly just felt like a chore, the gun play which was poor and remarkably easy and lastly the interrogation scenes which to be honest were more frustrating than anything due to lack of information on what your character is actually going to say and inconsistencies in the facial gives. I found the game entertaining but by the end was just hoping to get it over and done with.… Expand
  45. RagingCanadian
    Nov 5, 2013
    10
    L.A. Noire was one of the best games I have ever played. Map was huge and they made it so realistic. Story was amazing, so in depth. Great experience.
  46. Darting_Mace
    Sep 18, 2013
    10
    BEST. GAME EVER. I have recently received this game for my birthday, and I have to say, this is one of my favorite games I have ever played. The graphics were beautiful. The cutscenes were amazingly cinematic. Even every case has its own twist whether it be multiple suspects or many different cases. I don't know how anybody could hate this. Even the interviews are flawless. The 360 degreeBEST. GAME EVER. I have recently received this game for my birthday, and I have to say, this is one of my favorite games I have ever played. The graphics were beautiful. The cutscenes were amazingly cinematic. Even every case has its own twist whether it be multiple suspects or many different cases. I don't know how anybody could hate this. Even the interviews are flawless. The 360 degree facial recognition acting on the interrogation is perfect. It is like watching somebody in real life giving lies or truth to you. I wish that there was more to do in the game because their aren't any activities to do outside of the cases. Gunplay is perfect and being able to bond with the character is the best I have seen in a game. No other game has been able to cpture my emotion much like this one. I cannot believe how much I enjoyed this game. Anyone who says any different are entitled to their opinion though I do not agree to it. THIS GAME IS AMAZING!… Expand
  47. Condor
    Sep 2, 2013
    9
    9/10. The negative reviews are correct; the game is a lot like a movie that you get to somewhat be a part of, and the action scenes are very underwhelming.

    However, considering I'm so interested in the post-war 1940s era, I would buy the game simply for the driving-around-in-1940s-LA aspect. It has solid character development, and the facial animation technology was fantastic. In my    9/10. The negative reviews are correct; the game is a lot like a movie that you get to somewhat be a part of, and the action scenes are very underwhelming.

    However, considering I'm so interested in the post-war 1940s era, I would buy the game simply for the driving-around-in-1940s-LA aspect. It has solid character development, and the facial animation technology was fantastic. In my opinion, L.A. Noire is like a very good movie that you also get to be involved with, which is totally fine by me.

    The story was nice, the way they portrayed Los Angeles was fantastic, and overall I enjoyed this game a great deal.    … Expand
  48. EddieHokie
    Aug 7, 2013
    8
    This game is a different bird which is refreshing.

    The presentation and voice acting is stellar. The concept is really cool too. The game play feels like every other big Rockstar game (GTA, Red Dead Redemption) and that is good or bad depending on how you feel about it. Investigating areas is streamlined and basic but how it all adds up at end is rewarding The golden pig of the    This game is a different bird which is refreshing.

    The presentation and voice acting is stellar. The concept is really cool too. The game play feels like every other big Rockstar game (GTA, Red Dead Redemption) and that is good or bad depending on how you feel about it.

    Investigating areas is streamlined and basic but how it all adds up at end is rewarding

    The golden pig of the whole operation is supposed to be the questioning of suspects and motion capture visuals and yada yada yada. All I can say is it's pretty good. I found it really hard to read suspects reactions and gestures. What looked like avoiding eye contact sometimes was just a defiant suspect. What looked like a cooperative straight to the point suspect was sometimes a flat out liar.

    And maybe that was the whole point in an effort to avoid a cookie cutter game and to show how police work has lots of gray areas. It still left me feeling frustrated because even if I was a master at reading people, I don't think I would have made every correct choice. Lots of these missions need a couple playthroughs to perfect and even then, help online was needed here and there.

    The story keeps you wanting more as it avoids the start-from-the-bottom and work to-the-top format. Later missions deal with an arson of all things instead of a Mob Mafia Mastermind like you may predict although the game has that too)

    It's worth checking out    … Expand
  49. Storm1672
    Aug 1, 2013
    9
    One of the better games of this generation. Incredible atmosphere, attention to detail and the best facial animations to this time. The story is great, the characters feel real with all their good and bad attributes and the storytelling is original. At times, the pace is kinda slow and some cases aren' t that much interesting, but the originality makes this game of a fine quality.

    The    One of the better games of this generation. Incredible atmosphere, attention to detail and the best facial animations to this time. The story is great, the characters feel real with all their good and bad attributes and the storytelling is original. At times, the pace is kinda slow and some cases aren' t that much interesting, but the originality makes this game of a fine quality.

    The graphics are great though there are framedrops. Animating every move in this vast world is a great achievement though. Make Cole run and immediately stick to a wall or try jumping different kinds of objects. No clipping cause of the great collision detection system for an open world game. The facial animations though steal the show. It should be a standard for all games from now on. At times they might seem a little blurry but, seeing the muscles of the neck and be able to tell a difference makes new space in the gameplay sector.

    Gameplay-wise it feels like a new-gen adventure. You have to find clues and be thorough if you want a better result for your case. You have to figure the perpetrator out and try to foresee motives. It's great and has an atmosphere that sucks you in. More activities would be great besides the street crimes so that you could feel that you're living in the 40's LA and some of the aspects of the story weren't so much been looked into such as Cole's family or his relationships with his colleagues or brothers-in-arms.

    All in all, great game with some original ideas and incredible attention to detail, though its pacing is not for everyone. Like adventure games.    … Expand
  50. Andreasg
    Jul 15, 2013
    10
    One of the most genuine and innovative games of this generation. Great atmopshere, great story, great gameplay and the facial animation is truly next gen... This is a masterpiece... One of the best games ever...
  51. Compi24
    Jul 4, 2013
    9
    Its restrictive world may be a little bit of a turn-off for some hardcore free-roamer fans, but "L.A. Noire's" innovative gameplay and insanely immersive narrative make it an incredible must-play.
  52. shprea
    Jun 27, 2013
    8
    If you're looking for a unique game, LA Noire is a definite "must own" game. The whole is just very well done. The motion capture system used is spot on and the game has a sense of realism I have not seen in any other game. Really, the only flaw with this game is the gameplay, which by the third disk gets a bit stale and repetitive.
    If you like to try new things, give LA Noire a shot.
  53. IDredMan
    Jun 25, 2013
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. As a Grand Theft Auto fan, I came to L.A. Noire expecting something much like GTA but in the past, I was disappointed for about an hour when I found out it was nothing like it, but kept playing, hour after hour, L.A. Noire made its way into my top 10 favorite games of all time, then it quickly became my #1 most favorite game of all time.
    Never did I think such innovation can come from a game in these times, because innovation and originality pretty much all died a long time ago, but this restored my faith.
    This game served me well in every aspect, it was fun, it was lengthy, it had an amazing story, it had good collectible that were actually fun to go around looking for.
    Now, for a 360 game that looks this good, I'm very surprised it didn't lag as much as most other games.
    Lots of other games that don't look as good as L.A. Noire lag like hell, L.A. Noire looks amazing and only lagged 2 times in my full playthrough, they were in MASSIVE shootouts, and the lag went away after 2 seconds the first time, and after 5 seconds the second time.
    Cole Phelps' death was incredibly sad, I literally felt bad when Cole died.
    Overall, this game is amazing, deserves a well earned 10/10.    … Expand
  54. jmattbassplaya
    May 27, 2013
    5
    I bought this game when it first came out and enjoyed it, and recently I decided to give it a go again as the game is now coming up to being two years old.

    - The game's single player campaign is rather long. I've been playing it fairly nonstop for about 15-16 hours now and still have at least two more departments to get through (vice and arson). To say the least, the gameplay has been    I bought this game when it first came out and enjoyed it, and recently I decided to give it a go again as the game is now coming up to being two years old.

    - The game's single player campaign is rather long. I've been playing it fairly nonstop for about 15-16 hours now and still have at least two more departments to get through (vice and arson). To say the least, the gameplay has been rather fun, but it has begun to get quite tedious and repetitive. Even though the cases are all different and unique, you can't help but feel like you're doing the same thing over and over once you've done a handful of them. The uniqueness eventually wears off, and right now I feel like I'm playing the game more to finish it than anything else.

    - The story of the game has a main overreaching arch and several subplots going on at the same time. It's not a bad story by any means, but due to many of the characters being unlikeable, or simply uninteresting, it has became rather difficult for me to really care as to what's going on. In fact, I've really stopped paying much attention to the story and am simply going through the motions until I get to the next gunfight or suspect chase. It's a shame because the story really is quite unique, but the lack of depth or real connection to any of the game's characters really does kill it for me.

    - If you're familiar with other Rockstar titles then you're away of the open, sandbox style most of their games has. This game simultaneously is the same as those other titles and completely different. While I wouldn't necessarily expect the ability to go on a shooting rampage as you could in the GTA franchise, I found myself rather limited as to what I could do in this world. Late 40's LA has been beautifully reproduced, but there's no depth to the city and nothing really to do in it. I can't draw my gun whenever I want to, my character can't explore nearly as many buildings, there are no real mini games to be found, there are no natural 'ramps' I can jump cars off of, etc... In essence, it's a prettier version of GTA that lacks and real playability outside of the actual campaign. It's a shame too because the city is well done, but since I can't do anything with it other than look at it I find myself getting bored with it easily. Unfortunately, this means the game has little replay value unless you're like me, beat it once, and then come back to it 2 years later when it's finally somewhat fresh again.

    - The cases in the game are fun to play through at first, but after awhile you'll realize that there really are no ways you can genuinely screw up a case so that it will greatly affect the outcome of the story. Sure you might limit what questions you can ask a suspect or what parts of a case you can actually play through, but you'll still end up finishing each case and moving on as if the previous results were insignificant to the utmost degree. This has really put me down a bit as I now feel no need to be careful with my decision making and can run through each mission without trying hard to succeed. In a sense, the 'need' to play well has been completely killed for me.

    - As to the actual interrogation aspect of the game, which was a major selling point and highlight for the game, I can tell you that it's really not all that it's cracked up to be. Sometimes you'll be interrogating someone and they'll give off a look that makes you think they're lying to you, but somehow the correct response will be 'truth'. Likewise, a character might look like they're being completely truthful but the answer will be 'doubt'. Sometimes you can even tell a character is lying and you'll have the evidence to prove it, but the game will want a different piece of evidence than the one you selected or they'll want you to select 'doubt' instead of accusing them of lying. This becomes UNBELIEVABLY frustrating after awhile, and since you know the outcome of each case doesn't affect the outcome of the game you wind up asking yourself why you're even bothering with the game (something I've done numerous times now, but I still have yet to be able to turn the 360 off on this game for good).

    In summary, this gameplay and story are unique enough that if you're into the whole noire/detective thing, or if you just want something different, then this game is definitely worth a rent, borrow from a friend, or even a buy if you can get it for ~$10, but there's really little other reason to pick it up. The replay value simply isn't there, and the gameplay itself is only good enough if it's you're interested in. It's not a bad game, it's just not a great one, either. I give it a 5.5 out of 10.    … Expand
  55. WockaWocka22
    May 15, 2013
    10
    The story of this game is one of the very best I have seen in a video game. In my opinion it is right up their with Mass Effect. Some of the cases mechanics and actions might feel repetitive, but the story never does. The interrogations are absolutley captivating, and the ending was one of the most unexpected ever. One of the best gaming experiences ever.
  56. drlowdon
    Apr 19, 2013
    5
    Rockstar Games have earned a good reputation in gaming circles for high production values and that trend continues with the Team Bondi developed LA Noire. Set in the late 1940s the game is an interactive detective story following the career of ex-army lieutenant Cole Phelps.

    There have been complaints from those expecting a Grand Theft Auto (GTA) style open world game but LA Noire was    Rockstar Games have earned a good reputation in gaming circles for high production values and that trend continues with the Team Bondi developed LA Noire. Set in the late 1940s the game is an interactive detective story following the career of ex-army lieutenant Cole Phelps.

    There have been complaints from those expecting a Grand Theft Auto (GTA) style open world game but LA Noire was never advertised as such. The game is far more structured than any GTA game, or even Red Dead Redemption for that matter, and the focus of the game remains firmly on solving the cases provided by searching crime scenes (in the manner of the old point and click adventures) and questioning witnesses/suspects. The much vaunted facial mapping technology is very impressive even if it does still becomes all but impossible to spot when someone is hiding the truth in later cases. The game is not totally devoid of action however with most cases involving a few shoot outs, car chases or rooftop pursuits and these are fairly well implemented even if the controls aren’t always as precise as they could be.

    Many of the cases are fairly interesting and the script writing, while still not up to the quality of the best TV programmes, is certainly better than the majority of those seen in video games. A number of other minor flaws, such as a few repetitive cases, can be largely ignored but one complaint that certainly can't be is that all too often it feels more like you are being lead through some of the investigations rather than actually playing the role of detective. Regardless of any choices made the game plays out in virtually the same way and this comes very close to making the gameplay pointless on occasions. For many the atmosphere created will allow them to get past this but it all means the game does not live up to the hype.    … Expand
  57. Enforcer122
    Apr 16, 2013
    9
    What an incredible experience this video game is. A journey throughout from start to finish. Very very tricky though, had to use a walk through once or twice but overall, a brilliant game!
  58. prorussian24
    Mar 24, 2013
    9
    This was a very good game, really hoping there is going to be a sequel. This game kept me wanting to play more and was very easy to get into. It's also nothing like I have played before, pretty cool concept, looking for clues and stuff.
  59. Seriosity
    Mar 22, 2013
    6
    The technical achievements are undeniable, but it is simply not that entertaining with its unmemorable plot, monotonous gameplay, nonexistent re-playability, and underwhelming characters.
  60. Gargus
    Mar 8, 2013
    1
    I grew up loving the hardboiled detective film noire types of movies so when I heard about this I was quite excited since it was right up my alley.

    Sadly though the end product is nothing like it could have been. This is basically a snooze fest disguised as a game. Honestly, if it didn't have Rockstar's name on the box it wouldn't be rated highly as it is or sold as well despite the    I grew up loving the hardboiled detective film noire types of movies so when I heard about this I was quite excited since it was right up my alley.

    Sadly though the end product is nothing like it could have been. This is basically a snooze fest disguised as a game. Honestly, if it didn't have Rockstar's name on the box it wouldn't be rated highly as it is or sold as well despite the fact Rockstar did not make this game.

    My main dislikes with the game are.......

    1- You never really detect anything. You walk around till you get a little chime meaning you press the x button and pickup the clue. If the clue needs to be examined further the game will tell you so. Once you have the clues your partner will signal you it's time to go somewhere else. The game basically walks you through detecting everything and finding clues. It tells you when you need to hit what buttons and where.

    2- You can't mess up interrogations. This was lauded as a big feature for the game. If you blow the interrogation then you just do it again. Even if you guess wrong when your judging a person's true intentions you can still win the game without ever getting one right. You can go right through the game by guessing everything wrong when its decision time while interviewing someone. The game basically won't let you make mistakes that stop the game play and there are no consequences for anything during interrogations. There is no need to study a person's facial reactions or what they say because it doesn't matter. Guess right? No advantage. Guess wrong? No punishment.

    3- The facial animations while good are just a gimmick. Another big selling point for the game is just a gimmick. Again looking at people's faces during interrogation to guess if they are lying or not doesn't matter since you don't have to be right. The facial animations are nice but it doesn't matter aesthetically because their bodies still move like stiff puppets. And they still aren't lifelike because they are over exaggerated to be noticeable. I personally wish they hadn't wasted all the money on filming actors in a fancy studio with all this high tech equipment and instead used the money to hire better writers for the game and work on making it more fun instead of just being a gateway for their facial animation tech. Honestly the animations felt more like a tech demo they were hoping to get other developers to license the tech for their games.

    4- The game is incredibly linear. Yes a couple times you can chose to shake down a bartender instead of checking up on a drug addict but you never really get to chose anything. The game firmly holds your hand from the start to the finish and never let's go. I felt more like a errand boy out driving from point A to point B and then from C to D.

    5- The storyline while not bad isn't that great. The main storyline starting out builds and builds and builds then suddenly it just stops and comes to a half with a very paper thin plot excuse and then suddenly you thrust off in another direction with no looking back. They just go to all this trouble of building up to something and then suddenly pull the rug out and leave you unsatisfied. The ending is very, very unsatisfying as well.

    6- Team bondi has been saying the game isn't finished and that's easily noticeable just playing through it. They left the game kind of shallow in order to sell more DLC to gamers and that's obvious since they have been releasing DLC since its release and have recently announced more. It's just a shame they would release a 60 dollar game partially gutted so they can sell DLC and turn it into a 100 dollar game.

    7- 60% of the game is still just grand theft auto. Just like in grand theft auto you have to drive a car for hours and hours and hours while you playing doing absolutely nothing but going up and down the same boring streets as a time sink. You can take any car you want like in GTA, you'll waste hours of time driving just like GTA, when you run it's just like in GTA, when you shoot or fight it's just like GTA, in fact everything that isn't investigating or interrogating is just like GTA.

    In the end this game is wasted potential. I really wish I had waited till it eventually drops to 5 bucks or less because that's all it's worth. I had a lot of fun for about 6 hours and after that I find myself playing it just to finish it since I paid for it. I was really disappointed in this game.    … Expand
  61. DukeJon
    Feb 3, 2013
    10
    A revolutionary game that sets new standards in facial animation. An interesting character, gorgeous period detail, immersive graphics and audio. If you enjoy Philip Marlow you or Sam Spade you will love this game.
  62. JackYaLate
    Jan 20, 2013
    8
    Graphics: 8/10 Story: 8/10 Gameplay: 7/10 Voice Acting: 8/10 Soundtrack: 7/10 Enjoyment: 9/10 =
    7.8 (Great)
    L.A Noire is a flamin' amazing game. If you haven't already buy it! All 3 disks on Xbox keep you entertained for hours and may even drag you into the story like it did to me.
  63. PatrykG
    Jan 4, 2013
    9
    L.A. Noire reminds me of the old gangster movies. L.A. Noire has brilliant voice acting, cases that are really hard to solve and the graphics are unbelivable. It remains one of the best games Rockstar made. 9/10
  64. Justinavery7074
    Dec 4, 2012
    10
    Hell **** yeah!!! this game is **** awesome. Seriously. I don't know what they make their people do at Rocksar but they should keep doing it because this game has everything that I could possibly want out of a detective game. Even side missions like street crimes. Jesus Christ, this is awesome
  65. BudMan
    Nov 23, 2012
    1
    I would call this game L.A. Bore. This game is worse then GTA 4 and im not even sure how thats possable. I was so bored playing this game. What good is an open world you can do nothing in. Plus the story is lame.
  66. ageofwinter
    Nov 16, 2012
    9
    The feel of this game is great, you feel like you're in LA back in the '40s. The soundtrack is absolutely fantastic, the world looks as good as it can for consoles, and the MotionScan is some revolutionary technology, leading you to get fully immersed with the incredible acting the cast of L.A. Noire did. I think I love the game a bit more than I should simply because they used someThe feel of this game is great, you feel like you're in LA back in the '40s. The soundtrack is absolutely fantastic, the world looks as good as it can for consoles, and the MotionScan is some revolutionary technology, leading you to get fully immersed with the incredible acting the cast of L.A. Noire did. I think I love the game a bit more than I should simply because they used some characters from Mad Men and I love that show, haha. The story was great, made me cry, to be honest lol & the gameplay is fun, being a detective was a blast, reading peoples faces was tough at times and it couldn't have been done without MotionScan. The shooting is what you'd expect it to be from a Rockstar Game, similar to Red Dead Redemption. Team Bondi did a superb job with this game whilst giving it a touch of Rockstars greatness, I highly recommend this title.… Expand
  67. frankbilders
    Nov 7, 2012
    10
    The reason I give L.A Noire a 10 is because it goes where no game has ventured before and it does it well. More in depth though the storyline is superb and well written. The cases themselves are well done and I feel as if each case is as important as the last. The protagonist is disappointing the only time the protagonist gets any depth is near the end of the game. From a technicalThe reason I give L.A Noire a 10 is because it goes where no game has ventured before and it does it well. More in depth though the storyline is superb and well written. The cases themselves are well done and I feel as if each case is as important as the last. The protagonist is disappointing the only time the protagonist gets any depth is near the end of the game. From a technical standpoint the game is a marvel, not a single glitch in my playthrough and the motionscan is remarkable. The shootouts are fun, the cover system is simple but its still good the car and foot chases are always fun. So in short L.A Noire is not your typical game, it makes you think and it does something new, definitely a great buy.… Expand
  68. j11t33
    Nov 2, 2012
    10
    It did take 3 minutes when I discovered "aaaawshit!! thats not GTA 1947!!!" and no it wasnt it was better it was a coldblooded-crimethriller. After playing 1hour I discovered how great game is that. The plot is unforgettable, so exciting and intresting. Motion-Scan technology works perfectly in interviews. Game is very special but good way. That's the game that everyone needs to try. ItsIt did take 3 minutes when I discovered "aaaawshit!! thats not GTA 1947!!!" and no it wasnt it was better it was a coldblooded-crimethriller. After playing 1hour I discovered how great game is that. The plot is unforgettable, so exciting and intresting. Motion-Scan technology works perfectly in interviews. Game is very special but good way. That's the game that everyone needs to try. Its still game of 10points ,unless replaying value is zero. Rockstar games know once again whichlike games self-respecting gamers like and there is lots of more examples from Rockstar Games: Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Autos and Max Payne 3… Expand
  69. niconline
    Oct 29, 2012
    9
    On paper, LA Noire sounds like an open-world sandbox fused with an interactive movie, but in truth, it's so much more. It's groundbreaking, effortlessly engaging and utterly sublime. To miss playing LA Noire would be a heinous crime. Simply put, it's a work of unbridled genius.
  70. guillermop
    Aug 23, 2012
    5
    my god that was a trudge at the end. i understand what they were trying to do with this game, but this game never should've been "open world". I'm sort of glad it failed commercially since open world for the sake of open world is blah. The game never really hit the heights needed to make up for its lows.
  71. dumle
    Jul 31, 2012
    7
    L.A. Noire is a hard game to judge. The game has an interesting story, good atmosphere, long campaign and above all else the game has some pretty new and interesting game mechanics that you probably have not seen before in an "AAA" game. Sadly the game is not without problems. A lot of the cases you are working on are quite similar, the driving mechanic is pretty bad, a lot of cases hasL.A. Noire is a hard game to judge. The game has an interesting story, good atmosphere, long campaign and above all else the game has some pretty new and interesting game mechanics that you probably have not seen before in an "AAA" game. Sadly the game is not without problems. A lot of the cases you are working on are quite similar, the driving mechanic is pretty bad, a lot of cases has a weird and unnatural progression combined with a lack of interactivity, the side missions are quite similar to each other, the interviewing mechanics could be improved and the biggest flaw of them all is that the game gets repetitive. No matter the case the gameplay structure stays the same. The game is a pony with a few tricks it keeps showing over and over again and quite frankly it gets kind of boring after a while. If you however like me play 1 or 2 cases every now and then you are probably going to have a blast. This game could have been fantastic, in the end its simply good. Hopefully some game in the future will fix be just that.… Expand
  72. SpunkyMonkey
    Jul 24, 2012
    3
    LA Noire is simply Dragon's Lair for the new Millennium, and I feel for the folk who get suckered into loving "games" like these. LA Noire simply does not have enough interaction, enough repercussions or enough substance on the whole to be anything more than a really boring movie. Also, what little interaction is there in the game is pretty badly done too. The difference between doubting aLA Noire is simply Dragon's Lair for the new Millennium, and I feel for the folk who get suckered into loving "games" like these. LA Noire simply does not have enough interaction, enough repercussions or enough substance on the whole to be anything more than a really boring movie. Also, what little interaction is there in the game is pretty badly done too. The difference between doubting a person's answer and accusing them of lie-ing is often silly, and then it doesn't feel consequential to anyone other than completion-ists; the actual "action" itself feels very linear and very much stuck on a railroad track, the massive LA world contains nothing of note; and the main protagonist is a prick who quickly becomes annoying. There came a point in the game where I was asked to "shadow" a suspect in a cafe - after a few fails the game asked me "would you like to skip this?" - FFS! A key point in the plot and it's treated as if it doesn't matter - it just made things feel cheap and it was as if the game admitted "yeah, this bits a bit crap but we thought we'd chuck it in anyway". Also on the whole the plot seems very disjointed at times and, if you play it out differently to how most would (ie go to a later destination before the obvious one), then the plot often gets a few jumbled up lines thrown in which don't make sense. Other than superb facial animations I really can't see why anyone would be interested in such a pointless game.… Expand
  73. m3xc
    Jul 18, 2012
    6
    This is a tricky game to write a review for due to the fact that this game is for an extremely select few. To give a bit of background: Noir is my favorite genre of film and fiction, I was practically raised on the stuff.

    The best summary I can give is this: The game play elements all play well but they are mediocre at best- the action and driving is standard and polished however does    This is a tricky game to write a review for due to the fact that this game is for an extremely select few. To give a bit of background: Noir is my favorite genre of film and fiction, I was practically raised on the stuff.

    The best summary I can give is this: The game play elements all play well but they are mediocre at best- the action and driving is standard and polished however does not stand out amongst games that hold a more consistent focus on third-person action (Max Payne 3) or driving (any GTA game). When I speak of driving elements in L.A. Noire, the driving is fun but because points are deducted if the player does anything that is logically contradicting to a police officer's duty- this makes sense- but any sort of vigilantism is nonexistent, which is peculiar given that the game is supposed to be about corruption and scandalous themes. Sure, the main character is a "goody two shoes" but it would be cool if there was a development where he becomes more of an antihero- this would make it classic noir.

    On the note of vigilantism, the game is initself a contribution to the noir genre - this brings up a minor complaint on my behalf that the game is spelled "noire" as if its trying to be avant garde or chic despite the fact that it could have easily been spelled "L.A. Noir" and perhaps would have looked better; many elements of noir are not present (focus on shadows, the hero being an anti hero), although the cliches of murder, crime etc are present. I suppose this is insignificant in the big picture though.

    The highlight and main focus on the game lies in the interrogation of suspects and witnesses, and it is in this regard that the game does get some major pros- the cons inherent are that, after a while, it can become extremely difficult to get the "correct" answers (being "lie," "truth," "doubt") and the major encouraging facet that how some of the missions unfold and how the plot is unveiled is based on the where, who, how and why's extracted from interrogations can be very clever.

    Though, for a perfectionist who wants to get down the "perfect" (or close to "perfect") accomplishment of tacit objectives in the missions, there is a requirement of having to restart the entire mission and some of the longer cutscenes cannot be skipped; as well the same interrogations must be done to lead one from one character to the next.

    The plot is good. People have compared it to L.A. Confidential, which is a fair comparison, though I would say that the film is much better and (perhaps ironic to the game) executed in a fashion more fitting to the noir genre.

    It's not that this game is bad, it's just not stellar or even very great, in the long run. Rent it or borrow it first from a friend but keep in mind the game becomes understandably formulaic. Regardless it should be praised for being unique- but being unique has never made a game a standalone classic or an absolute must have.    … Expand
  74. reviewedgames
    Jul 15, 2012
    10
    This game gets a 10 from me and if I could go higher I would, this game is worth $ 80.00 if you ask me. Please get the game you will not be disappointed. It is rockstars best game besides Gta 4. It's reviewedgames game of the year 2011.
  75. Tubey
    Jul 3, 2012
    7
    Graphically, this is a tour de force of a game. But, as an actual game, it is mediocre, with repetitive gameplay which is surprisingly linear for a game that on the surface looks like a sandbox game from Rockstar. That said, it is innovative, the detective elements of the game draw you in and make you feel like you're playing the role of a detective in a very real way, the facialGraphically, this is a tour de force of a game. But, as an actual game, it is mediocre, with repetitive gameplay which is surprisingly linear for a game that on the surface looks like a sandbox game from Rockstar. That said, it is innovative, the detective elements of the game draw you in and make you feel like you're playing the role of a detective in a very real way, the facial recognition of lies etc, is an interesting concept - one they haven't really pulled off 100% (amusingly, faults are mostly due to the odd bad actor rather than the technology but it's still very good) but you have to commend the effort.

    It's not going to be something you play again when you finish it, but I'd describe it as the perfect rental title. You'll finish it in a week, and feel pretty good about it when you do. So, for me, I'll ignore the repetitiveness, the overall air of pretention and just how casual the game is overall and give it a decent score. In short, you just have to recognise it for what it is. 7/10.    … Expand
  76. likes2sing
    Jun 11, 2012
    10
    This game does things that are quite innovative and frankly it should be something that changes how games are done in the future. The facial motion capture, and the use of real actors makes the game a classic. There's actually quite a bit to do in the game besides the cases, so it never gets boring. The realism of the cars, and the settings are so spot on, its just amazing. There's aThis game does things that are quite innovative and frankly it should be something that changes how games are done in the future. The facial motion capture, and the use of real actors makes the game a classic. There's actually quite a bit to do in the game besides the cases, so it never gets boring. The realism of the cars, and the settings are so spot on, its just amazing. There's a point in the game (about 3 quarters in I guess), where the flashbacks is done so well, its as good as a great movie. Suddenly you have a character is more human and interesting than any in gaming history. After you figure out how to interrogate, that almost becomes the best part. Gathering evidence also gets more fun since you start to realize how to close a case. And when you want something else to do, you can run around find a hidden vehicle, or film real. Great fun and worth replaying.… Expand
  77. nemesisio
    Jun 6, 2012
    10
    I'm currently about halfway through this game, and I had to come here and add a review. I'm really, really impressed. The acting, and performance technology are head and shoulders (ha) above anything else out there. You can actually recognize characters face, and see subtle performance ticks that haven't gone through the hand-animation grinder. It really creates an atmosphere ofI'm currently about halfway through this game, and I had to come here and add a review. I'm really, really impressed. The acting, and performance technology are head and shoulders (ha) above anything else out there. You can actually recognize characters face, and see subtle performance ticks that haven't gone through the hand-animation grinder. It really creates an atmosphere of reality that's missing from so many games. The dialog is handled very well, and the writing is great. I like the atmosphere just driving around town. I just played Diablo 3, so quality writing and dialogue complexity really shine for me here. The in-game radio is really nice too, adding to the feel of being in the 1940's with shows like "The Bickersons" Now, some VERY small gripes-- I wish there was even more variety on the radio stations in the game. It would have helped the reality if they never repeated. I also wish there was a little more variety in what the in-game secondary characters say, so they aren't always just talking about seeing me in the paper over and over. Also, I wish there was a bit more to the interviews so they didn't feel so much like guessing games. Maybe there could have been some way to examine evidence again during interviews and combine them with characters and locations to see if Phelps sees the connection I do before I'm in an interview. These gripes are so small for me they really only barely nick the score so I'm sticking with a 10.… Expand
  78. wesker2012
    May 28, 2012
    5
    I was looking forward to this game, it looks really nice, but fun factor wise i give a 6
  79. Sydek93jm
    May 27, 2012
    9
    What I don't like: I'd loved to see a little bit of more transcendence of my actions. The weird camera moving system when you drive. Helping buttons are shown during the whole game, which makes decreasing the challenge's difficulty. I missed a cooperative mode, you always have a single companion with you. / What like: Very accurate and credible weapon's names. Very well documented, it'sWhat I don't like: I'd loved to see a little bit of more transcendence of my actions. The weird camera moving system when you drive. Helping buttons are shown during the whole game, which makes decreasing the challenge's difficulty. I missed a cooperative mode, you always have a single companion with you. / What like: Very accurate and credible weapon's names. Very well documented, it's clearly visible that the creators made a great compilation of the information needed. The game's difficulty is challenging, specially at the interrogatories. / Conclusion: This is the best game I've tried from this company, just incredible, it makes you experiment a direct connection with the main character.… Expand
  80. watithink123
    May 6, 2012
    9
    L.A Noire s one of the best game I have ever played. Rockstar Games make another masterpiece of a game. This game gets the best story award of 2011 and of any game I have ever played by me. Part 1 of L.A Noire was fantastic and part 2 even better and part 3 was the best. The ending was good. I don't no why people thought it was odd. It was very sad ending. Part 1 8/10 Part 2 9/10 Part 3L.A Noire s one of the best game I have ever played. Rockstar Games make another masterpiece of a game. This game gets the best story award of 2011 and of any game I have ever played by me. Part 1 of L.A Noire was fantastic and part 2 even better and part 3 was the best. The ending was good. I don't no why people thought it was odd. It was very sad ending. Part 1 8/10 Part 2 9/10 Part 3 9/10 L.A Noire 9.4/10… Expand
  81. Kermie
    May 4, 2012
    9
    L.A. Noire is a phenomenal experience. Not only is it a unique twist on the open world sandbox game, but it is an unbelievably refreshing challenge. While the challenge of most games of today are about shooting and quick kills, gaining experience and killing bosses etc., L.A. Noire challenges the player to investigate, put together esoteric clues, and decide whether or not someone isL.A. Noire is a phenomenal experience. Not only is it a unique twist on the open world sandbox game, but it is an unbelievably refreshing challenge. While the challenge of most games of today are about shooting and quick kills, gaining experience and killing bosses etc., L.A. Noire challenges the player to investigate, put together esoteric clues, and decide whether or not someone is lying or telling the truth during interrogations, via the ridiculously detailed facial animation capture technology. There are shooting moments, but they pepper certain moments of rising action. It's not a normal game by any means, especially coming from the controversial developer Rockstar. But this game is by no means simple; characters are mature, the material is mature, and the way L.A. Noire engages the player is far different than anything I've ever played. The way the story, the sub plots, every single cutscene, and cases all weave together truly engage the player to think as well as examine all aspects of what exactly is going on is masterful, if a little unbalanced. The gameplay mechanics may be a little wonky at some moments, and there are a couple glitches that occur, and the story may take quite some time to start getting good, but the positives more than outweigh the negatives. L.A. Noire is innovative, fresh, and most of all engaging and challenging, all in new ways. Rockstar and Team Bondi have truly crafted an awesome and riveting experience, one that comes fairly close to be crowned the "Citizen Cane" of video games, if it is a minor bit flawed. This is one game I definitely recommend to anyone looking for a now inexpensive and very fresh take on the sandbox video game. 9.5/10, rounds up to 10 on metacritic… Expand
  82. CoolDadTx
    Apr 9, 2012
    7
    I was so psyched for this game and it was a letdown. Rockstar has absolutely no clue how to finish a good story. The story started out great but quickly boiled down to stupid, illogical and finally just disappointing. They need to get rid of their writers because they suck at endings. The main character was whiny, wimpy and a moron. The face recognization was supposedly awesome but II was so psyched for this game and it was a letdown. Rockstar has absolutely no clue how to finish a good story. The story started out great but quickly boiled down to stupid, illogical and finally just disappointing. They need to get rid of their writers because they suck at endings. The main character was whiny, wimpy and a moron. The face recognization was supposedly awesome but I found it all but useless. Most of the time characters acted and looked the same irrelevant of whether they were lying or not. And if you got it wrong (and wanted 5 starts) you had to start over. I spent more time wasting away on replaying missions and sitting through the unskippable cutscenes just because the game illogically felt someone was lying. If the LAPD was so blind and stupid in that era that they couldn't recognize when they arrested the wrong person or when someone was lying then LA would have never survived. The entire "who's guilty and who's innocent" was nothing more than a writer's poor attempt at creating a believable story. There were only a handful of cases where the guilty party even made sense. It was so horribly bad.

    The vehicles were hard (and unrealistic) to control, the traffic AI was really bad and the driving sections made little sense. Never once couuld I (a detective in LAPD) catch someone who decided to drive away - businessman, student, whatever. Even worse was that traffic lights seemed coded to be red when you needed to go through them so you end up driving the entire time with your siren on. Even then half the time cars would pull out in front of you anyway.

    The story also went about 2 desks too long. After the homicide desk they should have stopped but instead they continued to bring down the story with the additional desks. The arson was perhaps the worst as you hardly ever played as the person you were playing the first 4 desks. Finally the save points were in bad places - just before unskippable cutscenes, after some point where you couldn't go back, etc.

    On the positive notes the combat seemed reasonable, the city was huge (a good thing since you end up driving all around it forever), the graphics were great and the acting wasn't too bad. The collectibles (especially since you couldn't easily track them) needed some work and it would have been nice if the collectibles were more than just a checkbox on your list. The city could also have been used better. As it stood I always had my partner drive just to get to the next part of the game.

    I was so excited about this game but by the time I was half way through the game I was ready for it to end and not really impressed. I've never really been that impressed with Rockstar's games and from now on I'm going to strongly evaluate whether I'll purchase them. They just don't have a good track record of creating good ending and games worth playing.    … Expand
  83. OnAnarchy
    Mar 20, 2012
    8
    There are many things good about this game, but there are also a lot of problems I will address. This game has the most beautiful facial animations, motion capture, and even some of the best acting in any game to date. The story is gripping, it keeps you interested, and the uniqueness of the gameplay only adds to the experience that is L.A. Noire. Sadly, this game lacks replay value in aThere are many things good about this game, but there are also a lot of problems I will address. This game has the most beautiful facial animations, motion capture, and even some of the best acting in any game to date. The story is gripping, it keeps you interested, and the uniqueness of the gameplay only adds to the experience that is L.A. Noire. Sadly, this game lacks replay value in a serious way. It really is only a mystery once; there are no options, no alternates, just the same outcomes to each case. I beat this game 100% (my second Rockstar 100% after RDR), and while I still find myself playing RDR every once in a while, I have not touched L.A. Noire since my final achievement. There is nothing left for me to do. Combine that with some tedious tasks required to get 100% completion (randomly spawning collectibles, WHY), repetitive side quests, and a few mechanical problems, this game gets an 8. I enjoyed it immensely, but there is no replay value to it at all. Rent it, beat it, return it. It is not a game I would advocate purchasing… Expand
  84. PTamp
    Mar 12, 2012
    6
    I loved the art and style of this title but ultimately I couldn't get into the protagonist Cole Phelps. The overarching plot involves the detective's rise in the LAPD over several years. This thread intertwines with Phelps' past in the Marines told in a series of flashbacks in the form of cutscenes. Eventually the past and present come together to define the character.

    The game itself    I loved the art and style of this title but ultimately I couldn't get into the protagonist Cole Phelps. The overarching plot involves the detective's rise in the LAPD over several years. This thread intertwines with Phelps' past in the Marines told in a series of flashbacks in the form of cutscenes. Eventually the past and present come together to define the character.

    The game itself plays as an interactive detective movie set in post-ww2 LA. PCC streetcars roll the wide boulevards as you drive to the crime scenes. I ultimately hated the car chase scenes. The controls weren't intuitive for me.

    The facial technology that went into the characters while you are interrogating them was quite impressive, however I felt that this aspect of gameplay became almost like work as I tried to read body language to determine if the person was lying.    … Expand
  85. SergentLeClair
    Mar 11, 2012
    8
    LA Noire takes face animation to a whole new level. LA Noire is based on true crimes that were committed in LA. You play as Cole Phelps a World War II vet searching for justice in LA. The only problem with the game is that there is not much replay involved. The only replay is you can approach different situations different ways. For example; One time you may say someone is telling theLA Noire takes face animation to a whole new level. LA Noire is based on true crimes that were committed in LA. You play as Cole Phelps a World War II vet searching for justice in LA. The only problem with the game is that there is not much replay involved. The only replay is you can approach different situations different ways. For example; One time you may say someone is telling the truth, that may be right or wrong, another time you can say they are lying. Ever decision you make goes through the mission/case differently, but by the end the result in the case is usually the same unless you have a choice on who to charge, or you compleatly screw up the case and things don't really make sense at all. The VERDICT: LA Noire is a great first time play through. Things do get repetitive, but other then that this game is one of my favorites. I'm someone who always pretends to be the cop driving around in GTA, so this game fit my needs pretty well.… Expand
  86. musto95
    Mar 6, 2012
    9
    The depth and uniqueness that each case possess makes you feel like you're really part of the LAPD. Sure, you don't always have access to a gun, but in all honestly, it is not even necessary. It was exciting and interesting playing the "good guy" rather than the opposite, like in other "Rockstar" games.
  87. L4DLegend91
    Mar 1, 2012
    9
    For me, L.A. Noire is one of those games that is very hard not to like. At one point or another in our childhood, we've either wanted to be a detective or played being a detective with our friends and L.A. Noire just allows you to be one. The game has its faults but they are few and far between and nothing that would make this game bad. Driving can be a little hectic, even if you put theFor me, L.A. Noire is one of those games that is very hard not to like. At one point or another in our childhood, we've either wanted to be a detective or played being a detective with our friends and L.A. Noire just allows you to be one. The game has its faults but they are few and far between and nothing that would make this game bad. Driving can be a little hectic, even if you put the siren on, cars tend to not move, people tend to still not care. Also, things can get kind of linear at times. The side missions always involve you shooting someone whose either robbed a bank or gotten into some kind of dispute. The great things about the game is just the experience of playing as a cop. Finding clues, questioning suspects, shootouts, trying to find the right person to charge, that whole experience is brilliant. The graphics are great, the people and their facial expressions are great, overall great game.… Expand
  88. Idrial24
    Feb 29, 2012
    10
    Ok rant time people this is not GTA yes its made by rockstar and the car driving is similar, if this was GTA it would have it in the title. OK it can be repetitive but that's only cos your a dictective, so if you find a body your gonna be looking for clues in the same way. but you dont have to follow the story there are side missions and challanges to do. I like it cos you actually have toOk rant time people this is not GTA yes its made by rockstar and the car driving is similar, if this was GTA it would have it in the title. OK it can be repetitive but that's only cos your a dictective, so if you find a body your gonna be looking for clues in the same way. but you dont have to follow the story there are side missions and challanges to do. I like it cos you actually have to use your head in this game and use deductive reasoning to achieve the right out come. More CSI than GTA. Gr8 Game Graphics with the face capture, and the o;y game that showed some guts in using new tech in 2011.… Expand
  89. Jbrizzy
    Feb 24, 2012
    4
    This game was just boring as hell, AS HELL!! I was very disappointed as i was somewhat hyped about this ,but after a good hour worth of gameplay ,I just wanted to go back to my bed and take a nap. This game doesn't even get interesting until the last chapter, but by then you would have most likely given up playing this repetitve mess overall. And there is Absoulutely no build up too theThis game was just boring as hell, AS HELL!! I was very disappointed as i was somewhat hyped about this ,but after a good hour worth of gameplay ,I just wanted to go back to my bed and take a nap. This game doesn't even get interesting until the last chapter, but by then you would have most likely given up playing this repetitve mess overall. And there is Absoulutely no build up too the ending, so if you don't pay close attention, you wont know what the hell is going on torwards the end. Rockstar has already proven that a Logo on a box is not a game make with that crappy State of emergency game, so idk why people blame it on Rockstar, Blame the developers. this game was just too overhyped and idk why anyone would even consider buying the DLC for this Just to play more generic, repetitve, boring point and click missions.… Expand
  90. Gidlucifer
    Feb 22, 2012
    9
    As whole the game was gripping, although I play games for the narrative, story and character dev.
    I can't really make an apt review of the game play; one point it was very repetitive.
    The biggest pro to this game is the story, I shed a manly tear.
  91. MercilessMonkey
    Feb 11, 2012
    7
    There are a lot of great things about this game, but there are a few big things holding it back. The graphics are gorgeous, and their new facial technology is pretty impressive. The story is pretty well done overall, and you can definitely put some time into the game. However, I thought a lot of the cases were too easy, while others turned out to be someone way out of left field. It wasThere are a lot of great things about this game, but there are a few big things holding it back. The graphics are gorgeous, and their new facial technology is pretty impressive. The story is pretty well done overall, and you can definitely put some time into the game. However, I thought a lot of the cases were too easy, while others turned out to be someone way out of left field. It was not very satisfying to solve a case with one real suspect, and annoying to get it wrong for insignificant seeming little details. The controls are pretty clunky on the ground, which makes any shooting parts not particularly enjoyable. Overall it's a fun game with a good story, but I think it could have been executed a lot better.… Expand
  92. Sidders
    Feb 7, 2012
    4
    When i first got this i was really excited about it!. But it was one of the biggest disappointments of the year for me!. The graphics are absolutely beautiful, and the way it plays it great! same as the GTA franchis, it was the story that let me down the most. Too say the least i hated it! i have never played a game which has been as repetitive as this one (and i've played AssassinsWhen i first got this i was really excited about it!. But it was one of the biggest disappointments of the year for me!. The graphics are absolutely beautiful, and the way it plays it great! same as the GTA franchis, it was the story that let me down the most. Too say the least i hated it! i have never played a game which has been as repetitive as this one (and i've played Assassins Creed). 1st mission - investigate the crime scene, find evidence, interview some suspects, chase somebody, find out who done it...RINSE AND REPEAT!. This is basically it for each mission throughout the game. 4/10 purely because of the graphics.… Expand
  93. bohany
    Feb 4, 2012
    8
    The good: the new motionscan tech, the acting, the story, the great music
    The bad: limited world, stiff body animations and modeling, limited gameplay variety.

    overall - very solid game.
  94. wildgamer10
    Jan 30, 2012
    10
    First off, this game is amazing. The detail, graphics, storyline, and gameplay are fantastic. The storyline is the best part of it all, as with every rockstar game. even if u dislike the gameplay, at least recognize the hard work that was put into making this and detail this game has to offer.
  95. Kenmei
    Jan 1, 2012
    6
    I was kinda disappointed with this game. It was probably because of the high expectations this game had going into it's release but I was expecting a Game of the Year candidate. What I got was only a good game with some flaws. The story, which was the backbone to this game IMO, was a bit of a disappointment. I enjoyed the middle of the game, where you had to solve the case of the BlackI was kinda disappointed with this game. It was probably because of the high expectations this game had going into it's release but I was expecting a Game of the Year candidate. What I got was only a good game with some flaws. The story, which was the backbone to this game IMO, was a bit of a disappointment. I enjoyed the middle of the game, where you had to solve the case of the Black Dahlia, but I didn't like everything else you did in the game. The characters were kinda dull, especially the main character. I definitely didn't Cole and his character as he really wasn't very likable, nor could you relate to him very easily. The sandbox portions of this game were very lacking and that's especially sad coming from a company that was affiliated with Rockstar during the development of this game. Now there were some good things in this game. The well documented Motion Scan for all the facial animations was very nice and groundbreaking. However there were more bad things than good with this game for me and that's very disappointing for a game with such promise. There were some good things here that they could have capitalized on to make a tremendous game. Instead this game will forever be in the category of what could have been, along with Duke Nukem Forever.… Expand
  96. giantbiscuit
    Dec 20, 2011
    7
    The interactive detective gameplay runs smoothly and becomes pretty addicting. But I think they could have gotten a bit more creative with the cases. The plots of each murder/case are supposed to tie into each other for the sake of the overall plot, but somehow that doesn't make the repetition any less painful.
  97. House0fWolves_
    Dec 16, 2011
    10
    Anyone else feel like they're actually within the game? Especially with the Dahlia Murders. This is the climax of the game. I'm not saying the rest is awful, it isn't, but this was a jewel.
  98. SensibleGamer
    Dec 13, 2011
    8
    L.A. Noire would be great if it were'nt for its repetitive nature , but it still manages to be unique in its own way . A little more variety and this could very well have been a Game of the Year contender but nevertheless , if you're looking for challenging investigations , excellent attention to detail , a " slow to kick into high gear " yet memorable story , then L.A. Noire is the game for you .
  99. spadenx
    Dec 6, 2011
    7
    It starts off interesting and is good for a few hours but repetitive objectives, boring gameplay, and confusing interigation tactics leave this game's potential down for the count. It looks and sounds great and it very original and unique (something we havent seen for a while) but it gets so boring. It doesnt help that the plot to the game takes far too long to develope and it ends poorly as well.
  100. pyromcr
    Nov 27, 2011
    9
    This is one of the best games of the year. Everything about this game is perfect, but I have to give it a nine because there is no replay value at all. Once you beat everything, there is no reason to play the game again. I really cant wait to see what Rockstar does with this franchise in the future!
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Awards & Rankings

12
#12 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2011
9
#9 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2011
7
#7 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2011

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
89

Generally favorable reviews - based on 83 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 78 out of 83
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 83
  3. Negative: 0 out of 83
  1. Absolute Games
    Jul 26, 2011
    66
    Look past the glitz of technical achievements, richly designed sets, ostensibly interactive environments, and you will see the real L.A. Noire – a vapid adventure with a hole-ridden plot, a boring unsympathetic hero, and rough stitches in places where content should be.
    Read full review
  2. Play.tm
    Jul 13, 2011
    75
    In attempting to ape the triumphs of another medium, it overlooks the triumphs of its own. The result is disappointing game, but an impressive interactive experience.
    Read full review
  3. CD-Action
    Jul 1, 2011
    85
    L.A. Noire is a new breed of adventure game. It's quality and scale completely eclipse even the most important achievements in this genre and I strongly recommend it as the best interactive detective story of all time. [June 2011, p.52]
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