L.A. Noire (PS3, 360) - Part 1

[ChrisBaleBatman]

IA. Mexico went on way too long. I dont think they should have skipped it, but they definetly could have cut it down a bit. It felt like it broke the flow of the story bc it did drag along there for a bit and take a detour

Oh no, I don't think they should have cut it out. I just think that had they cut it out, the story still would have been cohesive and made sense.

And the thing I kept hearing about Niko, and how disconnected people felt to him was the freedom Rockstar gave us with him. He was this criminal trying to change his ways, yet we can go a killing spree and kill off people left and right. It never bothered me, but that was what I'd heard.

I would imagine that people who said that, or said the same about Drake being a mass murderer in Uncharted and Uncharted 2...will be happy as hell with the limits they've put on Det. Phelps.

Btw, I'd like to thank Team Bondi for fixing a problem I had with GTAIV. Thanks for just letting me hold up or down to work my way up and down a fire escape. Having to work my way around at an angle, trying to go up and make sure I turn right...while I'm trying to chase someone would have been a huge pain. One headache averted.

[gregtestagent]

Originally Posted by Rodrigo90

Good Points
Very challenging. Pushes you intellectually and mentally. Great interrogation parts. Trying to piece clues and theories on a suspect is excellent. Loved how it captured the look and feel of old detective movies. Great characters and storytelling.

Bad Points
The game wasn't as strong as GTA IV. I didn't feel like I was totally in control of the narrative. Controls for character and vehicle are a step down from GTA IV. It felt too linear. Too short. It was just A-B you can skip C and maybe skip D and just move onto E then F-G-H type gameplay, I thought things would lead to more open choices.

All in all, I give a 8/10.

I had to say that the world they created was not that interesting. It's filled with npcs walking around, and doing nothing else. I expected more immersion in the city, more city, and overall more things going on that did not pertain to my cases.

[Upset Spideyfan]

I would more so blame Rockstar for not making it clear that this really was in no way a free-roam game and was primarily an adventure game. They really did seem to sort of dance around the issue being as vague as they possibly could. It feels like the free roam was there because Rockstar releases games with free roam than the LA Noire actually needing it to any degree.

As somebody who generally doesn't go around wandering through a Rockstar world I was pretty happy that this game was mission (case) orientated but there were people in my GameStop when I went to get the game that were picking it up that I know would just end up freaking out when they realize that they've brought an adventure game.

[Havok83]

Ugh! I just came home to see UPS had left me a little note saying they tried to deliver. Of course I was at work so I missed the shipment and I work the next 2 days as well. I dont know why they didnt just leave it at my leasing office as has been done in the past

[jacobed]

Just finished it, really really really disappointed with the ending. They should have gone Traffic, then do Vice, Arson, and finish very strong with Homicide but nope they leave ya with that really disappointing ending.

[Blackman]

I was thinking...maybe this game wouldve been better story wise if it was divided in 2. Because it felt like 2 separate stories to me

The first game would of course be expanded but would end at Homicide adding Fraud or burglary
and then the second game was from Vice on adding either fraud or burglary (which ever one that wasnt in the first) and of course it chronicles "the fall" of Cole Phelps

[Wolvieboy17]

You can't really blame Rockstar for the addition of Free Roam. Team Bondi's last game had just about the same level of free roam to it anyway and Rockstar wasn't involved with that, I don't think.

[Master Chief]

This is actually their first game but the main guy at Team Bondi was the director for The Getaway. I like the approach of having an adventure game in an open world so I have no complaints about it feeling empty or lifeless or whatever. When you're chasing someone across rooftops and you see traffic waaay down below, that's "alive" enough for me.

[SpideyVille]

I don't think it was lifeless in the sense that things weren't happening around you, like traffic still moving and stuff, but rather in the experience away from the cases. Aside from the street crimes, there's nothing else going on, which is what makes me compare this more to Mafia II than to GTA. I'm not saying this needed more places like clubs and bars where you could go and get drunk or play games, but rather make thing more spontaneous. Like they could have you chase after someone who's speeding, or a watch a robbery unfold without having to go to a pre-determined place to stop a quick street crime.

[Master Chief]

Maybe having a couple of those in the game would have been neat but it wouldn't make it feel any different since you're always on a case. Answering a dispatch call, turning on the siren and racing to the scene is cool enough on its own.

[SpideyVille]

It's cool, but it felt limited, especially since you can only do a select few dispatch calls depending on which desk you choose to free roam in. It's funny because one of the "free roam" games that I enjoyed the most was Spider-Man 2, because even as you would go to the next place to advance the story, you could still swing around for hours doing nothing but that, and you would always have some kind of random crime taking place, except for the much hated kid with the balloon mission.

I just think a game that allows you to roam freely should also give you something to do while roaming. I mena, I drove across the map a few times to get the 194.7 miles trophy, and that's all that I did because there was nothing else to do aside from collecting cars, reels, and locations. I just drove back and forth for a few hours to get that.

[Benstamania]

The Spider-Man 2 game ticked me off. Someone really needed to tie that kids red balloon to his belt loop or something. Sheesh.

[Wolvieboy17]

But a free roam game doesn't HAVE to do that to justify itself, having an open world can have a huge influence on the immersiveness and narrative. It did the job tenfold for me in L.A. Noire, since so many great Noir films have the key scenes tied together by the protagonist driving through the streets with moody jazz music in the background. The free roam for me served to paint a huge city (which it did very well) and in effect dwarfed the player. This isn't a city you ever feel completely familiar in, you're like a small fish in a big pond trying to make a difference to the city. In just about every Noir i've ever seen, the city it takes place in plays a huge role, almost as a character in themself.

[ChrisBaleBatman]

The only reason I think people feel wronged in someway about the freeroam is because of the R attached to this game.

Which, is still a ballsy move on Rockstar's half. Taking chances like that.

[SpideyVille]

I think for me, I felt disconnected from the city because I'm not familiar with the LA area or any of the landmarks, and because for the most part, I let my partner do all the driving since I hated having to ask for directions or looking at my map to get to my target location. In GTA, even though you could take a cab to every location, I would still drive around because I'm from NY, and like to admire how every place on the map is similar to places that I've been to.

I thought the game was great with all the cases, and I really hope there's some great DLC to come out as soon as the PSN store returns, because I feel like after less than a week's worth of playing, that with all the trophies collected and everything that there is isn't really anything else to do at this point.

[Master Chief]

dude, drive in the game while following your location on google maps lol it's trippy.

[El Bastardo]

The gun gameplay is really sluggish and stilted, regardless of Aim Assist setting. Given how good the rest of the game is, that some of the gameplay doesn't match the innovation of its other features is actually kind of sad.

[Tron Bonne]

Yeah, I kind of agree. Pretty much all the action sequences (shooting, driving, fighting) seemed very weak to me.

[El Bastardo]

Fighting is kind of fun. Movement in the brawl actually matches your input commands.

I've never played a game that did chases well, whether you were chasing someone or someone was chasing you, so I agree there.

Foot chases are fun, though they're really all the same. And constantly getting kicked in the face while scaling ladders or drain pipes gets old fast.

[Jericho]

Originally Posted by SpideyVille

In GTA, even though you could take a cab to every location, I would still drive around because I'm from NY, and like to admire how every place on the map is similar to places that I've been to.

I take cabs all the time as well, but I also don't skip to destination. I like just sitting in the backseat enjoying the ride and watching the city. I hated driving because I couldn't just relax and take in the city.

LA is cool to see, but it really lacks the depth of detail Liberty City has on more than one level. It's not all that encouraging to even bother just driving around. It's pretty samey.

I was just playing GTAIV last night.

[Jericho]

Originally Posted by El Bastardo

Foot chases are fun, though they're really all the same. And constantly getting kicked in the face while scaling ladders or drain pipes gets old fast.

That's like saying getting burned from sticking your hand in the fire gets old fast. You're getting kicked because you are following too closely when climbing. You know by now Phelps isn't able to grab them and arrest them at that point so just keep enough distance.

[ProjectPat2280]

Originally Posted by Jericho

That's like saying getting burned from sticking your hand in the fire gets old fast. You're getting kicked because you are following too closely when climbing. You know by now Phelps isn't able to grab them and arrest them at that point so just keep enough distance.

This.

[SpideyVille]

Originally Posted by Jericho

That's like saying getting burned from sticking your hand in the fire gets old fast. You're getting kicked because you are following too closely when climbing. You know by now Phelps isn't able to grab them and arrest them at that point so just keep enough distance.

I could picture something screaming at the screen, "Come on Cole, yank him off just this once!"

[gregtestagent]

Originally Posted by SpideyVille

I think for me, I felt disconnected from the city because I'm not familiar with the LA area or any of the landmarks, and because for the most part, I let my partner do all the driving since I hated having to ask for directions or looking at my map to get to my target location. In GTA, even though you could take a cab to every location, I would still drive around because I'm from NY, and like to admire how every place on the map is similar to places that I've been to.

Well, I live in L.A. and it was kinda cool to see some of the existing landmarks. I felt like I was in back to the future in the areas I was so familiar with. One thing that dissapoonted me though is that the avenue where I live is cut off at the map border and I know they had it extend further in 1947.

[Havok83]

Just came home and UPS hasnt delivered my game yt. I just might be around to recieve it today