NullPointer
Member
Haha. Sometimes open world jank is just hilarious.Ken said:
So, could you investigate the scene? ;P
-
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
So, could you investigate the scene? ;P
boredofcanada
Member
im trading this back into amazon. its getting pretty damn boring.
semiconscious
Member
heading into the final case, & the post-homicide section has been a lot better, imo (tho still a little frustrating), than what came before. once the game begins to use the interrogations more sparingly, & simply as a tool to compliment a faster moving, traditional action/adventure format, the whole mechanic becomes much more acceptable. this's not to say i've finally seen the light afa cole, the story, the flashbacks, etc. the damage done over the first half pretty effectively destroyed any connection to the game i might've formed. but once you remove the over-emphasis on the interrogations, & the 'look-alike' cases, & pick up the pacing, the game becomes noticeably more playable, & enjoyable...
&, yes,
&, yes,
tho not a private eye, strictly speaking, for me, the whole jack kelso thing just blows everything that came before out of the water. yeah, i knew the game i bought was a police detective procedural, but, man, the kelso segments are like a peek at the game i'd love to someday see - finally getting dumped in a trunk & taken for a ride made my day 
...
...disappeared
Banned
I ended up giving away my copy to a friend yesterday.
AgentChris
Member
Same. I'm really impressed by the climbing ladders and walking on stairs animations.StuBurns said:
Ace Harding
Member
This is the one thing about this game that really frustrates me. The interrogation/interview mechanic is a very cool idea, but its not implemented very well. The worst is when there are very specific things you'd like to say but your options are unclear because of the wording they decided to use.kodt said:
Specific example (early Vice desk spoiler):
I visit Jermaine Jones and discover a whole buttload of morphine in his radio. Then, when I question him and he basically says he doesn't know anything about morphine distribution, there's no clear option to say "dude, I just saw like a hundred vials of morphine hidden in your radio, and those two guys I just beat up were high as kites. Tell me what's going on." I never figured out what the game wanted me to do there.
And yeah it also sucks when you want to say something like, "what you're saying doesn't jive and you're obviously not being straight with me - help me out here," so you hit "Doubt" and instead Cole says "I KNOW you killed her! Just admit it!" Uh, no Cole.
There have been too many times where I've "failed" a question and felt like it wasn't my fault - I had made a logical inference that could have been correct but turned out to be the "wrong" choice. And to top it off Cole says something totally crazy in the context of the investigation. That's not fun.
Edit - I'm being pretty critical here. I am actually having a blast just going through the story. I'm a fan of Noir, and this really scratches that itch. The story seems to be improving with each case, and I hope that keeps up through the end.
Revolutionary
Member
You know you can backout of Lie accusations, right? In the event that I doubt/suspect that someone is lying, I immediately go for lie and listen to what Cole is accusing him of and what the suspect says I need proof for. It's in those lines that you know whether or not you've selected the right option. If those lines apply to a piece of evidence, that's your choice. If Cole is accusing of something you have no tangible evidence (or a confession) of, back out and press Doubt.Fong Ghoul said:
There's a method to these interrogations that I think a lot of people are missing, and they're writing it off as "bad" or whatever.
I will admit that there are a handful of cases where there are VERY similar pieces of evidence that you have to essentially toss a coin up for, though.
NullPointer
Member
How would you describe this method?Revolutionary said:
There is a method to interrogations but it's kind of lame I think. They're always lying, they're actors. Watching to see if someone looks away or swallows is pretty artificial. The naming of the options are odd too, Truth, fair enough, but Doubt is actually lying, just a lie you can't contradict with evidence. Truth/Lying/Contradiction would have been better.
Revolutionary
Member
I did in the last post. If you're asking what I'd name it, I'd probably call it the method of being a hardass cop and pushing witnesses very hard.NullPointer said:
Yeah that's true at StuBurns. I was thrown off by the naming of the options in the beginning of the game as well until I figured out what it was the game wanted me to do - to be a hardass.
Not a Jellyfish
but I am a sheep
I am finding this game really hard to pick back up, I am on the Vice desk and it has grown incredibly stale for me.
googoomuck22
Member
just finished it, easily one of the best games i've ever played. it just continued to get more and more amazing as it went on, and considering that it started as being totally awesome, that's saying something. really hope that we see more games of this ilk in the future
CoffeeJanitor
Member
Because, realistically in terms of budget/ambition, this is about as far as you can take this in an interactive experience. Adventure games like this are always going to create dissonance between the player and the player's character.PooBone said:
Ace Harding
Member
Yeah I do know you can back out of a lie, but that doesn't feel like success. This is especially true when Cole says, "you're right, my apologies..." or something to that effect. That's not that much different from taking an educated guess, getting it wrong, and restarting from the last save.Revolutionary said:
To be clear, 90% of the time I'm pretty certain of the "answer," and satisfied with the choices I have. It's the other 10% that can be a real bummer.
I beat it last night...still not very sure how I feel about it overall. I liked the second vice case a lot because it was fairly different(and had no broken ass interrogations). That was more what I wanted from this game.
Arson desk is fucking hilarious, and it kind of saddens me that I enjoyed the game a lot more on it. The game basically tosses the entire detective part out the window for that segment, and I enjoyed it far more than the actual detective stuff which I feel is very poorly done. And I bursted out laughing at the ending...my god.
Arson desk is fucking hilarious, and it kind of saddens me that I enjoyed the game a lot more on it. The game basically tosses the entire detective part out the window for that segment, and I enjoyed it far more than the actual detective stuff which I feel is very poorly done. And I bursted out laughing at the ending...my god.
That would seem to be the pro strategy. I don't do it all the time, but sometimes if I have a feeling I have some evidence I can use I'll hit Lie and if Cole says something ridiculously dumb I can just back out and go Doubt.Vik_Vaughn said:
It's really gamey, which is one of my biggest problems with the game. I want to get sucked in, I'm even walking around instead of sprinting everywhere (something I never do in games), but I'm always pushed back out by one mechanic or another, be it the simplistic and vague interrogations, the unwieldy shooting, the black-and-white implementation of the scoring system, or the overreliance on action segments (particularly with the side missions).
It's an easy game to like but a hard one to love.
Doubt doesn't just mean lie though, it's kind of a catch-all for everything between "you're telling the truth" and "you're full of shit and here's the evidence why."StuBurns said:
I'm 14/21 cases in and I'm on my first Vice case.
Positives:
* Facial animations set a new bar for games.
* Voice acting and the dialog is superb.
Negatives:
Everything else. :/
I find this game repetitive and dull. I'm not interested and I just feel like I'm always going through the motions, but I keep thinking, "Okay this case it will get better, it'll surprise me, it'll add more to the formula." Sadly that hasn't happeend for 2/3ds of the game so I'm not hopeful the final parts will make me go, "wow." I think the lead character is a douche and I don't really even give a fuck what happened in his past... all the past has done is let me see he was a major jack off during the war and he continues to be a brown nosing guy now.
Why is every woman victim drunk before the crime? Why is the shooting mechanics so fucking clunky? Why is driving so poor? Damn near every chase scene has been nothing but hold R2 and up on my stick. The interrogations have been too damn easy and forgiving to let you have a 5 star at the end of the case. Pick thing in notebook, watch easy a fuck tells on face, Do I have proof of lie? then pick lie, oh I don't? back out of lie and go to doubt.
It has a formula but it sticks to it too damn heavy and I felt like I saw everything this game had to offer after a few hours of playing. The side shit is just as unimpressive. Go to the scene of a shoot out, guy climbs to the roof in front of me, I hold R2 and up on stick, shoot him twice the second I get to the top, and the side quest ends. Wow really?
The open world isn't nearly as impressive as Liberty City or the Wild West was. The world has plenty of pop in on PS3, and other bugs too. I managed to somehow float on top of a building and be stuck in the sky forcing me to reset to last save. Saving system is also pretty shitty if you ask me. I would like to be able to save anywhere, and just load up from there. The restriction on this seems to be just to make a false sense of "replay value" so that you'd have to redo an entire case to get a 5 star if you didn't the first time through, but honestly I don't think going through this games trudging of SLAM X TO WIN merits a replay just to see a few extra variations on dialog.
I'm sure I'm in the big minority here, but other than the two positives I haven't found anything praise worthy and I'm confused why this game is getting so much praise when the actual gameplay is pretty damn poor.
Positives:
* Facial animations set a new bar for games.
* Voice acting and the dialog is superb.
Negatives:
Everything else. :/
I find this game repetitive and dull. I'm not interested and I just feel like I'm always going through the motions, but I keep thinking, "Okay this case it will get better, it'll surprise me, it'll add more to the formula." Sadly that hasn't happeend for 2/3ds of the game so I'm not hopeful the final parts will make me go, "wow." I think the lead character is a douche and I don't really even give a fuck what happened in his past... all the past has done is let me see he was a major jack off during the war and he continues to be a brown nosing guy now.
Why is every woman victim drunk before the crime? Why is the shooting mechanics so fucking clunky? Why is driving so poor? Damn near every chase scene has been nothing but hold R2 and up on my stick. The interrogations have been too damn easy and forgiving to let you have a 5 star at the end of the case. Pick thing in notebook, watch easy a fuck tells on face, Do I have proof of lie? then pick lie, oh I don't? back out of lie and go to doubt.
It has a formula but it sticks to it too damn heavy and I felt like I saw everything this game had to offer after a few hours of playing. The side shit is just as unimpressive. Go to the scene of a shoot out, guy climbs to the roof in front of me, I hold R2 and up on stick, shoot him twice the second I get to the top, and the side quest ends. Wow really?
The open world isn't nearly as impressive as Liberty City or the Wild West was. The world has plenty of pop in on PS3, and other bugs too. I managed to somehow float on top of a building and be stuck in the sky forcing me to reset to last save. Saving system is also pretty shitty if you ask me. I would like to be able to save anywhere, and just load up from there. The restriction on this seems to be just to make a false sense of "replay value" so that you'd have to redo an entire case to get a 5 star if you didn't the first time through, but honestly I don't think going through this games trudging of SLAM X TO WIN merits a replay just to see a few extra variations on dialog.
I'm sure I'm in the big minority here, but other than the two positives I haven't found anything praise worthy and I'm confused why this game is getting so much praise when the actual gameplay is pretty damn poor.
CoffeeJanitor
Member
So, I'm not trying to troll this game at all, but how do those of you who have completed it think it will age? Because most of the positives I'm seeing are presentation based. That is, this game is naturally going to get outclassed over time with more powerful hardware.
I've only played it a little bit (over at a buddy's house) but I can't see this one really aging well
I've only played it a little bit (over at a buddy's house) but I can't see this one really aging well
CoffeeJanitor said:
The presentation is the only thing I feel the game has going for it. So if I think it's not a very good game now, it'll only get worse. I even feel within this year of gaming I'm going to forget most of the game, a lot of the characters are very forgettable, and mostly the bad parts will stick in my head.
snoopeasystreet
Member
Is there any way to turn off the game telling you if get a question right or wrong through on screen messages or the music jingle? It's far too game-y for my taste.
Depends on where they go with the idea. If we get a sequel then it'll look especially bad (hopefully!), but if not, then at least there won't be much to compare it to.CoffeeJanitor said:
Either way I definitely won't remember it a few years from now, and I doubt I'll much want to replay it.
Shorty11857
Member
Anyone know how long it takes to get all the film reels roughly? Thinking of going for them tonight
Cerebral Assassin
Member
zlatko said:
The murderer was a bartender, most people in bars are usually drunk
semiconscious
Member
final chapter - say it ain't so:
for the final time, shaking my head, now sadder but wiser ...
sewers?! - you're fucking kidding me! you expend all this time & effort in fabricating this gorgeous environment, & you then stage the grand finale in the drainage system?!...
for the final time, shaking my head, now sadder but wiser
...Cerebral Assassin said:
Oh I know that, but it just felt like he went off his MO so much (no clothes, yes clothes, red lipstick writing, no lipstick writing), that it always had to be a hammered lady was dumb. Does it get explained later if he had a real reason why he targeted drunk women other than he was just the temp bartender and it made them super easy targets? Or did he have like a drunk loose mother as a child or something to help make it more understandable?
Kevitivity
Member
I'm really struck with how rich and vibrant the settings are. Whether it's a dive tiki-bar or a sleazy Hollywood prop shop, the locations are filled with period accurate details along with the proper layer of dirt. The lighting in some of these locations is fantastic too. If this were a movie, the set designer would he a shoe-in for an academy award.
The cases are well written, pulpy and fun. Red Dead had strong writing as well, that remained strong until the very end. The dialog in LA Noir is perfect - tight and smartly written with just right amount of typical noir banter.
And the music!?! Wow, I'm really blown away by how great the music is for this game. Easily some of the best (and mature) video game music I've ever heard.
Red Dead Redemption did a truly phenomenal job of transporting you to a long gone time and place - painting the mood and tone of the old west so well... with setting, characters, music... I was honestly sad when that game ended (something I hadn't experienced since my childhood - I'm 36 now).
I'm about 10 hours into Noir, and this game looks to be just as engrossing as RD if not more, which is amazing to me... Whats extra cool for me is that I was born and raised here in LA and know many of these streets very well. I've spent a lot of time photographing old theaters on Broadway, old Hollywood locals like sets, studios, and even cemeteries. Behind the glitz and glamor, Hollywood is as sleazy and grimy (and haunting) as Noir portrays it too. It's clear to me that the people who made this game had a real passion for their art.
The cases are well written, pulpy and fun. Red Dead had strong writing as well, that remained strong until the very end. The dialog in LA Noir is perfect - tight and smartly written with just right amount of typical noir banter.
And the music!?! Wow, I'm really blown away by how great the music is for this game. Easily some of the best (and mature) video game music I've ever heard.
Red Dead Redemption did a truly phenomenal job of transporting you to a long gone time and place - painting the mood and tone of the old west so well... with setting, characters, music... I was honestly sad when that game ended (something I hadn't experienced since my childhood - I'm 36 now).
I'm about 10 hours into Noir, and this game looks to be just as engrossing as RD if not more, which is amazing to me... Whats extra cool for me is that I was born and raised here in LA and know many of these streets very well. I've spent a lot of time photographing old theaters on Broadway, old Hollywood locals like sets, studios, and even cemeteries. Behind the glitz and glamor, Hollywood is as sleazy and grimy (and haunting) as Noir portrays it too. It's clear to me that the people who made this game had a real passion for their art.
CoffeeJanitor
Member
Do you happen to work at IGN?Kevitivity said:
Kevitivity
Member
CoffeeJanitor said:
Actually I work for NASA.
I'm starting to think this game is more for the older crowd... I have to keep myself from slapping my forehead every time someone complains about the shooting mechanic - it's not a dude-bro shooter, dude.
It's not a classic GTA action game either. It's a pulpy, romantic homage to 1940's Los Angeles with a film noir aesthetic.
It's clearly not for everyone - and thats fine - but the romantic in me is in love.
NullPointer
Member
Yep, this is how I'm approaching it. Truth for if you have no reason to doubt. Lie for when you're sure they're lying or bending the truth and you have evidence to back it up. Doubt for everything else. So doubt becomes "you're lying but I can't prove it", "you're not telling me everything", or if you just want to put the screws to the subject and call them names ;Ptiff said:
Its still not 100% though, as there are times when you want to use doubt even when you have no reason to doubt somebody. The Golden Butterfly case has a few of these situations. So even still, the system doesn't work out quite right.
Absolutely. Its the mirror's edge argument all over again. If you can't nail down satisfactory mechanics than don't include them in the first place. For a game that's not about shooting, there is a great deal of it to be found in the game. Hell most of the side missions require shooting.tiff said:
Kevitivity said:
If you put shooting in your game and you have the words, "RockStar" on the box... I expect a certain level of polish when it comes to that. Same goes for the driving.
It's like if I see Nintendo on a box for a new Super Mario, and the jumping is fucking terrible.
These aren't "optional" things either. You will be subjected to them.
As for the "older crowd" comment... it seems more like you need a level of ability to overlook a lot of glaring flaws and only zero in on the good parts to get the most out of it. It's like Nier in that sense.... people who liked that game KNOW its flaws, but are able to overlook them to enjoy the things done right more.
My 2 pennies. Game is good, but with the amount of hype/early praise I was expecting a game on the level of RDR, but that wasn't the case here.
CozyMachine
Neo Member
Zomba13 said:
I think I would have preferred if there were more letters from the BD killer referencing how he was actually the killer. Especially if the game let the player decide whether or not to be locking up innocent people up to avoid the negative publicity.
Whether or not locking up someone innocent is realistic, it would have made that arc much more interesting. The average player will know that this arc will end up being something more than a string of copycat killers and I don't feel like the game does a great job of respecting that.
Whether or not locking up someone innocent is realistic, it would have made that arc much more interesting. The average player will know that this arc will end up being something more than a string of copycat killers and I don't feel like the game does a great job of respecting that.
NEOPARADIGM
Banned
Kevitivity said:
I think people bitch about the shooting mechanic because it's basically the same style as used in GTA IV, RDR and even Mafia II, and it's worse than all three. No one's comparing it to COD or whatever you're implying.
Kevitivity
Member
zlatko said:
Has there ever been a RockStar game with good shooting?