L.A. Noire
Game » consists of 17 releases. Released May 17, 2011
L.A. Noire is a detective thriller developed by Team Bondi in Australia and published by Rockstar Games.
Short summary describing this game.
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5 (29) 4 (32) 3 (7) 2 (6) 1 (2) 4.1 starsAverage score of 76 user reviews
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There's nothing quite like it. 7
L.A Noire is a hard game to classify, from some minor observation it could’ve easily been misinterpreted as GTA in the 1940’s with impressive facial tech, but if you look at anything past the obvious it’s a game with depth, an incredible story, unique gameplay and a giant sprawling open world. L.A Noire has not only set a new standard for its technology but it’s completely rewritten the book on the adventure game and open world game alike, it’s not without its flaws but it’s an incredible well ...
22 out of 24 found this review helpful. -
CSI: Los Angeles 2
As I continue to work my way through reviewing the substantial pile of games I’ve played this year, this week I find myself encountering another Rockstar Games offering: L.A. Noire. In this interactive crime drama, you accompany detective Cole Phelps he slogs through a morass of dirty cops, corrupt politicians, and mutilated corpses in an attempt to bring order and justice to 1940’s Los Angeles.Design 3 / 5At first glance, L.A. Noire looks like a typical Rockstar Grand-Theft-Auto-style game, in ...
6 out of 6 found this review helpful. -
Conceptually Intriguing, Strikingly Shallow 27
LA Noire is more concerned with showing you everything it has to offer than demanding any critical thinking from its players. If you become engrossed in the story and just want to see unfold, this probably won't be an issue, but those looking to solve complex logical puzzles are going to be disappointed.LA Noire does do a lot of things well. The technology on display is wonderful, accurately capturing the details of facial movement to a amazing degree of believability, and the atmospheric qu...
40 out of 61 found this review helpful. -
Just like LA, not much substance but plenty of flash 2
If there's any game that's come out in the first half of the year that had a big question mark on it, it was LA Noire. Aside from Duke Nukem Forever which is more about the quality of the game given its long development cycle, it was hard to pinpoint just how LA Noire would actually play. Truth be told, I'm a little tired of the sandbox style of games Rockstar has been doing so when it comes down to it, LA Noire is kind of a hybrid between sandbox and old-school adventure titles so at least it's...
10 out of 13 found this review helpful. -
A Case Study 4
It’s taken me a really long time to put my thoughts into a cogent review for LA Noire. So before I get to the review I thought that you would all indulge me in revealing some inside baseball (or cricket for any readers from the UK). Usually when I write a review for a game I lay out my thoughts mentally. It’s a careless thing on my part to write a review without first outlining it on paper. I take a few days and mull over everything that I liked and disliked. I give myself time to settle so that...
3 out of 3 found this review helpful. -
LA Noire: A game full of fame, dames, and placing blame 2
If there is one thing I've done that I'm very proud of so far this year, it was the decision to complete LA Noire. I'm incredibly glad I made this worthwhile purchase and that I took my time with it. LA Noire is a breathtaking and wonderful experience that demands your attention and encourages you to work at your own individual pace.You start off as one Mr. Cole Phelps, a beat cop eager to establish a real name and distinction for himself. Your big break comes from your first major case, Buyer B...
3 out of 3 found this review helpful. -
A Lesson in Logic 2
LA Noire is a project that I've been interested in for some time and I applaud Team Bondi for their ambitious attempt at creating a deep and unique adventure experience. However, even with the great face-recognition technology and interesting style, the flaws of LA Noire greatly outweigh the games triumphs.LA Noire is at times a gorgeous game to look at. The face-recognition technology is both endearing and off-putting. The main issue is the obvious disconnect between the quality of characters f...
9 out of 15 found this review helpful. -
A Different Kind of Game for the Rockstar Community 0
Open world games themed around crime are not a new concept, but rarely do games with this in mind take the time to delve into the nitty gritty of police work, often devolving from one shoot-out to the next. Team Bondi’s L.A. Noire breaks this trend and has players truly play the role of detective, examining clues, questioning suspects, and making arrests. It’s a methodical game, which rewards through police work with an experience unlike any other and breaks new ground with it’s face capture tec...
9 out of 15 found this review helpful. -
Cleaning the City of Angels 1
L.A. Noire has been called many things such as GTA:1947 but the thing I haven't heard which seems more appropriate now is "Major contender to Game of the Year 2011/past ten years". L.A. Noire keeps the name of Rockstar Games high up with the best, not really knowing what to expect from it I started it steadily but found myself playing the game without any pauses.L.A. Noire has this special thing so many games thrive for: a reason to go forward. While the story is divided in different sub-plots (...
6 out of 9 found this review helpful. -
The devil is in the details. 3
You don’t get a lot of games set in the 1950’s these days. Not that you ever really had a lot of them, the post WW2 era of gangsters and jazz has been left mostly unexplored by developers. LA Noire takes the player on an in-depth journey back into the blooming post war time period where cops didn’t need search warrants and corruption was just a part of the system. You soon come to realize that being an honest cop in a dirty town isn’t as easy as one might think.In LA Noire you live the life of C...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
Groundbreaking, Even If A Bit Disappointing. 0
"L.A. Noire" is not nearly as perfect or as polished as Rockstar's previous venture, "Red Dead Redemption". The level of perfect seen in that game isn't quite shown in "L.A. Noire", however none of this really diminishes Noire from being one of the better games you will play in 2011. You play as Cole Phelps, a recent graduate of the police academy and at the beginning of the game, a beat cop. You work your way up in the beginning to defective, and the beat cop missions serve as the tutorial...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
The Big Snooze 2
(Ahoy mateys! Thar be spoilers ahead!) If you're looking for someone to verbally fellate the game, you can find plenty of that elsewhere... I am not a Rockstar (R*) devotee, so I do not have a sycophantic streak for their games. I never liked GTA and that alone almost kept me from playing Red Dead Redemption (RDR) (that, and the fact that I generally don't care for westerns). To my delight, RDR turned out to be among the best games I've ever played, with nearly every element impressing the...
3 out of 4 found this review helpful. -
L.A. Noire: No Angels in This City 3
L.A. Noire, the ambitious Noir game created by Team Bondi of Australia, is something of a confusing case (see what I did there?). It took a five year development process and a new facial scanning system called MotionScan, along with some really impressive boasts of what the game would entail. So did this game live up to the hype? Did the technology used work out? Well yes, and no. You see, for everything new and exciting L.A. Noire attempts to do, it falls down on some of the most basic mech...
6 out of 13 found this review helpful. -
Great acheivement, but does that mean fun? 0
Essentially this is a very well done game, it deserves a lot of credit for its polish. But at the same time does that translate to fun? For some people yes and others not at all. I fall into the camp of mostly no, the amount of sheer fun and excitement in this game were to heavily drown out by the tedious, boring and unexciting sifting of detective work. The graphics were smooth and the new tech with character face animation capture is amazing for games but isn't as close to reality as s...
5 out of 11 found this review helpful. -
Like solving crimes? You should probably play this. 0
I don't know anything about Noir as a genre or Police Procedural for that matter, but LA Noire has a gripping atmosphere and that the police work depicted in the game is more about clue finding, suspect interrogating and witness interviewing than simply shooting guys makes the game a dozen times more interesting than it could've been otherwise.Combat actually is arguably the games weakest point from a gameplay perspective.Not that it's terrible, it's just thoroughly average. It takes insp...
2 out of 3 found this review helpful. -
What I've always wanted 0
Do you ever get the feeling that something was created specifically for you? That's what L.A. Noire makes me feel. See, I love the era of between the 1920s and 1940s. The cars, the women, the simplicity, the music, fashion and radio. Films like Chinatown, L.A. Confidential, Hoodlum, The Godfather appeal to me because they take me back to a time that I would wish to visit should I ever get a time traveling DeLorean. Video games have scratched the itch of experiencing life during the e...
2 out of 3 found this review helpful. -
The case that makes you can be the case that breaks you 0
A game years in the making, L.A. Noire features an engaging adventure taking place in 1947 Los Angeles where player control Cole Phelps through his rise in the LAPD. Team Bondi & Rockstar games have created a crime epic that plays like no other game thanks to their experience and new technology to bring an actor's performance into a game like never before. Examining Bodies is just one part of the job After serving the nation during World War II, specifically in the Okinawa campaign, C...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Enter the streets of '40s L.A. in one of the year's best games 0
It's rare for an open-world game with the Rockstar logo on it to put zero emphasis on murderous rampages, but that is exactly the case in L.A. Noire. Rather than focusing on a disturbed individual who's perfectly fine with ending any life form he comes across, L.A. Noire does a 180 degree turn and throws the police into the spotlight. The result is a fantastically crafted open-world adventure game with little emphasis on action and and more emphasis on stellar investigation mechanics and unbelie...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Ancient gameplay with a fresh coat of paint 0
There are few good things to say about LA Noire, but what little there is actually means very much. LA Noire is, as you probably know, leader in the field of facial motion capturing. They've managed to record facial animation in a way that surpasses the uncanny valley and for that LA Noire earns praise. LA Noire began development in 2004 and, sadly, it feels like a first gen 360 title. The sandbox world is strange and lacking. There are no areas to visit. There are barely any car physics. ...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
The new age of "Graphic Adventure" gaming. 0
If you are thinking Rockstar's L.A. Noire is going to be anything like their previous titles (Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption), you're going to be greatly disappointed. If anything, L.A. Noire is an evolution of the adventure genre. Just because this game is open world doesn't mean you're free to do whatever you want in every aspect of that meaning. You're going to be tied down to solving crimes and driving in a very open 40's Los Angeles, California. And just because you're sporting a pis...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
La Noire Review - Imaginative titles was never my forte 0
StoryLa Noire is as a grand homage to the Noire genre with a well written story that feels right at home with films like LA Confidential. Unfortunately, the excellent narrative is straddled with gameplay elements which, while fun at first, tend to become repetitive and make for an overly passive experience.You play as detective Cole Phelps, a WWII veteran out to make a name for himself in the LA Police department. Over the course of the game, you will be assigned to different assignments, inclu...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Video Review: Despite Ambitious Premise, L.A. Noire Disappoints 0
I had high hopes for L.A. Noire. Everything about the game seemed to promise a genre-mixing blend of quick burst action sequences intertwined with methodically paced detective work. The balance and pacing of L.A. Noire is superb, complementing the story’s characters and developing plotlines with intriguing conclusions. Unfortunately the entire game isn’t perfected to a T, a problem which can typically be ignored when the overall experience is satisfying. However, the fault of L.A. Noire is that ...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Almost Incredible 0
Before LA Noire was released, I was extremely skeptical. Good facial animation does not a game make, and prior to the game’s release, the good ol’ marketing team never showed much beyond that. But, my skepticism was completely unfounded. LA Noire is a triumph for storytelling in games, with some of the best voice acting I’ve ever heard in any game, ever. It transcends its episodic structure to tell a wonderfully crafted narrative, with characters that you will care about. Oh, and did I m...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
A Completely Unique Masterpiece 1
Make no mistake; LA Noire is an adventure game, through and through. Even though you're running around the classic open-world environments Rockstar is known for, participating in car chases and gun fights, most of that is mere window dressing compared to searching for clues and interrogating suspects. The real meat of the game involves unraveling the sordid truth behind a murder, behind a suspect, and eventually, behind an entire city. If you enjoy a good detective story, filled with all the cla...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Completely Engrossing Experience 0
I came into L.A. Noire not knowing quite what to expect. Based on reviews of the game, it seemed like an attempt at the best of what Rockstar offers in the story department with less of the annoying gameplay quirks. However, I heard a number of complaints about the evidence system and how things ended up feeling a little too "video gamey". After spending a number of hours with the game, I am pleased to say that this is easily one of the best times I've had experiencing a game story in years.The ...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
I'm bad at writing review titles 0
L.A.Noire hits all the right notes for me and managed to sink it's fangs in pretty quick. I loved the setting and the character designs (there's just something about a man in a nice sharp suit). I loved the fact that Rockstar didn't punish me for being bad at driving in games or for occasionally not wanting to replay the same shooting sequence over and over again. I found the story genuinely intriguing; not overly predictable but not needlessly convoluted. I found myself really angry with certai...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
A modern take on a slow burning genre 0
Contrary to the "Grand Theft Noir" vibe that it gives, L.A. Noire is more of a modern take on old school slow and methodical adventure games than a GTA open world action game. Using cutting edge technology the game requires you to read the facial expressions of characters you interrogate in order to determine whether or not they're telling the truth or not. Fitting somewhere in between a straight linear adventure game narrative and open world game, L.A. Noire is probably not going to completely ...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Best Mystery Game Ever 0
Rockstar, who has become the most consistently amazing game developer out there, brought out the much-troubled L.A Noire at last. And, yet again, they make a game radically different than their usual fare. True, it is open world --- but this game has nothing in common with Grand Theft Auto. Doesn't have anything really in common with Bully. Obviously, drastically different than Table Tennis and Max Payne. That they have such a willingness to try something completely different than they have done...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Does not hold up 0
L.A. Noire is a really interesting game. A detective story with elements of interrogation, search for clues, and shooting, it does not quite deliver in any of these aspects. Although the story is interesting, and the cases are taken from real life, the actual gameplay is tedious and boring. The shooting doesn't feel good at all, driving is very stiff and cumbersome, and the interviews feel like complete guesswork sometimes. I enjoyed the setting and the characters, but they do not offset the pro...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
This doesn't pertain to the case 0
The marketing campaign that preempted L.A Noire’s release didn’t do a great job at explaining what kind of game it is, so let’s be clear- L.A. Noire is an adventure game. That means it’s a methodically paced, story driven affair that boasts some interesting ideas, while simultaneously feeling like a chore to play. Fans of noir in general should find it satisfying on the whole, but anyone else might want to tread carefully when considering L.A. Noire.Being an adventure game, you’ll spend the majo...
2 out of 4 found this review helpful. -
L.A. Noire Review: Success is a double-edged sword 0
When someone tells you Rockstar Games is working on something new, assumptions are made, and in the past, have been mostly correct. Rockstar’s craftsmanship has flourished from their first encounter with open-world gameplay in Grand Theft Auto 3. L.A. Noire breaks that pattern and offers a variety of drastically different mechanics that arguably counter the freedom of their past work. For the avid fans of the GTA series, this is a game that’s not the same style, or even same genre for that matt...
1 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
LA Noire 2
this game is completely overrated. Its boring to play, the graphics are good but you cant go where you want to, its really linear and traps you doing what they want you do. Cant believe this is getting 5 stars of reviewers. shooting is too easy. face animations are impressive but not much more. cases are failed in bullshit ways. rent it, dont buy it...
2 out of 14 found this review helpful. -
Black Coffee and Cigarrettes 0
I think I enjoyed L.A. Noire. Well, at least, I know it’s an important game: it’s important because the technology (finally) captures decent facial emotion and because Rockstar breaks the silent-protagonist curse. The worst part of L.A. Noire was when I was playing the game; this sounds harsh but I did really enjoy the game. Albeit lengthy, at no point did I become exhausted of the numerous and somewhat similar tricks of drive to destination, talk to local lackeys at said destination, investigat...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
Great storytelling 0
LA Noire is a great game experience. Using new motion capture techniques Rockstar have put together a fun and unique way of solving cases. The shooting element is fairly weak but that is not the core premise of the game. The soundtrack is good, LA has been well represented in the game and the characters are memorable. Looking forward to the new DLC for this....
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
A nice change of pace. 0
A game that will set the benchmark, probably short lived, for facial animation and actors in games. The story was a typical Rockstar tragedy with some cheap laughs thrown in. Once again though R* makes a memorable cast of characters. PS3 version seems like the way to go with the whole having one disk thing, but regardless this game deserves to be a GOTY contender. Giving it 4 stars for a lackluster and open ending. ...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
L.A. Noire Review 0
LA Noire is from RockStar and Team Bondi. It puts you into the shoes of a cop of the rise named Cole Phelps. You'll get the chance to solve case for multiple different departments within the LAPD. You'll find yourself in the Traffic division, Homicide, VICE, and Arson. You'll have to track down all the clues and get your witnesses and suspects to tell you exactly what you need to do. If you can accomplish all of this you might find yourself as one of the best in LA.Graphically this game starts o...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
Eat your heart out, Dick Tracy 0
L.A. Noire’s teaser trailers would have you believe it is Grand Theft Auto: 1947, and for those who buy this game expecting an open world full of hookers, dick jokes, and gratuitous nudity, there will be disappointment. Despite being published by Rockstar and featuring many of the same sandbox trappings that made them famous, tonally, this is about as far from the GTA series as possible. Team Bondi has created a rich, intriguing adventure game that deals with vice, murder, and lust in a mature w...
0 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
A Very Memorable Experience 0
LA Noire is a genre breaking game. Yes it has an open world and 3rd person shooter mechanics but unlike many of Rockstar's other games this is nothing like Grand Theft Auto.The game surrounds you in a fully fleshed out version of 1940's LA populated by civilians, trams, cars and stylish scenery. You take on the role of Detective Cole Phelps a war veteran who has firmly entrenched himself into the LAPD. Throughout the game you will progress through the police force earning promotions to different...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
Tacky Suits and Fedoras Unite; L.A. Noire Delivers 0
The news media would certainly agree that there have been plenty of open world representations of the criminal lifestyle in video games; Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption are some shining examples of that actuality. In contrast, few titles have ever attempted to emulate the opposite element of society. Outside of tie-in products featuring comic book superheroes and a few throw-away adventure games branded with the CSI license, crime-fighting is a drastically underrepresented concept withi...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
Unfinishable 0
God, hype can be fatal. Sixty dollars, I spent on this game, or an entire day's weeping in a bathroom stall at the Law firm where I do paralegal work. It is simply unnecessary that L.A. Noire be so middling, but so it is. An expensive gimmick for everybody involved. Echoes of Jurassic Park: Trespasser- only this time, to its credit, the gimmick works, which is to say that the faces look good. I did not finish L.A. Noire, but I stuck with L.A. Noire, far beyond the point where I was having ...
0 out of 3 found this review helpful. -
The True Definition of a Mature Game... 0
Note: The gameplay videos may contain spoilers, so watch at your own risk! It is pretty easy to judge mature rated video games especially in today's society. They are judged by the content they have from violence, gore, use of profanity, and so on, which basically describes a normal first-person shooter. Games never really take advantage of the mature rating going beyond just content alone and actually take overall tone into consideration. Rockstar Games is no stranger to games that ha...
0 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Its a review!! L.A. Noire 0
L.A. Noire is the latest release from Rockstar Games and it represents a dramatic shift in game play styles from Red Dead Redemption and GTA IV, the two Rockstar games released prior. Team Bondi are the developers responsible for this change. While not a part of Rockstar (although the publisher did contribute heavily in production) they have created an enthralling and intricate period piece unlike anything you could have experienced before. Set in late 1940's Los Angeles, L.A. Noire follows the...
0 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
It's like I'm really a detective in the 40's 0
With all the detective shows on TV I have seen I thought I would be a good detective, boy was I wrong . LA Noire showed me that I am the worst at it. You play as Cole Phelps a war vet that starts out a street cop and works his way up. The story in-game is great but needed more back story on Cole family life, there a twist in the game that involves Cole's family. When this happen I didn't know that Cole was married and had kids. With a great story I just wish they ended it better, I wont say any ...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful. -
Police Procedural at its Best 0
LA Noire is a game developed by Team Bondi and published by Rockstar. Team Bondi had been working on LA Noire for awhile before Rockstar came around to publish it. It was originally slated to be a Playstation 3 exclusive, but was changed after Rockstar came in to the story. When I started hearing about LA Noire again after the long break of hearing nothing about it, I then saw the Rockstar name attached to it. Not really knowing what LA Noire was I was fully expecting, Grand Theft Auto:Los Angel...
0 out of 0 found this review helpful.
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