So as its the end of the year people are letting us know what they though of this years games, a lot of you are saying how much you did not like L.A. Noire. I want to know why, because L.A. Noire is one of my favourite games this year. Is it the whole behind the scenes stuff, because if it is that should not detract from your enjoyment of the game. Or is there just a reason why you find it boring or repetitive or what.

• The open world aspect of the game was fun, it was all about atmosphere and it achieved that goal, there was also cool little side missions to par-take in. If you didn't like the open world part you were free to ignore it.
• The soundtrack and voice acting was great, especially the musical score, really made it something when you were chasing a dude.
• The plot lines of each individual case were really well done, and I loved the way that the Homicide case ended (The one that winded up in the church?) and the way the overall game ended.
• I feel people didn't like the second half of the game because they wanted Cole to be a good cop and a happy man, so he cheated on his wife, so he was stupid in that respect, but hey is it that bad having a character that has complex issues?
• I also though the ending was not well received because they did not like the way that Jack was left in the spotlight and even at Coles funeral claimed to be his friend. Not every game has to have a happy ending.
• The interview mechanics were really good, it's not about there being a "right" or "wrong" answer. It was just a different way of progressing through the game.
• I really found myself attached to the Cole character, I found myself even more attached when everybody started shitting on him.
• The main plot being subtly told through the newspapers was awesome.
• You could play the game in Black & White..
• The game recreates LA really well, one of the best uses of that kind of thing in a video game.
• The game looks really good, it has a great style and there is so much detail in the city its crazy.
• The facial animations are just incredible, watch the below quick look and be reminded of that fact.

The game got a lot of hate before the whole behind the scene stuff came out. As a game, I found it to be more of a fun experiment then a solid game. The systems could be manipulated and the story and some issues. I look at LA Noire much the same way I look at Heavy Rain. While I was playing both games I had a lot of fun but as soon as I stopped the shine sort of wore off.

@JasonR86: Heavy Ran was also one of my favourite games last year, I suppose it comes down to my taste.

I think it's because--and this is hardly uncommon--LA Noire's flaws become increasingly apparent over time. A huge part of the game's appeal is the striking first impression achieved by the technology, but that initial wow factor only lasts for so long. What you're left with, then, is the design of the game itself, which is much more ambivalent.

I think you'll find, for instance, the GB crew will be much cooler on the game as we approach GOTY season, with the possible exception of Brad, who will inevitably be put in the position of having to defend his review.

My issue was from the first few missions it was fun..but slowly it became the same rinse and repeat with maybe a car chase or shoot out in it. It was more or less a big point and click adventure. The face streaming was cool but well..the other factors faltered at times.

This is why end of the year awards contenders should have to come out between July of the previous year and June of the next. Skyrim will probably end up winning more than it should right now because of how fresh of a release it is. Give games six months to digest. See how memorable each remains.

There are tons of thraeds that disscussed why this game is a pile of shit ... what happened to the studio had nothing to do with the sentiments towards it. Yep I one of those who hated this "game" , which had dreadfull gameplay , even if the acting was ok , but theres just too much stuff that is wrong with the game. A nothing to do open city , weird moments of "fake " action , inability to end the street crimes without a shootout /killing suspects , the godawful interview system , the extreme hand holding of crime scenes , the whole murder desk , the weird exposition of the whole plot on rundown theater , the " be a detective" being a complete fallacy , a completely unwanted 180 of Phelps towards his family/ ending up with the singer , the last chapters etc.

I just hated that the PC version was kind of jacked. The actual game seemed cool, but maybe not as cool as it could have been.

nothing special about the open world city, Team Bondi spent all that time detailing LA but there's really nothing to do in it.
The game peaked at the end of the Homicide case... then it just became boring...  it continued longer than it should have.   Also no real consequences for getting the interrogations wrong.
 
I don't hate it but i also don't deem it one of the best games of the year, just felt dissapointing.

Though it's amusing on the first go'round the game doesn't hold up in retrospect. The clue finding/interrogation mechanic is far better implemented in games such as the Phoenix Wright series and by comparison LA Noire felt more like an interactive movie with no real consequence from your actions. Plus by the end i felt the story, which in this context is all it has going for it, was a bit disjointed.

Cornman89 hits it i think. It had a great first impression, the presentation, gameplay and story seemed great,

this impression lasting hours, but after a while the design of the interrogations began to show its limitations and the game, at least made me feel like i was being cheated out of something

and then the story just became equal parts ridiculous, predictable and bland, which isn't easy to do, and again personally some characters, including Cole took strange turns of character which was explained later in the story

then there was the game breakingly stupid insert of a poorly placed film reel which sped the story but but made no sense what so ever

its a great game, and i look forward to playing through it again but it won't be for a while, i have fond memories of the first two thirds of the game, but the memories of the end tarnish it slightly

doubt it'll be GOTY, that appears to be Skyrim's place, but i hope it gets something for presentation or technology because the facial animation is astounding at times - though i wonder if the game would be any different if it was hand animated

@Aetheldod said:

There are tons of thraeds that disscussed why this game is a pile of shit ... what happened to the studio had nothing to do with the sentiments towards it. Yep I one of those who hated this "game" , which had dreadfull gameplay , even if the acting was ok , but theres just too much stuff that is wrong with the game. A nothing to do open city , weird moments of "fake " action , inability to end the street crimes without a shootout /killing suspects , the godawful interview system , the extreme hand holding of crime scenes , the whole murder desk , the weird exposition of the whole plot on rundown theater , the being detective being a complete fallacy , a completely unwanted 180 of Phelps towards his family/ ending up with the singer , the last chapters.

The homicide desk was the best part of the game I thought.

The usual backlash of a high-profile game mixed with the whole Team Bondi debacle and the fact that the game had some serious problems. I still love it, but I can see where people are coming from when they say it's not that great.

I found the game to be cool, I enjoyed the interview scenes and the way that cases cam be failed.

It just became really repetitive as the game went on. More variance in the cases could have spiced it up so much more.

@Hizang said:

I found the game to be cool, I enjoyed the interview scenes and the way that cases cam be failed.

But failing them has no negative effects.

The questioning aspect is terrible. It's too ambiguous. Options you pick that look like they should be right, aren't.

I'd say for three reasons:

1) The really sharp left turn that story takes in the final third of that game.

2) The incredibly unnecessary open world. It was really superfluous for that type of game, and everything from the inconsistent frame rate to the catalogue of glitches would have been easier to address.

3) Just like with Heavy Rain people don't quite know how to react to something that different, we just don't see these types of avant-garde titles enough frankly.

@Asurastrike: Oh god no ... that desk just draged on and on , and by the second case it was obvious who the killer was :/ they had to pound it to the death for 3 more cases. The only case I think was woth while and enjoyable was the third traffic one , the one about the husband , that was the one that made me think "ok this game may have something cool about it" but then came homicide desk ...

From people who didn't like the game, obviously.
 
LA Noir was a cool tech demo, but a terrible videogame.

I really disliked that in the homicide desk that we were putting people away that clearly didn't commit the crime. Only to catch him and not be put away. After that anticlimactic outcome, the game became dull and boring, the repetitions of a crime scenes was becoming noticeable in vice. Then in arson, they decided to pull the same shit they did on homicide. I already plate along for the run of the homicide case expecting a decent outcome, nuh uh, then they want me to turn a blind eye and not realize they are forcing the same schtick again? That really irked me. I didn't care for cole ever because he was a robot Cole can be easy going to soon be having a panic attack in an interview. The structure of the game held it back, tremendously.

It was cool, and I enjoyed it, but it really wasn't much of an actual game.

It was a lot of fun, but it has some obvious flaws that would hold it back from being a favorite this year. The hate probably stems from the amount of hype, and not really delivering on it. But I look past that and I found a pretty enjoyable, if kinda messed up game.

L.A. Noire started out as a great game to me but the more and more time I spent with it the more and more bored I got. Despite taking on every side mission I could find it felt like I was doing the same shit over and over again. The tech used and all the famous actors/voice actors made it a cool game but it wasn't enough to make it the great game it tried to be. Can however admit I listen to the soundtrack from time to time because it's freaking awesome.

It was okay and I'm glad I played it but I did use a guide for the Arson desk because the wrong answer chime sound made me fly into rage

@Hizang said:

Even after all of these comments I can't see.

• The open world aspect of the game was fun, it was all about atmosphere and it achieved that goal, there was also cool little side missions to par-take in. If you didn't like the open world part you were free to ignore it.
• The soundtrack and voice acting was great, especially the musical score, really made it something when you were chasing a dude.
• The plot lines of each individual case were really well done, and I loved the way that the Homicide case ended (The one that winded up in the church?) and the way the overall game ended.
• The interview mechanics were really good, it's not about there being a "right" or "wrong" answer. It was just a different way of progressing through the game.
• I really found myself attached to the Cole character, I found myself even more attached when everybody started shitting on him.
• The main plot being subtly told through the newspapers was awesome.
• You could play the game in Black & White..

Besides the side missions/car collecting the open world was empty of things to do. I never drove anywhere, just fast traveled. Yeah the VO was great and the music is one of the best of the year. I dunno about Cole, he was just a black slate. I didn't care about him or his wife or his affair or his sacrifice. Also, yeah, the way that the newspaper slowly became the main story was really well done, forgot about that.

@Dany: The DLC is also supposedly really good, it plays to the games strengths and are all individual stories.

I'm thinking about getting them after Christmas.

LA noir was not a bad game to me and aveage one i would have gave it 3 or 4 stars

The story takes a terrible turn in the last half of the game which really put me off. Also cole is just unlikeable as a protaganist

the open world was empty the only reason i drove was to hear the banter and when that was over i fast traveled

The investigation became to repetitive. find a dead body search arms, inside jacket , head.

i did like how the newpapar stuff tied into the main story

@Hizang: I actually played through the DLC cases, got the season pass and yeah they are decent, some of the side stories are well done, especially Nicholson electroplating.

I suppose it's a love or hate game, did I mention I don't like Diddy Kong Racing?

I loved it until I got to the second part, lost interest after that, why would Cole cheat on his wife? Heck we don't even know his wife, it's just weird.

I LOVED LA NOIRE

I even got my brother to play it and he loved it

I thought L.A. Noire was bland and mostly forgettable. It wasn't bad, there just wasn't anything noteworthy about it.

@Three0neFive said:

From people who didn't like the game, obviously. LA Noir was a cool tech demo, but a terrible videogame.

Speak for yourself.

L.A. Noire was a great game, but I think a lot of the hate now comes from all of that behind-the-scenes stuff that trickled into public consciousness shortly after the game found its success. A lot of consumers who played and enjoyed the game felt dirty and betrayed; so many hours of their entertainment were born as a result of some many hours of other people's suffering. This is often the case in modern society, but rarely when it comes to this industry. Usually if working conditions are poor, the game turns out poor, just like we see with most of the movie tie-ins that are excreted onto shelves every few weeks. In this case the end product was excellent, and the news of the Team Bondi's impending collapse and the game's director's general scumbagginess just turned people off.

I feel like the only person who hasn't turned on this game. I loved it. It'll definitely be on my end of the year list.

I definitely loved it. It offered up a great story, great graphics, a great atmosphere etc. It really sucked me into its world: any game that does that deserves an applause.

@Three0neFive said:

From people who didn't like the game, obviously. LA Noir was a cool tech demo, but a terrible videogame.

Speak for yourself.

Yo, I liked it. It was fun and got me excited of what could come from it. I had my expectations very high and I was satisfied.

there will no game thats universally loved. I dont like Zelda so give me skyward sword and I'll just think its alright and nothing special. Give me GTA 5 and I'll probably hail it as the greatest ever and Zelda fan will probably hate it. I don't know what I'm saying but.... I can't wait for The Last of Us. Go Texans, super bowl bound!!

Also I want more games set in the early 1900s to the 1950s.

Lots of hate for LA Noire? Must be a gaming blog/Giant Bomb in general problem, last I checked LA Noire got lots of great reviews and people were enjoying it (last I checked was when people were actually playing it). Only thing I can imagine bringing in hate for LA Noire is the same old "we like to whine about shit and never shut up" crowd and they can all go to hell and die for all I care. LA Noire was a great game with definite flaws, those flaws did not at all overshadow the game as a whole though. Latch onto something to hate, that's the way of the internet. I choose to be positive and get on the internet to talk about things I love. For some reason a lot of people think the internet was invented for them to bitch (and again, fuck them).

I thought LA Noire was excellent, I really enjoyed it. Although there wasn't much to do in the open world, just the feel and ambience of the world was extremely impressive, and the period music, great original score and fantastic voice acting made it all the better. It's not just a question of presentation; it's a question of tone, which is reflected across all manners of the game's direction. Mechanically, it's fairly unique for mainstream games but nothing really special, and the story isn't amazing, but I found that my enjoyment of feeling like a genuine hard-boiled 1940s LA detective helped me forget about that. I can forgive flaws in a game if you can find some way to pull me in, and the ambiance of LA Noire, coupled with the uniqueness of the style and the ability to play the game in black and white, was what made it a GOTY contender for me.

It won't win, because, you know, Skyrim. But still, fantastic game, definite top five for me this year.

Lifeless city, suffered from repetition in a very bad way, clunky shooting and movement, story was weak overall.

L.A. Noire could have been quite good if it lasted only 3 hours, but after that point every single time I had to go hunting around for clues and evidence felt like a chore.

Edit: Also I shot a few people in the leg, only for them to turn up in a bodybag in the next cutscene. WHAT DID YOU DO COLE?!

mostly from the team bondi scandal. nobody wants to root for a game that is the product of a belligerent asshole working a bunch of talented people half to death.

Crime scene, run after a man, drive after a man, shoot a man, question someone, prison or death, rinse repeat. Amazing tech can't cover up this games linear style and shortcomings in gameplay.

Because once again Rockstar shafted the player by killing off the likeable character and replacing him with some D-bag named Jack.

Because once again Rockstar shafted the player by killing off the likeable character and replacing him with some D-bag named Jack.

It's not a bad game, but it gets way too repetitive after a while. I don't hate it and I actually think it's a good game, but with that said it's one of the few games this year I didn't finish.

It is interesting how sour a lot of people became towards the game.

I loved it. It was my GOTY for a while there, though it's recently been dethroned by two games.

I'm gonna go ahead and say that people who let the Brendan McNamara -scandal affect their judgement of the game, are doing a disservice to themselves. I mean, it's good that the working conditions of video game industry are getting exposure as a topic, but write a letter to R* or IGDA, but give the final product a chance to speak for itself. I have to admit that I too were distraught of the shit behind the curtains, but those feelings were swept away by the unique mood and great writing.

I'm gonna be an apologist for the game all the way; I loved it and place it among the same level of experience when first time playing through KOTOR and Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy for yanks). There were times during the playthrough that I felt the repetition, but I always returned to the game eager and interested of the next plot turn, definitely a game best experienced in the pace of several shorter sessions. I did not do all the street crimes, in fact I did less of them as the game went on and the same applies to driving, hidden collectibles (badges and film reels) I had 0% interest searching for. The news paper told backstory gradually blending in more and more into main story was a stylish and cinematic effect I thought.

The characters in the game were three dimensional personalities filled with shades of gray, if you need your bad guys have villain moustaches & wear top hats and good guys ride in with white horse and save the day always, it's not for you. Take Roy Earle for example, the guy's a rotten scumbag but he's your partner and has your back in several shootouts. He's snatching evidence for his personal benefit while Phelps is trying to crack the case, but I loved the rare moments where the two found themselves finding a common agenda.

I could go on about how I enjoyed Phelp's redemption story and if one doesn't get it they don't understand emotional trauma and complex characters, but I feel like I'm already on a rant. I think the mixed opinions are the result of the studio scandal and people having certain expectations of R* products, more precisely hoping for an action game and receiving a adventure game. I myself felt sorrow in the end of the game, for Phelp's fate and for the game being over, but also writing a letter to McNamara congratulating him for a great game for for fucks sake trying to behave himself.

edit. added spoiler tags, sorry for that.

The story was terribly paced and went on for far too long.

The people who prefer fun and diverse gameplay before story didn't like it, which is completely understanable. I for one loved it, but I'm more of a story kind of guy.

@Slaker117 said:

@Blackout62

Because once again Rockstar shafted the player by killing off the likeable character and replacing him with some D-bag named Jack.

Cole was a likable character?

This. Kelso was a far more likable character than Cole. Man, I just hated him, what a dick