L.A. Noire

[Guynemer]

If you like film noir, definitely play this. If you don't, probably not for you.

I loved it. The ending was textbook noir.

[Felch]

The ads kind of suck, since they're all cutscenes. Is the action like GTA or what? Does it have any replay value?

[Guynemer]

There's a lot less GTA-like action. It is open-world like GTA, you can drive all over 1947 LA. But the progression is more linear, case by case, and the vast majority are advanced by studying evidence and suspect reactions as opposed to shooting it out. There are brief, optional side missions that pop up now and again that are action-oriented (shootouts, car chases).

Replay value... I'm not sure. It definitely could; I'll have to try to replay some cases I ****ed up to see how they play out differently.

The story is terrific. Very much a child of Chinatown/L.A. Confidential.

[Al B. Sure!]

I heard Marine OCS is mentioned in the game.

[Guynemer]

Yes, the protagonist is an ex-Marine, who served in the battle of Okinawa. You see many flashbacks to the time, and the repercussions of the war in general, and your actions in the war in particular, echo throughout the main plot of the game.

[DaShi]

Is it based on the book?

[DrSpike]

This looks interesting - will pick it up shortly.

[Guynemer]

Is it based on the book?

What book would that be?

It is clearly paying homage to film noir in general, Chinatown and LA Confidential in particular.

[Al B. Sure!]

Did you charge Hugo Moller with the murder of his wife or the child molester?

[mrboo123]

I when with Hugo. The evidence seemed overwhelming for him, but I still got chewed out at the end...

[Al B. Sure!]

I when with Hugo. The evidence seemed overwhelming for him, but I still got chewed out at the end...

I'm putting a spoiler for those who don't want this ruined:

Spoiler:

Yeah going into it, I suspected the child molester just happened onto the scene during his routine stalking teenage girls and that's how he came into possession of the butterfly. During the interrogation, he said pretty much that so he confirmed my suspicion. So I went with Hugo.

I don't know if the chewing out was because the child molester actually did it or because the captain really wanted him to go to prison (considering what he says right before you go to interrogate the molester). I guess after, I'll replay it and see what happens if you go with the molester.

The evidence pointed to both, though, to be honest (did you find out that the molester's work uniform was green overalls with "HM" for the name of the company stitched on the front, just like those found in the car?) but the fact that Hugo was burning evidence did it for me. I did miss a few clues and missed a few of the questions, though, so what I missed might have put the evidence towards the molester.

Did you get everything?

How's everyone who's playing it/played it doing with the clues and questioning? I usually miss 1-2 clues and miss 2-5 questions. The case with the drugged actresses was god awful for me, though. I sucked that one up. The game does seem to not let you completely fail a case, though... there was always some way to get more information (such as trailing a witness/suspect).

[Guynemer]

I found almost all of the clues, and would usually get the questioning right (maybe miss one).


As to Hugo/child molestor, I also went with Hugo. There is a similar choice later in the game, where evidence points to two suspects, and one of them is more of a pariah than the other. At the risk of spoiling, worry not; all will be revealed.

[DaShi]

What book would that be?

It is clearly paying homage to film noir in general, Chinatown and LA Confidential in particular.

http://www.amazon.com/L-Noir-Struggl...7226944&sr=1-1

[Al B. Sure!]

I kind of wished the newspapers weren't in the game. As soon as I found the Catalina Islands cruise contest stuff, in light of all the newspaper cut-scenes, I knew right away the plot-line with Fontaine, Munroe, etc. through to the arsonist and Shelton.

They do that in movies, too, though. Show stuff the protagonist doesn't know about so the audience knows more than the protagonist but in a video game, since the audience plays as the protagonist, it kind of ruins it.

Same thing with Roy. Rather than just hint at him being a snake, they show it in the cut-scene.

[Al B. Sure!]

Hey Guynemer, did you happen to check out Mafia 2? You could probably get it cheap at this point. That game had a good story. More a pulp mob story than anything especially innovative (although the last few acts are excellent and suspenseful) but between Mafia 2 and LA Noire, I've noticed game writers are producing better and better stories, not the traditional over-the-top B-movie fare that has been standard in the video game industry for decades. Voice acting has also improved tremendously. (I'd actually say Mafia 2 had better voice acting than LA Noire)