Interfectum
Member
ced said:
You're missing out on a lot of the immersion of the game then, IMO.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Team Bondi's L.A. NOIRE |OT| Watchin' Faces, Solvin' Cases
- Thread starter ColonialRaptor
- Start date
You're missing out on a lot of the immersion of the game then, IMO.
Joe Shlabotnik
Banned
I kind of like that you're playing as such a tight-ass. Certainly a departure from the usual video game archetypes.
semiconscious
Member
Interfectum said:
i don't know - after you've experienced a certain amount of it, there's a thin line between '& yet more time spent driving from one location to another' & immersion...
what is initially immersive can eventually become just plain boring. particularly when, aside from unlocking a single side mission, nothing out of the ordinary ever happens while you're driving. which actually feels pretty non-immersive after you've done it for a while...
To those who have finished it: does the game allow you to free-roam after the story is complete, or do you just have to reload missions to do so?
I can't explain it, but it feels "weird" to explore while in the middle of a case. Especially when you have you partner following you around the whole time.
I can't explain it, but it feels "weird" to explore while in the middle of a case. Especially when you have you partner following you around the whole time.
malingenie
Member
Loved playing this game with my girlfriend last night, it's perfect for a copilot to be involved and help with interrogations/questionings. She had some good ideas too! Diggin it thoroughly. The open world element is a little weird with so little to do, I wanted to show her the typical fun stuff to do in them and found the limits pretty soon. However, I like that it is there. I like to know that each crime scene is just a microsystem of a much larger, congruent whole.
mickcenary
Member
Just completed "A Marriage Made In Heaven". Impressions up in this bitch:
> First and foremost: unless there's some drastic change in the game's structure/dynamic/methodology, which I honestly doubt, the open-world is an absolute waste of disk space. I'm already resorting to quick-traveling, as the environment lacks that certain open-world je ne sais qouis that GTAIV had, which made driving around somewhat enjoyable; it looks quite bland, to be honest.
> The graphics are quite nice. I've observed subtle, yet noticeable jitters in one heavily populated area, but other than that instance, it's looked great; shadows cast well and Cole's animations are nice (as long as you make a concerted effort to encourage them looking nice
).
> It truly is a different game. The whole investigation process is quite fun and rewarding; the case I just completed fell flat, however. Also, I really don't know how some of you are playing with the audio cues off; it's not that it makes it too hard, it's more that it adds such an artificial challenge. All it means is that you have to blindly usher Cole into more nooks and crannies, pressing X, which doesn't seem fun to me, as all clues are not that visually apparent.
> The lack of sync-up in terms of fluidity between the F'AWESOME facial animation and all other animation is - as expected - a bit unsettling, but it's been seldom apparent, thus far.
> The controls are borderline shit. There's no other way to put it. Coles moves around perfectly okay, but that's about it. The car physics are floaty and unsatisfying, the cover mechanic is up there with the worst of them and the gun-play is gravely unsatisfying. 'Tis a shame. On the flip-side, the on-foot chases are pretty cool, if only for the cinematic flair of the shaking camera.
So, it's "good", but I'm definitely wanting it to improve. I don't think it's a game I'll want to play again anytime soon; I rarely do with these types of games. And even though it would have turned it into a game that I'd have been less interested in, I actually think it'd be better off it were comprised 100% of interrogation and crime scene investigation.
Anyway, thems be my two cents.
Feel free to point out any of my criticisms as being phased out later in the game. Regardless,
> First and foremost: unless there's some drastic change in the game's structure/dynamic/methodology, which I honestly doubt, the open-world is an absolute waste of disk space. I'm already resorting to quick-traveling, as the environment lacks that certain open-world je ne sais qouis that GTAIV had, which made driving around somewhat enjoyable; it looks quite bland, to be honest.
> The graphics are quite nice. I've observed subtle, yet noticeable jitters in one heavily populated area, but other than that instance, it's looked great; shadows cast well and Cole's animations are nice (as long as you make a concerted effort to encourage them looking nice
).> It truly is a different game. The whole investigation process is quite fun and rewarding; the case I just completed fell flat, however. Also, I really don't know how some of you are playing with the audio cues off; it's not that it makes it too hard, it's more that it adds such an artificial challenge. All it means is that you have to blindly usher Cole into more nooks and crannies, pressing X, which doesn't seem fun to me, as all clues are not that visually apparent.
> The lack of sync-up in terms of fluidity between the F'AWESOME facial animation and all other animation is - as expected - a bit unsettling, but it's been seldom apparent, thus far.
> The controls are borderline shit. There's no other way to put it. Coles moves around perfectly okay, but that's about it. The car physics are floaty and unsatisfying, the cover mechanic is up there with the worst of them and the gun-play is gravely unsatisfying. 'Tis a shame
. On the flip-side, the on-foot chases are pretty cool, if only for the cinematic flair of the shaking camera.So, it's "good", but I'm definitely wanting it to improve. I don't think it's a game I'll want to play again anytime soon; I rarely do with these types of games. And even though it would have turned it into a game that I'd have been less interested in, I actually think it'd be better off it were comprised 100% of interrogation and crime scene investigation.
Anyway, thems be my two cents.
Feel free to point out any of my criticisms as being phased out later in the game. Regardless,
VeryGooster
Banned
ScOULaris said:
I unlocked the "Streets of L.A." feature that lets you go after the landmark locations, respond to dispatch calls, etc.
I made it to vice yesterday. I don't even remember if I posted that. Every time I want to stop playing this game I go back just to prove to myself I still have what it takes for those four and five star rankings.
So I finally got around to starting last night. I got through the first few cases and I really, really like it so far. It's one of my favorite settings and LA Confidential is one of my top 10 movies, so this is a perfect fit for me.
The facial animations and graphics (for the most part) are pretty damn amazing. The acting has bee great, too, thus far. I do agree that the open-world aspect is kinda pointless and it's kinda missing "something."
Great game so far, though.
The facial animations and graphics (for the most part) are pretty damn amazing. The acting has bee great, too, thus far. I do agree that the open-world aspect is kinda pointless and it's kinda missing "something."
Great game so far, though.
VeryGooster
Banned
DoctorWho said:
I forgot to mention I haven't even beaten the game yet and I unlocked Streets of L.A. I don't know if it's due to my high rankings or it immediately happens when you move on from Traffic to Homicide.
VeryGooster
Banned
I don't know if some of you know this, but if you accuse someone of lying but you don't think you have the evidence to back that accusation, you can back out. I THINK it might cost an intuition point. I haven't noticed.
ok, in case it hasn't been answered yet...
1. yes you can have your partner drive everywhere during the cases. No you are not missing anything. The game will stick around for any relevant dialog parts and will allow you to skip right to the destination after.
2. YES YOU CAN DO SIDE MISSIONS LATER. I've never seen a definitive answer in this thread yet.. but yes. After you finish a desk an option is added under the Cases menu option for free roaming in that desk. That means you get access to the 8 or so side missions in each desk, can cruise around for cars, landmarks, etc. To do this select Cases from the main menu and then Free Roam.
3. Those complaining about the open world... heh.. not sure if you are the same ones complaining about lack of rampage or whatnot... if so, kind of ironic.. but it comes back to "why are more options a bad thing?" the open world is there because Team Bondi put it there. If you don't want to use it, you don't have to. If you do want to explore, you can.
4. I am a perfectionist....... it's very hard for me to let go and just "screw up" interrogations.. but I did this last night... legitimately missed 2/19 questions (have never missed a clue though, even with all options turned off but the music).. the good news was that for me to go back and redo the case (red lipstick murder) it was about 15 minutes total. between having your partner drive to locations, knowing exactly what clues to go directly for, etc.. the only time consuming acts were waiting out the interrogations and.. well.. still going for the 5 stars and figuring out the questioning. I "cheated" a little. For instance if I picked Doubt in my first play through I would spend an intuition and see Doubt left as an option. Or if I picked truth as an option but there was no way I had the evidence to prove them wrong, etc.
this game is something of a puzzle. Being fair, it's not "omg the greatest game I've ever played!!!!!!" but god damn... whoever thought to stuff shenmue, police quest, heavy rain, and phoenix wright all in a single package either deserves a medal or needs to be committed. This is probably one of the most ambitious games I've ever played, and the fact that Team Bondi really didn't fall incredibly short of that ambition.. just a few missteps... is just impressive. and arguably the biggest area they fell short in... a big city with not a ton to do, they can easily resolve with DLC episodes that I would GLADLY pay DLC content prices for.. throw in or extend a few more desks over the next 6-12 months and then release a GOTY edition with about 50% more content... man... what more could you ask for? And the way they structured the game.. almost episodic by itself.. would work perfectly to that.
edit - as for why Team Bondi put the open world there... my guess is the primary reason was because the game was at some point planned as a possible sandbox game. Yes they could have done this same game (without the side missions) as a set piece game.. but by making it open world it allowed them to add some stuff (side missions, collectibles) and also open up the possibility for future DLC episodes.. and of course a new game as well.. I mean really they could barely touch the design of the city and place another game within 5 in-game years of this one easily..
1. yes you can have your partner drive everywhere during the cases. No you are not missing anything. The game will stick around for any relevant dialog parts and will allow you to skip right to the destination after.
2. YES YOU CAN DO SIDE MISSIONS LATER. I've never seen a definitive answer in this thread yet.. but yes. After you finish a desk an option is added under the Cases menu option for free roaming in that desk. That means you get access to the 8 or so side missions in each desk, can cruise around for cars, landmarks, etc. To do this select Cases from the main menu and then Free Roam.
3. Those complaining about the open world... heh.. not sure if you are the same ones complaining about lack of rampage or whatnot... if so, kind of ironic.. but it comes back to "why are more options a bad thing?" the open world is there because Team Bondi put it there. If you don't want to use it, you don't have to. If you do want to explore, you can.
4. I am a perfectionist....... it's very hard for me to let go and just "screw up" interrogations.. but I did this last night... legitimately missed 2/19 questions (have never missed a clue though, even with all options turned off but the music).. the good news was that for me to go back and redo the case (red lipstick murder) it was about 15 minutes total. between having your partner drive to locations, knowing exactly what clues to go directly for, etc.. the only time consuming acts were waiting out the interrogations and.. well.. still going for the 5 stars and figuring out the questioning. I "cheated" a little. For instance if I picked Doubt in my first play through I would spend an intuition and see Doubt left as an option. Or if I picked truth as an option but there was no way I had the evidence to prove them wrong, etc.
this game is something of a puzzle. Being fair, it's not "omg the greatest game I've ever played!!!!!!" but god damn... whoever thought to stuff shenmue, police quest, heavy rain, and phoenix wright all in a single package either deserves a medal or needs to be committed. This is probably one of the most ambitious games I've ever played, and the fact that Team Bondi really didn't fall incredibly short of that ambition.. just a few missteps... is just impressive. and arguably the biggest area they fell short in... a big city with not a ton to do, they can easily resolve with DLC episodes that I would GLADLY pay DLC content prices for.. throw in or extend a few more desks over the next 6-12 months and then release a GOTY edition with about 50% more content... man... what more could you ask for? And the way they structured the game.. almost episodic by itself.. would work perfectly to that.
no it doesn't. you just back out with circle. it's kind of funny because normally when you accuse them you go all crazy, and then when you back out you're basically like "heh, my bad.. we're just trying to get all the facts here. sorry about that."Gooster said:
edit - as for why Team Bondi put the open world there... my guess is the primary reason was because the game was at some point planned as a possible sandbox game. Yes they could have done this same game (without the side missions) as a set piece game.. but by making it open world it allowed them to add some stuff (side missions, collectibles) and also open up the possibility for future DLC episodes.. and of course a new game as well.. I mean really they could barely touch the design of the city and place another game within 5 in-game years of this one easily..
mickcenary said:The controls are borderline shit. There's no other way to put it. Coles moves around perfectly okay, but that's about it. The car physics are floaty and unsatisfying, the cover mechanic is up there with the worst of them and the gun-play is gravely unsatisfying. 'Tis a shame
Your picture kills me. Anyway, I just wanted to say how I agree about the gunplay being total shit. I mean, it really sucks bad.
Interfectum
Member
I think the gunplay is fine. The worst aspect of the controls is trying to switch cover points using the cover system. Other than that everything else has been pretty satisfying.
malingenie
Member
rhino4evr said:
Yeap.. she was even more hardcore than Cole.
VeryGooster
Banned
I don't think the gunplay is all that great, but I'm not really seeing what's horrible about it. I have had moments where I do feel like "I TOTALLY HIT THAT GUY!" but they are VERY few and far between. The degrading color scheme is a bit too subtle sometimes in the heat of the action and I don't always know how much in danger I am. Otherwise it's fairly simple, IMO.
The driving itself isn't too bad although in typical Rockstar fashion the drivers of this game just don't give a fuck (or maybe I don't; even as a fair detective I'm not completely obeying 1947 traffic laws...). Sometimes property damage or vehicle damage really isn't your fault sometimes, and heaven forbid pedestrians would jump the fuck away from a car doing 75 MPH sooner than they do.
The driving itself isn't too bad although in typical Rockstar fashion the drivers of this game just don't give a fuck (or maybe I don't; even as a fair detective I'm not completely obeying 1947 traffic laws...). Sometimes property damage or vehicle damage really isn't your fault sometimes, and heaven forbid pedestrians would jump the fuck away from a car doing 75 MPH sooner than they do.
Miggytronz
Gold Member
i dunno why people are breaking down the gunplay, its not like its the main focus of the game anyway.
ColonialRaptor
Member
I'm up to the "A Fallen Idol" Case and have completed all of the other cases prior to that. I'm posting my impressions in spoilers here. All in all, it's mostly impressions and really very very light spoilers if at all, but I'm kind and I don't want to spoil anything for someone who hasn't played it yet.
So far, I really love the investigation, and I love interrogation and interviewing witnesses but I find it really frustrating when I select the wrong options. I'm a perfectionist and I hate missing out on clues and evidence trails when they clam up on you.
To be honest, I don't know if it's because I'm just really shit at picking the right option but it's annoying me when I get it wrong and I really can't tell what the correct choice is by the way they're acting. I felt like I had the pattern down, but every character is different... you actually really have to try and consider what kind of person they are and how they would want you to react, it is a very complex system.
One thing I disliked is that when the bad guy runs away and then takes a hostage and you have to shoot him and rather than arrest him he dies and you don't get to interrogate... didn't like that. You should be able to shoot him once in the shoulder or the leg or the arm that is holding the gun and make him drop the weapon rather than have to kill him (so far I have not been able to subdue him without killing).
I seems that the case will progress as you want it to no matter how you go with your questioning and evidence gathering and the composition of all possible paths through this game is simply staggering - it's an amazingly complex and detailed piece of work - BUT I feel a little disappointed with the way the cases progress and I kind of feel like it's more coming down to 'guess work' that real intuition, like, I understand that to use lie you have to have some direct contradicting evidence, but there have been times where I was sure that it was 'true' and that was the wrong answer, and various other times where I was sure it was the others and they didn't work... I guess it just frustrates me a lot when I get it wrong and I've been getting it wrong more often that I would like to be honest.
I'm the kind of person that is probably going to let my partner end up driving from place to place. I'm probably not in this game for the open world / to drive around and see the world, especially considering the 'open world' isn't really that 'open world' and you can't just talk to random people in the street / do random things all around the world unless there is a prompt there.
Thus, I think it's an interesting choice to have the open world in it. Team Bondi obviously put a LOT of work into crafting this world and having it a living breathing full world, but I wonder how much of that world really get utilised over the course of the game (as in used in cases and such... less than 10%?).
I hate to say it, but so far I'm not sure where I sit with the game. I'm not sure if Witcher has spoiled me, I'm not quite sure whether it's because I'm terribly tired after a week of lacking sleep due to too much games, I'm not going to pass judgement yet, but at the moment I'm a bit worried that I'm only feeling like 3 / 5 stars kinda feeling for this game so far :/ Maybe I was just a bit too hyped?
I can definitely see myself working through the 20 main cases in the game and going back to them each a few times until I get them all perfect, but in terms of collecting everything in the world and doing all the extra stuff and exploring the free roaming world? I can pretty much guarantee I will not do any of that.
To be honest, I don't know if it's because I'm just really shit at picking the right option but it's annoying me when I get it wrong and I really can't tell what the correct choice is by the way they're acting. I felt like I had the pattern down, but every character is different... you actually really have to try and consider what kind of person they are and how they would want you to react, it is a very complex system.
One thing I disliked is that when the bad guy runs away and then takes a hostage and you have to shoot him and rather than arrest him he dies and you don't get to interrogate... didn't like that. You should be able to shoot him once in the shoulder or the leg or the arm that is holding the gun and make him drop the weapon rather than have to kill him (so far I have not been able to subdue him without killing).
I seems that the case will progress as you want it to no matter how you go with your questioning and evidence gathering and the composition of all possible paths through this game is simply staggering - it's an amazingly complex and detailed piece of work - BUT I feel a little disappointed with the way the cases progress and I kind of feel like it's more coming down to 'guess work' that real intuition, like, I understand that to use lie you have to have some direct contradicting evidence, but there have been times where I was sure that it was 'true' and that was the wrong answer, and various other times where I was sure it was the others and they didn't work... I guess it just frustrates me a lot when I get it wrong and I've been getting it wrong more often that I would like to be honest.
I'm the kind of person that is probably going to let my partner end up driving from place to place. I'm probably not in this game for the open world / to drive around and see the world, especially considering the 'open world' isn't really that 'open world' and you can't just talk to random people in the street / do random things all around the world unless there is a prompt there.
Thus, I think it's an interesting choice to have the open world in it. Team Bondi obviously put a LOT of work into crafting this world and having it a living breathing full world, but I wonder how much of that world really get utilised over the course of the game (as in used in cases and such... less than 10%?).
I hate to say it, but so far I'm not sure where I sit with the game. I'm not sure if Witcher has spoiled me, I'm not quite sure whether it's because I'm terribly tired after a week of lacking sleep due to too much games, I'm not going to pass judgement yet, but at the moment I'm a bit worried that I'm only feeling like 3 / 5 stars kinda feeling for this game so far :/ Maybe I was just a bit too hyped?
I can definitely see myself working through the 20 main cases in the game and going back to them each a few times until I get them all perfect, but in terms of collecting everything in the world and doing all the extra stuff and exploring the free roaming world? I can pretty much guarantee I will not do any of that.
semiconscious
Member
Guts Of Thor
Thorax of Odin
I'm about a couple hours into the game and not really feeling it. Does it get better or should I just stop playing now and trade it in?
ColonialRaptor
Member
Guts Of Thor said:
Why trade it in now? Keep going for a while unless you REALLY can't keep going and then stop...
anytime you select a case from the Cases menu, it creates a completely new save file. trophies are definitely available, but for example I didn't gain any experience for doing the case again. I think stats are carried, not sure about like landmarks.DoctorWho said:
however I think your experience points are the same no matter what in the main game. On one of my resets I missed 2 questions and got +10 XP, and then reset it and got all questions and still got +10 XP.
scoobs
Member
i think what makes open world games fun is the freedom you have to do whatever you want to do. And that really doesn't work with a game like this, which is why id agree they should scrap the open world aspect and go with something more guided. Having said that, if they keep it open world, let us go crazy! Maybe give the player the option of going rogue and turning evil and just running havoc throughout the city. A simple restart would let u go back to doing your missions and shit.
the reason RDR/GTA was so awesome was u could kill anyone u wanted and there'd be repercussions for doing it. Even though it doesnt really work with this particular game, i bet they could find a way to make it work
the reason RDR/GTA was so awesome was u could kill anyone u wanted and there'd be repercussions for doing it. Even though it doesnt really work with this particular game, i bet they could find a way to make it work
you are playing a cop. a good one at that. even playing a corrupt cop things don't work like that.scoobs said:
like I've been saying, my guess is the open world is there more for Team Bondi's benefit than ours. It's more "hey, we need this open world to make many of the dynamic parts of our game work, so heck, we'll make it available to you also".
also what do you guys mean they should "scrap it". This is also very confusing. It's there. It's done. What exactly do you mean scrap? Even in a sequel, 1947 LA is completed (and viable for a few years in a timeline). What is there to scrap? If you guys want to quick travel everywhere you can.. But are you saying that if they do another game set in 40s LA that they should actually ditch the existing map and create new set piece environments instead? Despite all of the heavy lifting being done already?
Just seems some of you guys aren't wrapping your head around "open world non-sandbox". Who cares if it's open world? I get you're disappointed with the lack of sandbox atmosphere, but they don't actually force you to participate in the open world.. so why complain about it or call for it's "scrapping"? Many of us are enjoying it and driving around everywhere on our own, and as said, if you don't want to you don't have to and lose nothing in the process..
fastford58
Member
DoctorWho said:
It is because doubt is kind of the same as lie, except you don't have evidence to back it up. Think of it as playing hardball...trying to squeeze information out of a suspect/POI that may not yet exist.
Different physics/targeting engines (Euphoria vs. Havok). With that being said, I would call RDR way more unrealistic than this game... the accuracy of late 1800s weapons in that game is ridiculously out of spec for the real weapons of the timeMarleyman said:
and in LAN's case "shit" is being overly dramatic. They made going for a headshot tougher. But if you just reacquire targets with L2 gunplay is rarely difficult. "shit" implies nearly unplayable or ridiculously hard, neither of which is the case here.
Yeah, the "doubt" option is not a softer, gentler approach than the "lie" option: Quite the opposite. "Doubt" is meant to rattle the witness's cage with threats, intimidation, guilt trips, and so forth; it's necessarily psychological because you don't have evidence. "Lie" is more straightforward.
Joe Shlabotnik
Banned
fastford58 said:
The problem is that it seems to come down to judging the temperament of the suspect rather than whether they're lying or not. They're almost always withholding information and it's more like you have to decide whether to "coax" or "threaten" it out of them, which is a lot more arbitrary than determining if they're telling the truth.
Rollo Lawson
Banned
Ranger X said:
funny you should mention that because that's exactly what it reminds me of. the CSI/Law & Order pc games. la noire is just that with high technology and elaborate theatrics. its good in that regard, i actually like the couple that i played. if you look at a csi game though, there is a lot more in the way of actual "detective work" gameplay that makes sense. more than just a couple gun fights and chases just to pacify me. i realize the 1940's dont have the technolgy of a modern csi lab , but i think just having me pick up the nearest phone to get things analyzed was very lazy for such a high end game. i dare say that it being better than a csi game is arguable
Patrick Bateman
Member
Amazon.co.uk has not shipped, yet. (((
(((Similar threads
- x2