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[TheHakku]

I just finished "A Marriage Made in Heaven", and in the case notes, it says

Spoiler

"Another visit to Ray's and you would have seen what Leroy was prepared to do to avoid jail."

This obviously means that there's more than one way the case could have turned out

Spoiler

(and I didn't know that Leroy was in on it)

, but is there more than one way to still get a 5 star rating, too?

Same thing happened to me. Didn't even know that was a possibility. Wasn't even an option in my mind. Also, you don't need to be perfect to get a five star rating.

Just finished my run through as a

Spoiler

homicide

detective. Love the way that turned out.

 

[mcawesome]

Finally got my copy. So far I'm loving it. The music in this game is amazing.

 

[Zerokku]

20 pages ago, nobody was hyped because the game was a blow crap up extravaganza with the tightest mechanics ever, so I don't know where this reaction is coming from. This isn't a normal "gamey" game, and the "action" you might want resides in areas not normally associated with big budget titles. There are flashes of shootouts and chases, but that really isn't the meat of the game. The action here is in a similar vein to Mass Effect's conversations. If you enjoyed that, you'll most likely enjoy this. ME is a little more "pew pew" but still.

Pretty much. Mix phoenix wright with hotel dusk, give it a AAA shine and sprinkle some GTA on top, and you have LA Noire. Definitely not the usual title but I'm definitely enjoying it.

And yes I know that is an absolutely bizarre comparison/analogy but whatevs.

 

[Data West]

This game benefits in no way from being open world. Something I saw Mafia 2 get bad reviews for but not this.

I like it, but it's basically Police Quest in third person plus Phoenix Wright. What purpose does it serve to have me drive to all these places? I know I can make my partner do it, but why even waste the resources building this large world? I've no urge to explore it, and I frankly don't think the graphics are that appealing. Just do the Sam & Max thing, have my character approach the car and have my partner go, 'where do you want to go?'. The option to drive can pertain to chases. I just feel like they wasted a lot of money building the city.

I still like the game a lot, but it's hard to want to play it over a certain other game that came out on the same day.

 

[mickcenary]

some people play the games for the story... like ME series had a good one

Ha. Yes, I believe that I stated that. I know a lot of people can overlook shoddy mechanics in favour of a good story, but I'm simply not one of them. And I've not played ME, but I'm pretty sure it has a lot going for it in the gameplay department, even if its shooter/movement mechanics aren't up there with the best of them.

 

[Makoto]

The music is so great in this game. Why is it only available on iTunes?

 

[Net_Wrecker]

Ha. Yes, I believe that I stated that. I know a lot of people can overlook shoddy mechanics in favour of a good story, but I'm simply not one of them. And I've not played ME, but I'm pretty sure it has a lot going for it in the gameplay department, even if its shooter/movement mechanics aren't up there with the best of them.

ME1 was in NO way "up there with the best of them" in terms of TPS mechanics yet that game gets more love than ME2 simply because of the story.

This type of game isn't for everyone, I'll admit, but for the people that enjoy it, they'll REALLY enjoy it. If you're looking for tip top smooth mechanics, and "normal" gameplay more than investigation, piecing together a case, interrogations, and cutscenes, you're in the wrong mindset.

 

[mickcenary]

That's how the game affects me, at least. Your mileage may vary.

If you enjoyed that, you'll most likely enjoy this. ME is a little more "pew pew" but still.

Look, it definitely sounds promising, but I'm not entirely sure if I'm capable of enjoying a conversation wheel that much. Maybe I will; who knows? I guess I was just hoping for a bit more polish in the "gamey" department.

If you're looking for tip top smooth mechanics, and "normal" gameplay more than investigation, piecing together a case, interrogations, and cutscenes, you're in the wrong mindset.

I'm totally down for both, though. And it has both, it's just that one has clearly been shown more love than the other and that's perfectly okay. I just hope the underwhelming aspects don't detract too much from the greatness.

 

[Papercuts]

Heavy Rain didn't demand problem solving and deductive reasoning for the player to excel at it.

LA Noire is just pure tension. While Heavy Rain penalized you for not reacting to a QTE fast enough, LA Noire will have you second guessing yourself at every turn. You'll scramble to review your evidence and the suspect's body language to support your response, knowing that a single button press can fuck up your interview. And unlike in Heavy Rain, you can mull over it as long as you want, continually mindfucking yourself as you reconsider your decision just when your finger is 1/10th cm away from the button. While the consequences aren't nearly as great as HR's, it has a much bigger impact on me because the game flat-out says your logic was flawed in some way. I take that as a a huge blow and immediately try to figure out where I went wrong.

That's how the game affects me, at least. Your mileage may vary.

It would be 100x better if it didn't immediately tell you that you were wrong. I want to keep second guessing myself through a case, not just immediately realize if I'm going on the wrong track or not.

To sorta go on the ME stuff people are saying, I actually wish this had something closer to the ME wheel. There's already been a handful of occasions where cole said something I didn't want him to say at all, it would be a lot less misleading if it actually had a few words of the general thing he would say, and always have an option to call out a lie and show evidence.

 

[lush]

It would be 100x better if it didn't immediately tell you that you were wrong. I want to keep second guessing myself through a case, not just immediately realize if I'm going on the wrong track or not.

To sorta go on the ME stuff people are saying, I actually wish this had something closer to the ME wheel. There's already been a handful of occasions where cole said something I didn't want him to say at all, it would be a lot less misleading if it actually had a few words of the general thing he would say, and always have an option to call out a lie and show evidence.

I fully support this post. They throw it in your face immediately that you're wrong and there's nothing you can do about it. Extremely irritating and really takes away from the questioning/interrogation. The simple music cue is enough.

I also agree with the second portion although I've gotten significantly better at questioning/interrogating people. Phelps will definitely answer differently than you'd like sometimes, sometimes where the conversation leaves off to wait for your input just doesn't really mesh with any of the choices, at least in my experience. The response system could definitely use some tweaks to it, I don't think I'd like for it to be as cut and dry as the Mass Effect conversation tree but somewhere in the middle would be nice.

 

[Net_Wrecker]

Look, it definitely sounds promising, but I'm not entirely sure if I'm capable of enjoying a conversation wheel that much. Maybe I will; who knows? I guess I was just hoping for a bit more polish in the "gamey" department.

I'm totally down for both, though. And it has both, it's just that one has clearly been shown more love than the other and that's perfectly okay. I just hope the underwhelming aspects don't detract too much from the greatness.

Hey man, I wish this game controlled like Uncharted 2 as well, but in the end it really doesn't matter when you'll only be shooting for like 5-15 minutes for every hour game time. How much you enjoy it really rests on how much you're able to take away from the atmosphere of being a detective in 1947 LA, gathering evidence, watching faces, and trying to get your interrogations to go as smoothly as possible.

I just don't want you to go into this expecting something you won't get. I hope you enjoy it, but I'll understand if not.

 

[Karish]

Everyone should try the black and white mode

 

[Fjordson]

Been watching my wife play through the traffic desk. There are some pretty neat variations on how a case progresses depending on how you go about things.

I'm beginning to think that the people who are salivating over this are the same ones who salivated over Heavy Rain .

Xtortionist summed it up pretty well, but nah, I thought Heavy Rain was mediocre at best. This has been infinitely more enjoyable for me.

The music is so great in this game. Why is it only available on iTunes

It's on Amazon MP3 as well. And for $2 cheaper! It's so good. Definitely one of my favourite game soundtracks in a long, long time.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00500T7S6/?tag=neogaf0e-20

 

[LProtag]

This is one game where, while I'm really excited to play it, I'm also stopping after a few cases and taking breaks. Just feels natural. Picking up the game and playing through a case that takes me somewhere between 40-60 minutes just feels like a good little package of entertainment by itself. It's a pretty interesting experience in this regard.

Not really a game I'd feel like rushing through anytime soon. Though I probably will finish sometime soon as I think I'm just about halfway done.

 

[nilbog21]

rofl im watching the trailer on gametrailers

did they just made 3D models of the faces from the cast of mad men? haha

 

[Evlar]

rofl im watching the trailer on gametrailers

did they just made 3D models of the faces from the cast of mad men? haha

Uhhh. No.

They used facial capture on the cast of Mad Men.

 

[Lonewolf_92]

Ah, never mind. Makes sense. Thanks for the recap!

It was

Spoiler

the movie director, Bishop I think his name was (this has been four cases ago for me, so I beg pardon if I'm getting the name wrong). He staged the accident in a effort to cover up the rape and double murder, so the husband wouldn't land on him. Only he screwed up and the two survived, resulting in the husband coming down on him anyway.

Edit: missed the edit. ;p

 

[nilbog21]

Uhhh. No.

They used facial capture on the cast of Mad Men.

rofl isn't that a lil bit weird tho? might as well get don draper haha

but the facial animations look fucking amazing tho, i can't lie..

 

[Makoto]

It's on Amazon MP3 as well. And for $2 cheaper! It's so good. Definitely one of my favourite game soundtracks in a long, long time.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00500T7S6/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Nice find!

 

[DevelopmentArrested]

Who mentioned glossy eyes in this thread again? Not only is it not accurate (eyes look perfectly fine) but now you've got that hack che chou crying about realdolls and mannequins on twitter.



just finished

Spoiler

homicide

whooo

 

[Appollowexx]

Reading through the thread and seeing all these glowing comments is just making tomorrow's wait even harder. The investigation aspect also sounds a lot deeper than I initially expected.

Argh give me this game, now!

 

[mickcenary]

Hey man, I wish this game controlled like Uncharted 2 as well, but in the end it really doesn't matter when you'll only be shooting for like 5-15 minutes for every hour game time. How much you enjoy it really rests on how much you're able to take away from the atmosphere of being a detective in 1947 LA, gathering evidence, watching faces, and trying to get your interrogations to go as smoothly as possible.

I just don't want you to go into this expecting something you won't get. I hope you enjoy it, but I'll understand if not.

Ha. Having everything control like Uncharted 2 would be bliss. Anyway, much thanks for the insight; and you are painting a very promising picture. Don't get me wrong, I'm very excited about what I now understand the game to be all about. It's obviously like nothing I've ever played before and that's a great thing, so I'll keep an open mind. I'd like to believe that I'm more than a 1-dimensional 'need to shoot things' type of gamer and hopefully this game can support that notion.

 

[samus4ever]

Been watching my wife play through the traffic desk. There are some pretty neat variations on how a case progresses depending on how you go about things.


Xtortionist summed it up pretty well, but nah, I thought Heavy Rain was mediocre at best. This has been infinitely more enjoyable for me.

It's on Amazon MP3 as well. And for $2 cheaper! It's so good. Definitely one of my favourite game soundtracks in a long, long time.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00500T7S6/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Thanks, was trying to find the name for the song used during the chase segments. Fall From Grace is the shit.

 

[Necromanti]

Also, you don't need to be perfect to get a five star rating.

Thank goodness for that, because I predict a lot more woe in the interrogations to come.

The interrogations make me feel tense. I haven't messed up yet, but the options can seem really obtuse. Some statements seem like they just bleed over into more than one possible option. It feels like Cole is just bullshitting half the time and using "shifty eyes" as an excuse to press further.

 

[Drahcir]

I just started playing for about an hour, but the problem I have, which is an issue with me more than the game, is that every time I select an incorrect response I quit and retry until I get the right answer. There's no way I want to keep playing this way through the entire game, but I can't seem to help myself. Does the game play out different if I just keep going with incorrect answers?

 

[THRILLH0]

The store staff grabbed the copy and started to walk away when I said I wanted to price match and this is how it went down:

I said: "Hey, where you going"

He said: "Oh, if we price match we have to swap it for a standard version as we can't give you the DLC version"

I said "Hang on a second" then I just stood there for about 1 minute silently with my head down, was trying to make sure he was feeling uncomfortable.

I said "Just gimme a sec, I'm just thinking and trying to not react in a way that will make me get kicked out of the store"

He said "Ok"

I said "So you're telling me that this isn't really a "Pre-Order" bonus, but it's a "Pay-More" bonus"

He said "We've been instructed when price matching..."

I said (interrupting) "I buy all my games here, I have more than 5 games pre-ordered and full paid off here and if I had have not been an EB customer an pre-ordered at JB I'd get their DLC and their price, I think that's kinda shonky you know"

He said "You know what, I'll just do it and say I accidently picked up the wrong one later"

I said "Good, that's better"

I was smiling and I walk outta there happy and satisfied... didn't take much, but I wasn't going to give up without getting my way lol.

Team Bondi should get you in to write some of the DLC cases...

 

[Jhoan]

I got it yesterday at K-Mart along with DA:O (which was free) and a $20 gift coupon which was too good a deal to pass up, 360 version. Right off the bat as soon I started the game, I was greeted with framerate dips during the opening cutscene which had framerate hiccups where the camera would pan and the object jerkily move then stay stuck with it, so that was a bit of a surprise and I never saw that happen with other games published by R*.

So far,

Spoiler

I got through the prologue/tutorial missions and am currently doing my first detective mission. It was pretty cool I suppose. The faces look a little weird, and I'm not exactly blown away, but it's good nonetheless and it does a great job at capturing the feelings and what not. I like Phelps and his buddy, and his army days flashbacks are pretty cool. There seems to be some kind of narrator that's talking to Phelps so I wonder what's that all about. I had trouble interrogating the Jewish dude because I failed it multiple times. I wish you skip cut scenes like that and get to the point.

The interiors are gorgeous as there's a nice attention to detail. Fire fights are decent I suppose, and the cover mechanic seems to have received an upgrade from RDR's cover system, so that's cool. Fist fights are very similar GTA IV's hand to hand combat so it's pretty simple Phelps is Ezio;one button makes him move like him. I'm playing it in black and white to immerse myself more, and I took off the vibration cues. Black and white makes the game look better to me, although I'll go back to color after I beat the game.

The game gives you the illusion of choice because

Spoiler

when I was chasing down my first street crime suspect, and Cole had the gun drawn out, I tried aiming at him to shoot him in the leg, but since it was scripted, the game didn't let me. So he took a dude hostage and I was forced to kill him and blows. I wished the game would have let me shoot him in the leg while on pursuit and given the player more freedom of whether or not to kill suspects.

I gotta play some more, but so far so good despite the frame rate hiccups, and lack of freedom/room for improvization. I'm loving the environments and the VA which is top notch. It's very similar to the Phoenix Wright games; all Cole has to do is yell "Objection!" which would have been awesome.

 

[samus4ever]

I just started playing for about an hour, but the problem I have, which is an issue with me more than the game, is that every time I select an incorrect response I quit and retry until I get the right answer. There's no way I want to keep playing this way through the entire game, but I can't seem to help myself. Does the game play out different if I just keep going with incorrect answers?

First interrogation? Took me like 10 times to get through that part. Once you are past that, you can move along with incorrect answers.

 

[Lonewolf_92]

I'm still on disc 2, so without spoiling anything can anybody tell me if there is any personal Drama coming up? We hardly know anything about Cole except that he's married (which we know because he has a ring on.)

We also know he's married because we see his wife in the opening intro (she kisses him as he's heading off to work). There are also dialogs you have with "Rusty" that build on both their backgrounds in the part you're in.

 

[Drahcir]

First interrogation? Took me like 10 times to get through that part. Once you are past that, you can move along with incorrect answers.

I think I just took 10 tries too. But I got my suit!

 

[canadian crowe]

We also know he's married because we see his wife in the opening intro (she kisses him as he's heading off to work). There are also dialogs you have with "Rusty" that build on both their backgrounds in the part you're in.

Wha?! I completely missed that. I remember the Rusty conversations though.

I just wish that he was a little more compelling. The bipolar interrogations don't help creating a consistant character either.

The game is amazing though. My GOTY so far.

 

[Domino Theory]

How do you replay cases? I want to 5 star some of the older cases.

 

[Data West]

How do you replay cases? I want to 5 star some of the older cases.

main menu. cases option

 

[FatBaby]

So how are you guys playing this game? I can't seem to decide if I want to keep the vibration/sound hints off or on.

If I keep the hints on, I feel like I need to pick up anything and everything that makes the controller vibrate even if it's just some useless bullshit. If I keep them off, I feel like I may miss something because there is something VERY small I missed and can't see it... bullet casings for example. I then feel like I need to tap the look button to make sure I am not missing anything. I don't know... I feel like either way it makes me go in circles.

Don't get me wrong, I am really diggin' the game so far even though I just started, but I wanna try and get the most out of this game... which is why I'd like to play with the hints off to get more of that "adventure gamey feel" rather than hand holding, but like I said, it makes me second guess myself.

 

[Dartastic]

It would be 100x better if it didn't immediately tell you that you were wrong. I want to keep second guessing myself through a case, not just immediately realize if I'm going on the wrong track or not.

I was coming in here to say the same thing. It's really irritating, and it just pisses me off because it makes me immediately wish I picked something else. I wish you had an option to see what questions you got wrong at the end of the case.

 

[Net_Wrecker]

So how are you guys playing this game? I can't seem to decide if I want to keep the vibration/sound hints off or on.

If I keep the hints on, I feel like I need to pick up anything and everything that makes the controller vibrate even if it's just some useless bullshit. If I keep them off, I feel like I may miss something because there is something VERY small I missed and can't see it... bullet casings for example. I then feel like I need to tap the look button to make sure I am not missing anything. I don't know... I feel like either way it makes me go in circles.

Don't get me wrong, I am really diggin' the game so far even though I just started, but I wanna try and get the most out of this game... which is why I'd like to play with the hints off to get more of that "adventure gamey feel" rather than hand holding, but like I said, it makes me second guess myself.

You can always just turn the vibration off, but leave the music on AUTO so that when you've found everything, the music stops. As long as it keeps going, your know there are more things to pick up...somewhere.

 

[Zoso]

This game benefits in no way from being open world. Something I saw Mafia 2 get bad reviews for but not this.

I saw a few people saying this, & I completely disagree. This game benefits a lot from being open world. Similar to Mafia 2, this game has a lot of atmosphere. Walking down the street in 1940s Los Angeles seeing period cars, clothing, & buildings is essential to immersing me in the game. The game feels much more compelling when I can connect the location of a murder in relation to other places I've been in the city. When driving to question a subject I can tell a lot about him just from passing through the neighborhood he lives in. I just got done freeroaming for 2 hours, and the city is very well done with lots of neat things to find. Being a recreation of 1940s LA does make it feel more "bland" compared to something like Liberty City, but it still adds to the game in a significant way.

I understand some people might find the city boring and not want to drive through it. Luckily, the option is there to practically skip it altogether. But trust me when I say it adds a lot for some people.

 

[bloodforge]

Been playing for a few hours, game is amazing. I'm finding it challenging sometimes when I should select "doubt" or "lie". Is it safe to assume only use lie if you have evidence that they are and doubt when you think they're lying but don't have evidence?

I hope this game inspires more detective story/mystery games like this, the investigation/interrogation part anyway, doesn't really need to be open world.

 

[Fjordson]

Been playing for a few hours, game is amazing. I'm finding it challenging sometimes when I should select "doubt" or "lie". Is it safe to assume only use lie if you have evidence that they are and doubt when you think they're lying but don't have evidence?

Spot on. Lie is only for when you can back it up.

 

[polyh3dron]

Spot on. Lie is only for when you can back it up.

What about when I think I can back up that I think someone's lying through one piece of evidence but then when I hit the lie button Cole ends up taking the conversation in a drastically different direction than I thought he was going to take it and with the way the line of questioning is going NOW I don't really know how to back up the crazy shit Cole just said. I'm just left hanging.

All the complaints I had about the Ace Attorney games are not only present in this game but magnified.

Heavy Rain was a much more immersive, flowing experience to me. The trial and error bullshit in this game, however, frustrates the shit out of me. Sorry Ami.

 

[Lakitu]

So Game finally dispatched my copy this morning.

I should get it tomorrow.

For those who got their dispatch e-mails yesterday, have you received it today yet?

 

[JonCha]

So Game finally dispatched my copy this morning.

I should get it tomorrow.

For those who got their dispatch e-mails yesterday, have you received it today yet?

Waiting. Mine was dispatched yesterday so I'm sort of expecting to get it today. I hope so because the wait is almost agonising.

I also have no idea whether GAME are using Special Delivery or going with Royal Mail, because their e-mails seems to be conflicting.

 

[saunderez]

A good thing to do if you are unsure whether to choose Lie or Doubt is to choose Lie and see what Cole accuses them of. Sometimes it's not something directly relating to the question that you have evidence of. If you don't have evidence you can back out and choose Doubt.

 

[Fjordson]

What about when I think I can back up that I think someone's lying through one piece of evidence but then when I hit the lie button Cole ends up taking the conversation in a drastically different direction than I thought he was going to take it and with the way the line of questioning is going NOW I don't really know how to back up the crazy shit Cole just said. I'm just left hanging.

I haven't really experienced that, but like saunderez said, you can back out of the Lie option.

 

[polyh3dron]

A good thing to do if you are unsure whether to choose Lie or Doubt is to choose Lie and see what Cole accuses them of. Sometimes it's not something directly relating to the question that you have evidence of. If you don't have evidence you can back out and choose Doubt.

Is that how you would have the conversation in real life though?

The conversations you have with NPCs in the Mass Effect games are vastly superior to the ones in this game. You're actually in control of what your character will say and you don't get thrown for a loop.

 

[polyh3dron]

Oh and another isolated gripe, holy compression on the dialog, Batman. I'm playing on a PS3 hooked up to a HDMI receiver and have a really nice 5.1 setup so I guess I can hear it more than others, but the bitrate in this dialog has to be pretty damn low. I expect better sounding dialog, especially if the game size is as big as it is.

 

[Bishman]

For those that got it from Amazon they changed their credit for it from $15 to $20. You can try contacting customer service to get the $5. Just got mine

Game is good so far.

I was only planning on buying L.A. Noire this year. What should I use my Amazon credit and get? I have a PS3.

 

[Tricky I Shadow]

Right off the bat as soon I started the game, I was greeted with framerate dips during the opening cutscene which had framerate hiccups

I've run into zero framerate problems with the PS3 version on my slim. I'm really curious to see how bad these dips are on the 360 version...

 

[rdrr gnr]

I wasn't enjoying the interrogations in my first gameplay session. About 4 hours in, and I'm still not. Will save final impressions until I finish.

 

[polyh3dron]

I was only planning on buying L.A. Noire this year. What should I use my Amazon credit and get? I have a PS3.

inFAMOUS 2