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

TheExodu5

Banned
So a friend pre-ordered a 360 copy at EB and picked it up. He was expecting to get The Naked City with it, but didn't...was this a PS3-only pre-order bonus?
 
Colour manual!!! The only thing besides in-box artwork that makes me feel more loved as a consumer :p Please tell me the game box has artwork on the inside?!

Rockstar is just about the last publisher left that gives a shit about manuals, and god bless them for that. Knowing they would have a nice-looking manual and possibly a fold-out map, etc. nudged me towards buy instead of rent. I'm glad they don't mind blowing some of their riches and killing a few trees.

(Nintendo still has decent manuals, too.)
 

Sethos

Banned
TheExodu5 said:
So a friend pre-ordered a 360 copy at EB and picked it up. He was expecting to get The Naked City with it, but didn't...was this a PS3-only pre-order bonus?

Only place Naked City comes with the 360 version is in Scandinavia I believe, the Nordic edition.
 
Evlar said:
I can't comment on the 360 side, but my subjective experience on the PS3 side is of a big quality difference between L.A. Noire and the RAGE engine games. L.A. Noire runs much, much better than GTA4.

Do you see the same kind of ambient activity in LA Noire? In GTA4, you would see someone working under the hood of their car, people with umbrellas when it rained, yoga classes in the park, newspaper and hotdog stands, cops randomly chasing criminals on foot... A lot of these things are what made GTA4's city stand out for me.
 

Lakitu

st5fu
What are the order of the desks? I've been out of the loop but it's been mentioned vice is the last desk. But surely it should be homicide?
 

French

Banned
Compression likely equals the 360 version performing worse technically, but it doesn't mean cut content.

Last week, McNamara revealed that "two full desks" or mission sets had been cut from L.A. Noire during development, and might be published separately as downloadable content

Maybe it has something to do with DVDs.
 

TheExodu5

Banned
Sethos said:
Only place Naked City comes with the 360 version is in Scandinavia I believe, the Nordic edition.

Hmmmm...can anyone else confirm this? So the 360 pre-order came with no bonuses whatsoever in North America?
 

v0mitg0d

Member
(PS3)

I have to be honest, in order for LA Noire to pull me in I had to play it for a few hours. I'm not quite sure what it was (too hyped perhaps?) but I just wasn't feeling it at first. Once I completed my first real case without any hand-holding, and my first side mission, the game began to sink its hooks in me. It's a really interesting, fun and unique game and I cannot wait to get back home and play it. Remember, despite the fact that it has action sequences this isn't a GTA game--it's more of an adventure game.


Here are some random thoughts:

- LA 1947 in this game is just incredibly detailed. You'll want to veer off, get out of your car and explore, and you can if you wish. Most builds cannot me entered, but there are landmarks to tag (hit a button when you drive by it), newspapers to find and read (I think these might only be available at a crime scene), 40 side missions like chase down a robber.

- The newpapers you find initiate a cool cut scene that never feels too long (at least not yet).

- I've found cut scenes cannot be skipped even when replaying a mission. I found this really strange because all of the Rockstar games I've played in the past have had cut scenes you could skip.

- The driving in LA Noire doesn't feel like driving in GTAIV. The cars have more of an arcade feel to them.

- From my experience, when crashing a vehicle, you cannot flip it no matter how bad the accident is. Not a big deal, just noting it.

- You have the ability to turn your siren on at any time, and when you do vehicles ahead of you will pull over to let you by. :)

- The facial animations are stunningly beautiful. I mean, unlike anything I've ever seen and it doesn't feel like a gimmick. After experiencing it I hope GTAV is using this tech.

- The facial animations are too good. What I mean by that is that it can be distracting in a weird way. It almost makes everything else look awkward or out of place. This could be an Uncanny Valley thing.

- The texture quality, environmental detail and modeling is extremely well impressive. The attention to detail will stop you in your tracks, particularly during the crime scene investigations.

- I've had one frame rate drop--and it was quite significant--during a chase scene. It only last a few seconds.

- Interrogating people is thrilling. What I mean is, at times it's kind of puts you on the edge of your seat because you don't want to mess things up. If you call someone out (a liar) you have to prove it by providing the evidence. There have been a few times where I wasn't sure if I was doing the right thing and it wasn't exciting to wait for the little queues (suspects reaction, music) to let me know if I succeeded.

- Walking around the crime scenes, picking up and examine things is cool.

- The voice acting is what you expect it to be--awesome.

- If you like you can play the game in black & white!

- There is something missing in regards to the city. It has personality, and it is beautifully constructed, but there is something stagnant about it. I'm not saying it feels like a Disneyland ride like the city in mafia 2, but it also doesn't quite feel as lively as the city in GTAIV.

Ok that's all for now, will report back later! :)
 

dskillzhtown

keep your strippers out of my American football
French said:
Last week, McNamara revealed that "two full desks" or mission sets had been cut from L.A. Noire during development, and might be published separately as downloadable content

Maybe it has something to do with DVDs.


Or it has something to do with Take Two wanting DLC monies.
 

Miggytronz

Gold Member
Hell yeah!!!

bUakc.jpg
 

Audioboxer

Member
French said:
Last week, McNamara revealed that "two full desks" or mission sets had been cut from L.A. Noire during development, and might be published separately as downloadable content

Maybe it has something to do with DVDs.

As I said on the last page I think that has something to do with pre-existing DLC/pre-order plans.

It's a SP only game, they aren't going to make money coining off Maps or Costumes for online, a barrage of SP DLC is to be expected.

The retailer pre-order nonsense has been rife for ages now, again, to be expected with big titles and case DLC is the only real way to give retailers bonuses (again MP orientated content like Maps/EXP bonuses can't be used here).
 

Evlar

Banned
MrCompletely said:
Do you see the same kind of ambient activity in LA Noire? In GTA4, you would see someone working under the hood of their car, people with umbrellas when it rained, yoga classes in the park, newspaper and hotdog stands, cops randomly chasing criminals on foot... A lot of these things are what made GTA4's city stand out for me.
There is ambient activity (people walking down the street, sitting in the parks, bystanders throwing out comments as you pass) but not with an attention to conjuring the bustling atmosphere the likes of Liberty City from GTA4, at least so far as I've experienced from my first hour and half of play. It's about as alive as GTA3 as you drive around the city.

Of course, locations with an ongoing investigation or chase are a different matter.
 

French

Banned
As I said on the last page I think that has something to do with pre-existing DLC/pre-order plans.

It's a SP only game, they aren't going to make money coining off Maps or Costumes for online, a barrage of SP DLC is to be expected.

The retailer pre-order nonsense has been rife for ages now, again, to be expected with big titles and case DLC is the only real way to give retailers bonuses (again MP orientated content like Maps/EXP bonuses can't be used here).

Yeah, you may be right.

Very bad generation ... :/
 

Sethos

Banned
vocab said:
It's a serious question.

Then ask it properly instead of that trololol shit.

Both versions are 720p native and both versions have 2xMSAA.

PS3 is the winner when it comes to graphical comparison, in case you were wondering that too.
 

owlbeak

Member
Amir0x said:
So PS3 version came out ahead in the Lens of Truth analysis too.

Well, now I'm doubly glad I got that version. For once, intelligent assessment of the development situation wins the day.

Dang: holy shit if you do that slide over on the PS3/Xbox360 bridge image there is a massive difference between the two. Hell, entirely new buildings show up in the PS3 version lol
Thanks! I am picking the game up on my way home from work and I was still undecided as to which version I should get. I can't get to lens of truth from my work laptop for some reason. (Edit: Correction, their website just blows)

Will be getting the PS3 version! :)
 
does anyone have a chicago piano gun code for ps3 they are willing to trade?

I have the 360 code since I pre-ordered it on 360 so long ago but switched it to PS3 yesterday.
 

Evlar

Banned
vocab said:
It's a serious question.
It doesn't run on the same tech as Rockstar's current-gen games, the PS3 version is 720p with 2xAA and fairly stable framerate, and the bulk of the tech and content were developed by Team Bondi. This stuff has been covered extensively in the thread.
 

Definity

Member
I have an extra Broderick detective suite code. Anyone by chance want to trade? I already have the Piano gun. Would love to get my hands on the extra traffic case.
 

Slaylock

Member
polyh3dron said:
My Amazon Release Date Delivery Shipment tracking for this game:

A55Lg.png


FFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

Anyone else get this?
I'm seeing the same thing for my order: A flight delay occurred because of mechanical reasons. I was really looking forward to playing this tonight. :(
 

Sethos

Banned
With all these codes floating about, if anyone ends up with a spare PS3 code for ... something, remember my name *hugglez*
 

DeadTrees

Member
Jackson said:
Honestly, there's no actual word to describe this product, it's not a "game". It's not even a "game meets movie" like the Uncharted series. Those are still games. You play them, they require manual skill.
Things I learned from GAF, #5,344: Chess, D&D, and turn-based sims/RPGs aren't really games.
 
I don't understand the "its not a game comment" the quicklook at GB sure looks like a game to me! you are just more into finding clues and looking for answers like an adventure game.

maybe the proper term is its not an action game??
 

TheExodu5

Banned
The "it's not a game crowd" are to blame for the stagnation in game design.

But even so, this game appears to be a third person adventure game with action elements.
 
iNvidious01 said:
consul car is a exclusive dlc for all ps3 copies and the naked city is your regular bonus


Really is this for alll regions? US here and i'd honestly debating if I should buy y copy asap or wait.. Either way I won't be playing for awhile, but if getting it now means free content so be it.
 
TheExodu5 said:
The "it's not a game crowd" are to blame for the stagnation in game design.

But even so, this game appears to be a third person adventure game with action elements.

For sure. Sounds like my kind of game :)
 

Evlar

Banned
TheExodu5 said:
The "it's not a game crowd" are to blame for the stagnation in game design.

But even so, this game appears to be a third person adventure game with action elements.
Or victims of it. I don't think Jackson was disparaging L.A. Noire so much as expressing how this game cuts against the grain of so much of what is popular now... and what it appears to be on the surface.

I bought the game last night at Best Buy. While we waited for the big hand to point to 12 one of the employees chatted up the handful of us in line; he asked what part of the game we were looking forward to most. The guy next to me said "The car chases." I performed a mental head-palm.
 

Interfectum

Member
Evlar said:
Or victims of it. I don't think Jackson was disparaging L.A. Noire so much as expressing how this game cuts against the grain of so much of what is popular now... and what it appears to be on the surface.

I bought the game last night at Best Buy. While we waited for the big hand to point to 12 one of the employees chatted up the handful of us in line; he asked what part of the game we were looking forward to most. The guy next to me said "The car chases." I performed a mental head-palm.

One can hope though, that while many people will be surprised they're not buying "GTA Noire" they will be opened up to new experiences and actually enjoy it.
 

tass0

Banned
There's a "it's not a game" crowd? Seriously?

Then what the fuck is it?

You can shoot people.

You can interrogate people.

You can find evidence to use against people.

You can chase after people.

You can drive.

You can freely move anywhere in the city.

You can do side-missions.


To me, L.A. Noire is an amazing adventure game, mixed with a law-abiding version of GTA.
 

Lord Error

Insane For Sony
If you buy the game without the preorder, what do you miss out on? How many DLC cases are tied to each retailer and/or to preorders?

v0mitg0d said:
- The facial animations are too good. What I mean by that is that it can be distracting in a weird way. It almost makes everything else look awkward or out of place. This could be an Uncanny Valley thing.
They don't use animations, but rather videos of actors' faces superimposed over character models. They tone them down so that they don't look like full-on videos, but it's still a video in the end. As they can't do that with anything else in the game, everything else is normal rendered graphics, which creates some odd effect, I agree. Also, as you can imagine, facial videos are recorded separately and then applied over another set of mocapped animations, so the lining up and making sure everyone looks where they're supposed to look, the lighting etc. can also be an issue, like if the head doesn't belong to a body sort of thing.

Also, and IMO, this makes the characters look somehow 'flat' - as in you can tell that they are not fully 3D models anymore but some sort of a hybrid. I know a lot of people are enamored by this technique at the moment, but I've been vocal about how it gives me some bad flashbacks of the early FMV use in games and the artistic restrictions it placed on a medium. However, I agree that for a game that portrays realistic world, this kind of thing works well, at least to a level of visual fidelity needed here (I don't think it would work as well in a more visually detailed game).

Not many people probably remember but first two Siren games on PS2 employed this technique in a more primitive form with similar but more jarring odd result.

TheExodu5 said:
The "it's not a game crowd" are to blame for the stagnation in game design.

But even so, this game appears to be a third person adventure game with action elements.
I think you're selling some of the critics short. The 'it's not a game' complaints have been centered, from what Ive seen, around the fact that you don't do enough of deducing in the game, figuring stuff out, solving puzzles, having meaningful impact of your bad decision etc. It's not like everyone complaining was just saying they needed more action in the game.
 

Grisby

Member
Picked up the 360 version just now. Apparently my GS had a midnight launch DJ playing 40's tunes and stuff; crazy.

Also, they Noir'd my home page IMBD.com and I've never seen them do that for a video game.
 

SCHUEY F1

Unconfirmed Member
Still flip flopping on what version to get. So used to playing multiplatform games on the 360. I much prefer the 360 controller and achievements, but the PS3 looks better....aarrggh.
 
SCHUEY F1 said:
Still flip flopping on what version to get. So used to playing multiplatform games on the 360. I much prefer the 360 controller and achievements, but the PS3 looks better....aarrggh.

The fact that you STILL can't decide answers your question. Just get it on the 360 and have fun.
 

rhino4evr

Member
SCHUEY F1 said:
Still flip flopping on what version to get. So used to playing multiplatform games on the 360. I much prefer the 360 controller and achievements, but the PS3 looks better....aarrggh.
Get it on 360 then..,you wont notice the differences as long as you ignore them. Not to mention they are minute in nature.
 

Montresor

Member
I'm about to head out with my brother to get the game. I was curious so I checked out the game on the xbox.com marketplace. There's no DLC add-ons yet? No way to purchase A Slip Of The Tongue on day one? And what about the Rockstar Online Pass? I don't see it!!!

Going out now. =D
 

Evlar

Banned
TheJollyCorner said:
is anyone playing this in black & white for the first play-through?

I'm very tempted.
I'm not, but I turned it on just to check out the effect. As others have said it's not just a filter; I think it adjusts the lighting engine too. Looks quite stunning standing along a busy street in daytime.
 
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