Team Bondi's L.A. NOIRE |OT| Watchin' Faces, Solvin' Cases

I started playing this today. Two things bug me.

1) Everyone's an asshole and treats you like a asshole too. Everyone you talk to can't wait to piss you around and not tell you everything.

2) Everyone's guilty of something. There's no innocent people here and no accidents.
 
Just finished the 2nd traffic case and having a great time. Having a bit of trouble telling when I should be using doubt or lie but other than that no problems. Can't wait to play some more!
 
onken said:
Just finished the 2nd traffic case and having a great time. Having a bit of trouble telling when I should be using doubt or lie but other than that no problems. Can't wait to play some more!
If you have evidence to prove they're lying, pick lie, when you don't, pick doubt. And you can back out of the evidence list and change your answer I believe.
 
StuBurns said:
If you have evidence to prove they're lying, pick lie, when you don't, pick doubt. And you can back out of the evidence list and change your answer I believe.

Oh cool I'll give that a try, thanks.
 
StuBurns said:
If you have evidence to prove they're lying, pick lie, when you don't, pick doubt. And you can back out of the evidence list and change your answer I believe.

Cole's responses when backing out of a lie are so hilariously demeaning within context.

"I KNOW YOU MURDERED HER. YOU TOOK HER TO THE NIGHTCLUB, GOT HER DRUNK, TOOK HER TO THE ALLEY AND STABBED HER 40 TIMES!"**

"Oh? And how do you intend to prove that?"

...

"Sorry. I'm just trying to do my job."



**Nothing like that happens, btw, so not a spoiler.
 
I'm replaying some cases for better scores, and there's one new thing I've discovered. If you accuse someone of lying and then back out, their "idle" facial expression changes. Small detail, but I think that thrown me off quite a few times since I did back out of lies a lot to hear the extra dialogue.

I think the white shoe murder is one of my favourite cases in the game as that shows the facial animation extremely well. Both suspects get really mad during the interrogation and the facial expressions looks amazing during those scenes. For LA Noire 2, they should tell the actors to act mad more often!
 
I sat and played this with a friend last night. He almost went out and bought a PS3 just to play it. In the two cases we played (the end of Homicide) we had a blast. It was probably the most fun I've had in gaming since Mass Effect 2 released. This is really one of a kind. I love this game so much. Bring on the DLC and I'll buy every horse armor they put out.
 
Just finished the last case in Vice.

Vice has been a definite improvement over the insanely repetitive Homicide cases (my gosh were those cases repetitive!) I mean the game is still monotonous......but at least it had some variation with the Vice cases.

So yeah, the story is still uninteresting and the lack of a bigger story to tie everything together really hurts the game. I’m just kinda plodding along at the moment. I still think it’s solid, but it's certainly nothing special.
 
Tricky I Shadow said:
Just finished the last case in Vice.

Vice has been a definite improvement over the insanely repetitive Homicide cases (my gosh were those cases repetitive!) I mean the game is still monotonous......but at least it had some variation with the Vice cases.

So yeah, the story is still uninteresting and the lack of a bigger story to tie everything together really hurts the game. I’m just kinda plodding along at the moment. I still think it’s solid, but it's certainly nothing special.

Not sure why you are missing it but there is a bigger overarching story that is being played out in my game.
 
ascully said:
Not sure why you are missing it but there is a bigger overarching story that is being played out in my game.

Same.
Are some people really not getting the set-up from your Vice partner? I thought that was the way the story went, otherwise why would you get demoted to Arson?
 
Tried to play this in black and white yesterday.

When you interview people it really shows up the joins in the face tech a lot more. I switched back to colour.
 
ascully said:
Not sure why you are missing it but there is a bigger overarching story that is being played out in my game.

The so called 'overarching story' is really weak though and hardly an overarching story. The game still feels too segmented.

I think Phoenix Wright has spoilt me....because that is how you do an overarching story correctly. It's so sloppy in L.A Noire.
 
daviyoung said:
Same.
Are some people really not getting the set-up from your Vice partner? I thought that was the way the story went, otherwise why would you get demoted to Arson?
Wait, so why would Roy rat him out?
 
Tricky I Shadow said:
I think Phoenix Wright has spoilt me....because that is how you do an overarching story correctly. It's so sloppy in L.A Noire.
Yeah. I would go into details but I don't feel like spoiler tagging everything.

I am hunting down gold film canisters right now. Halfway down. I need 15 more vehicles as well. Hard to believe I have driven 80 unique vehicles. Alot of them look the same.
 
Nothing like driving like an asshole and causing an egregious amount of city damage to Hank Williams.

MOVE OVER SKINNY DOG 'CAUSE A FAT DOG'S MOVING IN. /bang-crash-splat
 
Just completed a homicide case with my first five star rating, got every interview question correct. Think I'm getting the hang of it now... such a good game.
 
Tricky I Shadow said:
I think Phoenix Wright has spoilt me....because that is how you do an overarching story correctly. It's so sloppy in L.A Noire.

if you're talking about the difference between something creeping up on you, & feeling pieces fitting together, & something that repeatedly hits you over the head with a sledgehammer, yeah, you're correct...

is there anyone genuinely surprised by how the 'big picture' in l.a. noire develops? cuz for me, it all felt just incredibly inevitable
as in, 'forget it jake - it's chinatown...' inevitable
. unlike the ones in the pw games, which always surprised me in some way...

& i think that some of this is just one more instance of the disadvantage of trying to make a genuinely realistic, as opposed to pseudo-realistic, game - unless you're truly clever, it can be very limiting, to the extent that you're sorta forced to maintain a level of consistent, real-world believability/credibility that pseudo-realistic series like pw (& yakuza) don't have to think or worry about that much...

way more room to come outa left field, & be well thought out, perfectly logical & yet totally surprising (& even ridiculous), when you're not trying to keep it all real...
 
Just finished the game this morning, and I loved it. Anyone who has any experience with noir film will know the overall tone of the game and kind of know what to expect is coming, and I think those kinds of themes will naturally conflict with traditional expectations of what gamers have come to expect. All in all, it's a fantastic game -- flawed, but great in the end.

Ending spoilers:

Kind of like Cole -- flawed, but great in the end. I haven't played any other Rockstar games, and I know that this is a bit of theme for them, but I really found Cole compelling because of his flaws. He isn't the supercop badass that he's trying to be -- he's running away from making decisions by hiding behind procedure and protocol, and even though he's trying to atone for his past, he's still falling victim to what plagued him in Okinawa.

The whole relationship between him and Elsa was handled poorly, though -- I saw strains of it, but really wanted a bit more to explain why she was the only one he could ever connect with. There isn't much interaction between them beyond her one interrogation scene, and then suddenly he shacks up with her. Exploring that dynamic would have helped him seem like not just a brash asshole, but more of the flawed, conflicted guy that I think he is. He seems to be drawn to strength, which is why he's got that respect-hate rivalry with Kelso, and I guess that's what he's supposed to see in Elsa, but it could have really used more exposition here.

Tricky I Shadow said:
I think Phoenix Wright has spoilt me....because that is how you do an overarching story correctly. It's so sloppy in L.A Noire.
Compared to Phoenix Wright, it's not sloppy so much as understated -- too much so, I'd argue, but overall while I like the mechanics of PW a bit better (and the whole testimony/evidence system), I found myself a lot more invested in L.A. Noire's whole mood and broader story. Phoenix Wright just gets too wacky-crazy-exaggeratory-anime for me at times; it probably works better as the setting for a video game, but L.A. Noire was a nice change of pace.

Ending spoilers:

I think a lot of people are also agitated at how unresolved L.A. Noire's ending is, but, like, that's noir, man. You can't expect a happy ending here. Frustration, powerlessness, the inexorable pull of the cynical world around you ... that's the name of the game. (Literally!)
 
Atruvius said:
Because he's a prick, a dirty cop and it gets the heat out of his back.
If he wanted the heat off his back then why did he get himself partnered with the LAPD's most prominent detective?
 
tiff said:
If he wanted the heat off his back then why did he get himself partnered with the LAPD's most prominent detective?
Because he knew that Phelps had thing for that german singer. He could use that against him if needed.
 
Anyone found the Desoto 2dr Custom car? It's apparently at the Bamba Club in "The Red Lipstick Murder Case" and spawns on Westlake Ave, but I can't find it at all.
 
tiff said:
If he wanted the heat off his back then why did he get himself partnered with the LAPD's most prominent detective?
He did it to get the heat off of the entire department's back. There was the scandal with the prostitute that had connections deep in the department, or something, so the dude used Cole's affair as a distraction from it so the news cycle would move onto something else. He also did it to win favor with the dude. I thought this was explained fairly well in the couple of cutscenes that dealt with it...
 
jett said:
I'm stumped on the second arson case. Apparently I still have evidence to collect but I can't find anything else.

Are you
at the site with multiple torched houses and the people get in a fight with you?

Took me a while to find the clue, but it's the closest house to where you start off... the cement wall.
 
NotTheGuyYouKill said:
Are you
at the site with multiple torched houses and the people get in a fight with you?

Took me a while to find the clue, but it's the closest house to where you start off... the cement wall.

No I'm not there, thanks for the spoiler. :P I'm at the
big torched house with the family in a praying position.

edit: I gamefaq'd what I was missing. Such a stupid thing.
 
BobsRevenge said:
He did it to get the heat off of the entire department's back. There was the scandal with the prostitute that had connections deep in the department, or something, so the dude used Cole's affair as a distraction from it so the news cycle would move onto something else. He also did it to win favor with the dude. I thought this was explained fairly well in the couple of cutscenes that dealt with it...
Is that explained later on? Can't believe I would have missed it.
 
m0ngo said:
Just completed a homicide case with my first five star rating, got every interview question correct. Think I'm getting the hang of it now... such a good game.

When I get 4/4 questions correct I am like "F Yeah this game rules".

Then I get 0/3 on the next person and I am like "This game blows".
 
tiff said:
Is that explained later on? Can't believe I would have missed it.
If I remember correctly its seen through a newspaper. If you missed that paper you miss his whole conversation with
the police chief, mayor, etc.
 
Gooster said:
Cole's responses when backing out of a lie are so hilariously demeaning within context.

"I KNOW YOU MURDERED HER. YOU TOOK HER TO THE NIGHTCLUB, GOT HER DRUNK, TOOK HER TO THE ALLEY AND STABBED HER 40 TIMES!"**

"Oh? And how do you intend to prove that?"

...

"Sorry. I'm just trying to do my job."



**Nothing like that happens, btw, so not a spoiler.

"Sometimes you've got to shake the tree and see what falls out..."
 
Game has been great so far. Not too many complaints really. A few bugs here and there. I could listen to the start screen music all evening.
 
elektrixx said:
I started playing this today. Two things bug me.

1) Everyone's an asshole and treats you like a asshole too. Everyone you talk to can't wait to piss you around and not tell you everything.

2) Everyone's guilty of something. There's no innocent people here and no accidents.

I think that's what they're going for, dude.
 
jred2k said:
If I remember correctly its seen through a newspaper. If you missed that paper you miss his whole conversation with
the police chief, mayor, etc.
That would explain it. I have the feeling I've been missing a ton of newspapers.
 
Whoever made the design decision to tell the player whether they got a question correct/wrong should be shot. The game already continues on regardless of your choice, so why make the player feel shitty whenever they make a mistake?
 
tiff said:
That would explain it. I have the feeling I've been missing a ton of newspapers.

Newspapers actually count as clues, so if you always find all the clues in your current area, you'll always a newspaper if there's one around.
 
schennmu said:
I'm around 3 hours in and this game is boring and repetitive. The only thing I like are the graphics. Does it ever start being fun?
It gets better, the last two desks feel cohesive, which adds a lot to me.
 
I finished a few days ago and am currently doing a second run.

I love it. A lot. Like, this is the most enamored I've been with a game since Uncharted 2. This is one for the record books and a personal favorite for me. Pulled apart, I don't think it's perfect. The shooting is some of the clunkiest I've dealt with in a while and the driving is that kind of hyper sensitive/super slippery driving ala Mafia II/NFS: Hot Pursuit, which some people like, but I hate.

But the game is so much more than the sum of it's parts. It triumphs because it is exactly what the developers want it to be: a compelling, thrilling cop drama. And it champions the Adventure Game genre in the mainstream!

It sucked me in the same way my favorite thriller films do and I loved every minute of it. Definitely buying all the DLC cases. For me, this is gonna be a tough act to follow for GOTY this year.

Sidenote: I'm from LA and I'm willing to vouch for the accuracy with which they recreated the city. Now, I won't say I was alive during the forties, but the more things change they often stay the same. The LA Public Library for instance looks exactly like that. It's eery, but it is so. Cool. God, I love this game!
 
I'm reeealy interested in the development of this game the more I read. But there's not a lot of info, maybe I just haven't found it yet.

I remember RDR's budget being about $50mil, did this totally eclipse that (give or take Sony's original $20mil)? Also, wonder how far along the game was before they started getting all the Mad Men cast involved, it must've been much later than 2006 right?
 
Cheech said:
Or 80s Miami. They kind of did that already, though.

I think best era would be London in 1947 for a sequal, would be a huge dramatic difference to this game in L.A.
Huge areas destroyed and rebuilding, people overcoming the war, hype of the Olympics ect.
 
schennmu said:
I'm around 3 hours in and this game is boring and repetitive. The only thing I like are the graphics. Does it ever start being fun?
The beginning of the game is probably the most varied since it's introducing you to all the different mechanics. If you don't like it now then I doubt you ever will.

Inorigo said:
Newspapers actually count as clues, so if you always find all the clues in your current area, you'll always a newspaper if there's one around.
I've been playing with hints off and have been allowing myself to miss clues and questions, so I must have missed it.
 
Beat it a few minutes ago.
It's surely an interesting game with a lot of shortcomings of which some really wore down my motivation to play the game in the first half of it. The more or less unique premise (and the fact that I bought it at full price; what was I thinking? :lol ) were probably the only reason that really made me stick with it. That's not to say I didn't enjoy any of LA Noire, but it's certainly not the next big thing for me.
 
tiff said:
The beginning of the game is probably the most varied since it's introducing you to all the different mechanics. If you don't like it now then I doubt you ever will.


I've been playing with hints off and have been allowing myself to miss clues and questions, so I must have missed it.

Ah, okay. Yeah, that would be why. The newspapers aren't crucial per se
(You totally can ans should be able to pick up on Roy's betrayal without them)
, but what they add to the narrative is worth following.
 
tiff said:
The beginning of the game is probably the most varied since it's introducing you to all the different mechanics. If you don't like it now then I doubt you ever will.
Nah, the beginning is the worst part. The cases are less interesting and it holds your hand too much.
 
Just want to say the face capture gets a lot of attention but christ.. the music is perfect in every way. From the little piano audio clues fitting perfectly, to the driving music during a dramatic case, the chase theme, and the radio broadcasts, they really nailed the immersion in that respect.
 
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