L.A. Noire Preview

By Andrew Groen Published 21 March, 2011

California screaming.

It's easy to get a peculiar feeling when viewing a new Rockstar game for the first time. It's the feeling that what you're watching might change video gaming. This familiar feeling was creeping up my spine as I sat in a demo booth for L.A. Noire.

Few people would argue against the notion that Grand Theft Auto III changed everything, but it wasn't overnight. GTAIII wasn't a proven success right away. Rockstar reps have said that the game rocked the industry creatively, but it was the runaway financial success of Vice City that made the industry's movers and shakers pay attention.

It was a similar case with the far more story-focused San Andreas. It was more notable for its hidden sex scene than for its wonderful world-building and characters. A few years later, though, people stood up and took notice of Rockstar's achievements in those areas with GTAIV and Red Dead Redemption.

These are a series of one-two punches to different aspects of game design; the only difference this time is that the jab that set up L.A. Noire's cross wasn't a Rockstar game. Rather, it was Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain, a game whose achievements (and failures) in interactive storytelling hardly need recounting.

Now, before Heavy Rain fans get excited or Heavy Rain haters get deflated, it's worth stating that the two games aren't very much alike in most ways. They're very different in terms of gameplay and, especially, aesthetics. Heavy Rain's bleak vision of the modern city is replaced by the glitz and glamour of late 1940s Los Angeles, juxtaposed with the brutality of one of the most violent times in a violent city's history.

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The violent atmosphere is mixed with the glamour of a Hollywood boom town.

However, the two games seem to share some similarities in their design philosophy. Both games like to take their time in telling their story. Neither game is afraid to take the reins off to let you explore the environment – to really let you step into the character's shoes and walk around for a while.

In L.A. Noire we step into the shoes of Cole Phelps, an American soldier returning from World War 2. In an attempt to atone for sins committed in the war, he joins the police force, and quickly works his way up to detective. From that point, there are different "desks" or "beats" that he can work as an investigator, such as Arson and Murder. Each desk, we're told, has six or seven cases that can be worked on, most of which last between 45 and 90 minutes. L.A. Noire developer Team Bondi actually pulled some of these directly from the pages of old Los Angeles newspapers, though of course changed the names of those involved.

In the demo I was walked through, Phelps was working the murder beat.

The Red Lipstick Murder

She was a pretty young thing. You could vaguely imagine that without the missing part of her skull, the smears of blood, and if she still had warm blood to bring life to a smile... she might have been a looker. Not so pretty by the time we arrived on the scene though. She lay on her back, spread out completely nude in a park with playgrounds nearby. Letters were written in red lipstick on her stomach.

Rockstar didn't spare us the gory details either. We not only saw the body up close and personal, but we were asked to slowly and meticulously inspect it for clues and cause of death.

We'll have to wait until the retail release to find out exactly what happened in this grotesque murder, but we were treated to 30 minutes or so of the build up. Along the way, we followed a trail of clues that smacked of an old adventure game like Broken Sword.

In the park by the body, we found a globe about the size of Phelp's palm. After solving a quick throwaway puzzle of lining up the continents, it popped open and was revealed to be a lighter from a local nightclub. As for how on Earth the killer managed to lose an object of that size and sophistication, we're not really sure.

The cut-scene that preceded, showing the woman being murdered by a silhouetted man, had her being yanked out of the car, so it could have fallen out of the car then. L.A. Noire didn't seem to burden the player with the specifics of where clues came from. Hopefully, the clues won't all be so heavy-handed. That said, it would be very interesting if some of these obvious clues turned out to be red herrings.

The clue started us on a path of growing intrigue as the story wound its way between new characters and crime scenes. It would be a waste of time to recount the entire story we were shown, since it didn't have a conclusion of any kind. We were left with our lingering suspicions and doubts. Each character we met seemed to tighten our grip on the killer. The most interesting aspect of the experience was the interview system we used to engage these personalities.

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Though the previews have mostly shown off the slower side of L.A. Noire, action scenes will also play a role.

Team Bondi's amazing animation was on full display here, actually succeeding in turning facial animations into gameplay. When you ask people questions, they'll react in a certain way. Sometimes it's obvious that they're lying, since they won't look you in the eye after their response. Other times, you might just notice a subtle tic that tips you off. You'll have to read their voices and expressions in order to figure out where they stand. Are they trying to hide something? Or are they just deeply saddened by the news of the murder?

L.A. Noire isn't just about slow interrogations and clue-gathering: there's a fair amount of action to balance things out. Our particular case was much slower-paced and included just one fist fight just as the demo closed. However, other press materials have shown Phelps blasting through bank robbers that just wouldn't give in, and smashing into cars on the streets of Hollywood.

The time for L.A. Noire's extremely long development – over five years, by some accounts – to come to an end has almost arrived. On 20th May – 17th May in North America – Rockstar and Team Bondi will find out if this expensive labour has been worth the trouble. On this evidence, it could well have been.

Picture of Andrew.

About Andrew Groen

Read more articles from Andrew by visiting the Andrew Groen archive page.

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Comments (49) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • MrOriginal #1 1 year ago

    This will be the first game this year worthy of my monies. Roll on May!

  • bobiroka #2 1 year ago

    Cannot wait! Roll on May...

  • linea #3 1 year ago

    If this actually turns out to be basically a playable Raymond Chandler novel then, well.... I can't imagine many more exciting gaming prospects.

  • Yuroko #4 1 year ago

    I'll 3rd that roll on May! Don't want to wish the year away but I can't wait..

    I hope the DF face off is out before the games release. Wonder which version will be better since this started off as a PS exclusive, didn't it?
    Edited by Yuroko at 21/03/11 @ 14:24

  • HurbleBurble #5 1 year ago

    Less Chandler, more Ellroy - which it certainly sounds to be - I'll be in gaming nirvana.

  • Delta1knight #6 1 year ago

    I'm really excited for this, the gameplay and story seem extremely original and fresh. I think this may be the first non XBLA game deserving of my hard earned cash this year.
    Edited by Delta1knight at 21/03/11 @ 14:28

  • marmaduke #7 1 year ago

    The preview was cold. The reviewer, a hack trying to write his way into the big leagues, resorted to cliché in order to give a sense of what "Noire" meant. You'd expect that of most websites. But not here, not on Eurogamer. I clicked on the 'comment' button and began to write.

  • billy-beauts #8 1 year ago

    An open world game with a serious tone and a linear storyline... Whatever you do, don't give the review to whoever reviewed Mafia 2 on this website. He won't like it.

  • MrOriginal #9 1 year ago

    Yes it was PS3 exclusive to being with. All the actually gameplay footage shown so far is PS3 as far I can make out(buttons shown onscreen). I'm an 360 gamer so it doesn't really matter to me but I am keen to see differences(if any).

  • spekkeh #10 1 year ago

    On this evidence, it could well have been.

    Doesn't sound too enthusiastic.. I'm kind of apprehensive for the 90 minute missions, although you could see it as a complete crime series season in one box, I would have liked it if there had been a bit more focus. Also the whole 'start as a postal boy, become top sergeant' seems like the sort of gaming story cliche that I could do without right about now.

    Still going to buy this day one of course. Just not sure if I'll ever get round finishing it, which would be a real shame.

  • ronuds #11 1 year ago

    This preview sucked, quite frankly. Told me nothing about the game.

  • spekkeh #12 1 year ago

    @marmaduke: yikes now you have me fearing that this game will be one long, drawn out Alan Wake.

  • Essien #13 1 year ago

    This was a really frustratingly opaque preview. Although the premise of the game is cool and the animations look brilliant, I am yet to read anything that disproves my sneaking suspicion that the actual GAMEPLAY might not be up to much.

    I really hope that worry turns out to have been unnecessary.
    Edited by Essien at 21/03/11 @ 14:41

  • CaptainQuint #14 1 year ago

    The only thing holding this back from "changing video gaming" is the inevitable fact that players will no doubt still have to wipe out hundreds of NPCs by way of generic cover-based shootouts; whilst solving crimes along the way, of course.

    Grandiose fanboy journalism is fine, but let's not get carried away. Game looks great, but not THAT different or new.

  • Hindle #15 1 year ago

    Post deleted at 23:04:43 04-04-2012

  • Darren #16 1 year ago

    Got a bit worried at the mention of Heavy Rain there as I want a game I can *play* not one extended QTE sequence where I spend most of the time watching icons! It's the reason I refused to buy that game after trying the demo. I'm hoping for something a little more interactive from Rockstar and I'm sure I won't be disappointed. Looks astonishingly good from the trailers.

  • space_ace #17 1 year ago

    must buy

  • drxym #18 1 year ago

    The plot sounds like a cheesy ripoff of LA Confidential (or other James Ellroy LA Quartet novels) with a few other pastiches thrown in too. It might be a good game but I wonder why some games feel the need to steal wholesale from movies and books rather than finding their own creative voice.
    Edited by drxym at 21/03/11 @ 15:11

  • Shinetop #19 1 year ago

    Hopefully, the clues won't all be so heavy-handed. That said, it would be very interesting if some of these obvious clues turned out to be red herrings.

    It would be interesting, yes, but also highly unlikely. My guess is lots of hamfisted "rub a notepad with a soft pencil to see the phone number the killer wrote down" or "the killer is the guy with the muddy boots because there was a bootprint in the mud" type clues, that everyone will hail as the greatest storytelling of all time.

    And is there anyone who, deep, deep down inside, doesn't expect the interrogation section to be the same "spot when the character is overacting to portray nervousness so you know he's lying" minigame over and over again?

    Don't get me wrong, it sounds like fun, and I can't wait to play it, but this whole "this will change games and storytelling as we know them" thing is blown way out of proportion. Why can't we just expect it to be a really fun crime thriller instead of the Citizen Kane of videogames?

  • kingmong #20 1 year ago

    @drxym: every single thing created is influenced by things that have gone before it. if they're making a game about an era of course they'll be influenced by how it has been portrayed in the past! that's probably what made them want to make the game in the first place!

    seriously wtf

  • spekkeh #21 1 year ago

    This could go either way tbh. Really good or a disaster. Rockstar seem more focused on making good stories then changing thier gameplay as im getting tired of the GTA 3 formular.

    Completely agree with you on the last bit, but er, which Rockstar game had a good story, exactly?

  • kinky_mong #22 1 year ago

    Sounds pretty damn good from everything I've read on the game. May is looking very good with this, Brink and Child of Eden coming.

  • intpleeus #23 1 year ago

    This could be something special -- as important as GTAIII. Rockstar is nudging videogame technology and gameplay out of its comfort zone here; here's to hoping they actually pull it off.

  • harryriedl #24 1 year ago

    Hopefully they will do PC version

  • kangarootoo #25 1 year ago

    @drxym

    The title and setting is "LA Noire", not "Los Angeles and surrounding suburbs in the late 1940s". Its a depiction of established fiction, NOT a depiction of established fact.

    If it "found its own creative voice" it wouldn't be LA Noire anymore would it. Following the canon laid down by previous key works (such as you reference) is very much part of the deal.

    Unless you would prefer a cartoon styled "LA Noire in the 22nd Century!" (to be sung in appropriate big hair rock voice).

  • geeza2020 #26 1 year ago

    Will this have a multiplayer mode with killstreaks and perks?

  • CaptainQuint #27 1 year ago

    It needs an announcer like Halo.

    DOUBLE MURDER!... TRIPLE MURDER!... CRIME SPREE!

  • Weezer #28 1 year ago

    "This preview sucked, quite frankly. Told me nothing about the game."

    Agreed.

  • inutaihanyou #29 1 year ago

    The red lipstick killer reminds me of the "Black Dahlia" killer IRL, maybe they took inspiration

  • louyfitz #30 1 year ago

    Wasn't the sort of preview I was expecting, really tbh.

    Although from the sounds of things the demo was hardly a selection of the games best bits.

    Sounds interesting tho, will be watching this one.

  • Icebox #31 1 year ago

    Very excited for this. What little information this sparse preview gave, was pretty interesting at least.

  • metalangel #32 1 year ago

    LA has a fascinating history, and this is one of the most interesting periods - wholesale demolition of neighbourhoods for freeways, the decline of one of the greatest public transportation networks in the country, Hollywood with that unique brand of stylish sleaze that the films of the era danced around... there'd better be some Roger Rabbit/Great American Streetcar Scandal in this or they'll have missed a very serious trick.

  • Machiavellian #33 1 year ago

    One thing this game will define is facial animation. After LA Noire, seeing those stiff facial animation from other games will be hard to take.

  • SniperZoz #34 1 year ago

    They need to move it to Miami ... so you can investigate the Ice Truck Killer, Trinity, and of course the Bay Harbour Butcher .... kidding ... pre-ordered this ages ago ...
    Edited by SniperZoz at 21/03/11 @ 18:50

  • TheBusterMan #35 1 year ago

    I'm both very interested,and just a little wary.A demo would be nice,but with this kind of game a demo probably wouldn't work,as you'd probably need to take the whole game in.Also Rockstar don't do demos.One to watch,me thinks.

  • azizur #36 1 year ago

    @Hindle

    What's wrong with wanting to make a good story? I wouldn't even bother with a game if it didn't have a good story. I do agree with your point about gameplay, though.

  • disappointed #37 1 year ago

    I'm cautiously interested. A decent crime solving game is long overdue. My main concern is that I'll spend the whole game dwelling on the small ways in which the people look wrong and awkward, e.g. the nightclub singer in the first screen.

    Also "In an attempt to atone for sins committed in the war, he joins the police force, and quickly works his way up to detective." sounds a lot like every other Rockstar story. And this game looks like it'll rely on it's story more heavily than most.

  • Caimbeul #38 1 year ago

    Looking just. I just hope that it runs better than GTA IV did on PC.

  • byakuya83 #39 1 year ago

    Post deleted at 10:03:41 30-03-2012

  • metalangel #40 1 year ago

    The thought occurs that, more than any game, a FAQ will ruin this. Hell, so will even discussing cases with other players.

    I hope Rockstar don't make mistakes like having achievements for stuff like "threaten 10 suspects into confessing" and "spot 10 suspects lying" as that will just drive people to the FAQs.

    (yes, I'm well aware that doing so is the choice of the individual)

  • handsonhips101 #41 1 year ago

    I'm looking forward to my substandard ps3 version. Yeah it was an exclusive but I bet the lead proberly changed to the 360. I'm hoping for 640p resolution, the blur effect aa and a lower frame rate. Yeah I'm being negative.

  • Darren #42 1 year ago

    @handsonhips101 - Considering the trailers so far seem to be showing PS3 footage, based on the button icons anyway, I'd say that shows Rockstar are confident about the game and it certainly looks very good from what I've seen. Although I have the Xbox 360 pre-ordered, I can't help but wonder if that version will be the slightly inferior one this time round, not the PS3 version? It was a PS3 exclusive for a while after all so it may have been coded to take better advantage of the Sony hardware? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

  • 32768Colours #43 1 year ago

    For me at least, this sounds like it could be the first Rockstar game worth playing since San Andreas. Really hope its turns out to be as good as it sounds!

  • seabassuk #44 1 year ago

    Sounds fantastic and the presentation looks off the charts. Roll on May.

  • rashes #45 1 year ago

    On topic: This is looking class. I thought Red Dead was a masterpiece and this is looking even better.

    Off Topic: Again people are using the karma system to simply disagree with someones opinion.
    It's a bit broken EG.

  • Manic_Miner #46 1 year ago

    If this does turn out to be an interactive Raymond Chandler novel (and God knows I hope that it does), then the main character will get duffed up by some toughs before finding out that the murderer is the beautiful femme fatale . Case solved.

    Bugger. Okay, I officially don't know how to use 'spoilers'. Fail.
    Edited by Manic_Miner at 22/03/11 @ 15:10

  • HugePS3Fan #47 1 year ago

    Loved the first page of this preview, until...

    "The Red Lipstick Murder"

    Can we let the motherfucking game tell the story, please? Is there some kind of incentive in EG writers' contracts if they spoil X number of story elements in their previews? A preview shouldn't be a literary version of a videogame, it should be impressions and hints and small tastes of things to come. Give me an idea of whether a title is worthy of the hype without taking away from my $60 investment.

  • Azhrarn #48 1 year ago

    Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption and LA Noir are the only games that made me seriously consider buying a console. Especially LA Noir is an excellent game for older gamers like me. But console controls are too much. I am too old for those gamepads. Rockstar, do not forget about us, old/ancient pc gamers, please.

  • mukki #49 1 year ago

    Can't wait for May to come around :)