L.A. Noire Review

By Oli Welsh Published 16 May, 2011

Face value.

Version tested: PlayStation 3

The detective thriller isn't new to video games. It was often spoofed or pastiched in the PC adventure games of the nineties, and it's recently been revived in a spate of 'visual novels' and casual puzzle games.

But there's never been such a high-profile attempt to bring this popular form of fiction to the video gaming mainstream as L.A. Noire. Rockstar's latest - produced by Australian studio Team Bondi - is pure police procedural. Cinematic production values, elaborate animation techniques and acting talent by the hundredweight have been brought to bear on the dogged business of collecting evidence, interrogating suspects and unravelling plots.

L.A. Noire's writer-director, Brendan McNamara, was one of the first to follow Rockstar North's trailblazing Grand Theft Auto III with his 2002 crime caper for Sony, The Getaway. Now under his inspiration's wing, he's succeeded in creating one of the more distinctive variations on the evergreen GTAIII template. L.A. Noire resembles a cross between GTA, Ace Attorney and Heavy Rain - and it's almost as interesting as that makes it sound.

If the mention of David Cage's psychological thriller makes you think of the term 'interactive movie', you wouldn't be far wrong. But it might be more accurate to describe L.A. Noire as an interactive DVD box set. It's largely linear, but long and very episodic. You play as straight-arrow LAPD detective Cole Phelps (Mad Men's Aaron Staton), cracking 21 cases in succession, most lasting 40 minutes to an hour.

There are connections between the cases, but these, the overarching storyline and Phelps' character only come into focus slowly - very, very slowly. You're into the game's second half before it really starts to come together.

At least you can enjoy the ambiance along the way. One of Rockstar's greatest talents is for transposing iconic slices of pop culture - Miami Vice, Spaghetti Westerns or the gangster rap myth - into games with perfect tone and timing and an uncanny sense of cool. In L.A. Noire, it has performed its most surgical transplant yet.

While its roots are in forties film noir and the cynical mysteries of crime writers like Raymond Chandler, the 1947 Los Angeles of the game's setting is unmistakably the one described (in a staccato stream of expletives) by a more modern but no less hard-boiled author, James Ellroy. You'll recognise it from the film of one of his most famous books, L.A. Confidential: a city whose seedy glamour is built on a tar pit of inequality, brutality, conspiracy and corruption. A city haunted by serial murders, where vice and show business walk hand-in-hand.

As a work of world-building, L.A. Noire is sensational. Rockstar has nailed L.A.'s infinite sprawl and sulphurous, smoggy vibe before, in GTA: San Andreas and the last Midnight Club. But it's the fastidious period detail that really impresses this time, and you have plenty of time to drink this in during the game's languid investigation sections.

The rich atmosphere owes much to the music, too. Andrew Hale's excellent score blends L.A. Confidential's signature muted brass with the ominous swells of Bernard Herrmann's classic Taxi Driver soundtrack, and hustles chase scenes along with urgent jazz.

McNamara's script is also at its best establishing context, painting a picture of L.A. at a fascinating and dangerous crossroads. The city is an uneasy mix of racial tension and the suppressed trauma of a violent war, of drugs and alcoholism and misogyny, all of it about to be smothered under that superstructure of giant freeways. Anarchic bebop clashes with smooth swing on the radio; even the music seems to be spiralling out of control.

Yes, this is a serious piece of work, and it's desperate to be taken seriously. Rockstar's usual irreverence is nowhere to be seen or heard; Team Bondi plays it dead straight. That's quite a gamble for a video game, but L.A. Noire has the substance to pull it off - just.

A series of tutorial cases, introducing Phelps in a beat cop's uniform, walks you through the various gameplay styles. These are crime scene investigation, driving around the open street map, gun battles, chasing down suspects on foot, and the game's party piece: interrogation.

As an action game, L.A. Noire is enjoyable, if unremarkable. Driving around in the immaculate period vehicles doesn't do much to hold the interest (fortunately, you can ask your partner to drive for a quick teleport) - but the handling has just enough going on to make the occasional car chases exciting. Gunplay takes the form of a bog-standard cover shooter, with some awkward controls excused away by a Call of Duty-style snap-aim.

The foot-chases are more memorable and fun. They recreate a typical cop-show scene you don't often see in games, and they do it well, with Phelps' slick athleticism giving Drake, Croft and the Prince a run for their money. You can enjoy all of these elements in the 40 bite-size street crime scenarios that get called in as you drive around working cases (they can also be accessed in a free-roam mode).

Street crimes are side-quest chaff, though, the main event being the story cases, which sprinkle action scenes through a heavy diet of investigation and questioning. This side of L.A. Noire is more original, more compelling - and like most ambitious ideas, more problematic, too.

In essence, it's the same formula seen in Phoenix Wright and the rest of the wonderful Ace Attorney series, just in a very different medium. You hunt for clues in crime scenes and other places of interest; you interview witnesses and suspects; and then you use the evidence you've collected to expose lies under interrogation. It's tightly tied to narrative; whilst you usually have two or three avenues open to you, you can't really progress until you've reached the conclusion the plot requires.

But where Ace Attorney carries you through on winning characterisation and a swift interface, L.A. Noire's realistic, low-key style gives this process a very different pace and flavour. To begin with, it's disconcertingly slow, but you soon relax into and start to enjoy its steady, methodical tempo.

It can be clunky, though. Combing the obsessively detailed environments for clues is potentially a needle-in-a-haystack affair, so they're telegraphed with pad rumble and an audio chime when you walk by (masochists can disable this). It can be laborious. For the most part, the scenes are so well set that exploring them holds the attention, even if it doesn't engage the brain.

In questioning, Team Bondi takes us into new territory with its use of extraordinary facial performance capture. This results in spooky facial animation which really does make it possible for actors to communicate more of their performances, using eyes, tics and expressions. It's electrifying at best, a bit hammy at worst, but always an exciting novelty to watch. (It's a shame that the body performances, captured separately, are often puppet-like mugging that belongs on the opposite slope of the uncanny valley.)

The idea is that the actors' performances will tell you when a suspect is lying (or not telling the whole truth) and prompt you to push harder with a 'doubt' option, when you can't actually disprove a lie with evidence. In terms of raising the tension and your attentiveness during key scenes, it works brilliantly, helped by some subtle audio cues.

Sadly, the script's dedication to realistic characterisation and dialogue often plunges these interrogations into grey areas where the correct responses are poorly defined and hard to suss out, irrespective of the suspect's nervous shifting. And while failed action scenes can be replayed, interrogations can't without starting the entire case again. You can use 'intuition' points, earned as you rank up, to eliminate options if you're stuck - but you will get questions wrong regardless.

So the plot has a habit of progressing to its conclusion regardless of how well or badly you perform. L.A. Noire's game world may be impressively open, but you consistently hit the narrative equivalent of invisible walls. It's initially disappointing to realise how prescribed its corridor of story is, how carefully led by the hand you are, and how little you can affect events.

The gameplay is not a question of success or failure, then, but of the quality of your police work (graded by a star rating for each case). In fact, this is a powerful motivator on its own, and slam-dunking a key interrogation is quite the thrill. But if you're the sort of gamer who has to get everything right, it could be torture. You can replay earlier cases to try to improve your rating and see different results, but this is a painfully slow process with many unskippable scenes. It's yet to tempt me.

If you're willing to take the rough with the smooth and submit to the story, L.A. Noire will pay you back in spades - but you'll need patience, too. McNamara is better at the big picture than he is at day-to-day characterisation and plotting, which can be workmanlike. Early cases are unremarkable in themselves, and Phelps starts out as a priggish stuffed shirt surrounded by clichés. The sinister Irish captain, the boorish alcoholic old-timer, the slick vice operator - they're all here.

After a good few hours, however, you begin to join the dots. Cases run into each other and subplots (about a shady psychiatrist, a torch singer and Phelps' wartime service) gain traction; a big, complex fiction develops its own momentum and drags you along with it, bringing the characters to life as well. You don't often find storytelling this involved in games outside of RPG epics, but it's a shame it doesn't draw you in sooner.

L.A. Noire is slow but quietly engrossing; its mechanics are suspect, but you can't fault the ambition, attention to detail and commitment that went into its making. It risks stumbling over its own earnestness at times, but it's saved by its star - and I don't mean Staton, who does his best with a dry character.

That star is Los Angeles: as bizarre, threatening and fascinating in this virtual 1947 as it is in the real world today. L.A. Noire may owe its vision of the city to Ellroy and others, but as a game, it can depict it in a way those others can't. McNamara, Team Bondi and Rockstar have taken that responsibility seriously, convincingly peeling away the layers of a sick society over the game's length. That - not the curse words or the grim subject matter or the naked corpses - is what makes L.A. Noire a genuinely mature game.

8 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Oli.

About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (209) Latest comment 11 months ago

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

  • Jay-ITFC #1 1 year ago

    Strange as the review came across as lower than an 8 IMO. Still remember Red Dead Redemption got an 8 from Eurogamer and for many that was a better game than GTA4. Can't wait to play L.A. Noire come the end of the week!
    Edited by Jay-ITFC at 16/05/11 @ 17:16

  • marcgiu #2 1 year ago

    wa hay

  • NunianVonFuch #3 1 year ago

    Naked corpses? Day 1 purchase it is!

  • superfurry #4 1 year ago

    Who cares about this? Tell us more about Brink.

    Brink.

    BRINK!

  • Peew971 #5 1 year ago

    Rockstar makes Gold.

  • Darren #6 1 year ago

    Ha, an 8, I just knew it!!!

    Still a good score mind and considering I thought Red Dead Redemption was a 90%+ game it is good enough for me. Now to dash home and read the review properly. :)

  • LetsGo #7 1 year ago

    Damn, expected more :(.

    I'll bargin bin it.

  • kinky_mong #8 1 year ago

    Ooooh I can't wait for the comments shit storm!

    I'll start it off, this is the final shred of integrity EG had completely destroyed. Why don't you ask Splash Damage if they'll give you coins for blowjobs?

    Edit: Wow -55! That's a new record! Paul Wedgewood has obviously been busy making lots of accounts to down vote comments. Not like he's got anything better to do like fix his broken shit-heap of a game.
    Edited by kinky_mong at 17/05/11 @ 09:52

  • DiamondIce #9 1 year ago

    I don't want to read any reviews because I have done my best to avoid as much about the game as possible.

    I could have bet my kidneys and spleen on an 8/10.

    Edit: 8 from Eurogamer I mean. A nice safe score it would seem.

    Edit x 2: Apologies for the duplicate comment. My internet, or this site, is on a meltdown at the moment hence the double-post.
    Edited by DiamondIce at 16/05/11 @ 17:30

  • DUFFMAN5 #10 1 year ago

    ...now to read it.

    come on Friday

  • marsbar #11 1 year ago

    As good as Red Dead then? That'll do for me.

  • Tryhard #12 1 year ago

    Does this have parkour crime solving in it?

  • Deckard1 #13 1 year ago

    I think the 8 button is the only number that works on the EG review keyboard.

  • coastal #14 1 year ago

    This is useless without a zombies dlc pack. Come Rockstar give us a break.

  • Hindle #15 1 year ago

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

  • Ultrasoundwave #16 1 year ago

    If this is the same type of Eurogamer "8" that Red Dead Redemption was, I'm all over this......

  • ZizouFC #17 1 year ago

    As seen with RDR, a 8/10 for EG is 10/10 game for me.

    Don't get me wrong. 8/10 is a great score.
    Edited by ZizouFC at 16/05/11 @ 17:12

  • agparrot #18 1 year ago

    If this is the same score as Brink, I'm out, frankly.

  • mrlaurentisdead #19 1 year ago

    Sweet! I'm hoping this is partway towards satiating my appetite for a new Tex Murphy game.

    Edited by mrlaurentisdead at 16/05/11 @ 17:12

  • superfurry #20 1 year ago

    Yeah, but if it's the same 8/10 that Brink got......

  • AMD500 #21 1 year ago

    Was expecting an 8. Still looking forward to it after reading the review. Bring on Friday.

  • lavalant #22 1 year ago

    It sounds meh, I'll pick it up in 6 months for a tenner.

  • PinktotheLast #23 1 year ago

    Sounds like ambition won out over execution.

    Which is worth another point in my book.

    I'll do a personal adjustment to 9/10!!

  • Stockings #24 1 year ago

    Seems like a 7

  • Slikz #25 1 year ago

    Dirt 3 it is then.

  • funkstar #26 1 year ago

    dead straight? what about the 'gay cowboys' film amongst other things

  • metalangel #27 1 year ago

    As good as Brink!

    Preordered today, Friday off work, can't wait. I need to go buy an ornate highball glass and some scotch.

    I genuinely hope the achievements don't undermine the whole thing with stupid "Bluster 10 suspects into confessing" and "Spot 5 lies during a single case".

  • Trigga_Tybalt #28 1 year ago

    Post deleted at 15:43:01 23-02-2012

  • Dave #29 1 year ago

    "I predict EG will use Face value as the review tag."

    I was right! I've always known I could predict the future someday.

  • Arsecake_Baker #30 1 year ago

    This is a spoiler EG.

    After a good few hours, however, you begin to join the dots. Cases run into each other and subplots (about a shady psychiatrist, a torch singer and Phelps' wartime service) gain traction,

  • sonicyoda #31 1 year ago

    Wow. I remember when 7s were a bad score. Now an 8 is shit!

    Rockstar fans; "It's a 10 or you're shit."

  • Hindle #32 1 year ago

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

  • Snufkin #33 1 year ago

    In a selfish, mean-spirited way - phew! I'm totally skint and am glad I can get away with renting!
    Still sounds really interesting.

  • NeonStorm #34 1 year ago

    'Yeah, but if it's the same 8/10 that Brink got...'

    They were reviewed by two different guys. Stop comparing the score.

  • Stockings #35 1 year ago

    Just checked Brink on metacritic, it's at 69, so 7/10.
    Eurogamer review isn't that far off, or should they try to fall in line with everyone else, what's everypnes issue?

  • Sonic_D #36 1 year ago

    Sounds like I'll enjoy this, but I'll wait till it's a bit cheaper.

  • andywilkie35 #37 1 year ago

    Fucking hell if this is as good as Brink then I'm in! I love bug riddled messes!

  • cowell #38 1 year ago

    Review read like an actual 8, not a sponsored one. More than good enough for me, still very excited.

    Always felt the ambition of this title was great and that there was potential to come up slightly short. I'm sure from this review that people looking for GTA 40s are going to be very disappointed, but the slower considered approach and lofty ambition still appeals massively to me.

  • Shikasama #39 1 year ago

    Sonicyoda - It isn't that an 8 is 'shit, it's that they gave a bland, broken game like Brink an 8 mostly because it had a nice art style.

    The EG scoring Policy has pretty much lost all of its meaning.

  • SwashbucklingStuff #40 1 year ago

    Even with the criticisms it sounds incredible. 8/10 is fine by me.

  • coomber #41 1 year ago

    "...gangster rap myth..."

    You mean I dreamt all that shit music?!

  • God_Octo #42 1 year ago

    The minute is was compared to the old adventure, point-and-click games in a preview, crossed with Heavy Rain, was the minute the game won me over. 8 is a fine score for a game that could have gone so wrong, and I'm now unbearably excited for Friday. Or hopefully earlier, since my play.com order is doing its thing.

  • spekkeh #43 1 year ago

    Excellent review, Oli's out there with the best of the movie critics with this one.
    Very interested in this game too. Hopefully they can get some better characterization in the DLC. Too bad Rockstar (or Team Bondi in this case) is still not really doing branching storylines, as this game seems like it really would have benefited from it when you fail cases.
    Edited by spekkeh at 16/05/11 @ 17:26

  • Daeltaja #44 1 year ago

    Very hard one to score. It did read like a 6-7, but I suppose the end experience is what mattered to the reviewer.

    I don't have much patience these days so I hope the early slog isin't as bad as the reviewer makes out..

  • Goodfella #45 1 year ago

    Hope the face off is done before release date, can't decide whether to go for ps3 or 360 as there was no mention of comparison like usual.

    Let me help you. Giant Bombs review states the PS3 version is the "clear-cut winner".

    [link url=http://www.giantbomb.com/la-noire/61-21500/reviews/
    ]http://www.giantbomb.com/la-noire/61-215...[/link]

  • Virtual_Entity #46 1 year ago

    Wow, typical Eurogamer giving this an 8! No way are Brink and L.A. Noire both deserving of the same score! L.A. Noire is a revolution in videogaming!

  • RichieTenenbaum #47 1 year ago

    When will games designers learn that to make their games shorter? Pace is more important then length.

    I'm actually not going to buy this, despite loving the idea and noir films, as I just don't have the time to see it through.
    Edited by RichieTenenbaum at 16/05/11 @ 17:35

  • miiiguel #48 1 year ago

    Fool's on a roll.

  • Genyus #49 1 year ago

    Why don't you guys start reading the review, instead of only looking at the number in the end?

  • FiveMinuteHero #50 1 year ago

    So, does it have a shitty framerate?

  • Sodding_Gamer #51 1 year ago

    Firstly EG, it is Rockstar that are publishing it. Not Team Bondi! How many times do people have to make that clear?!!! 8 is a good score so I'm still keeping my pre-order.

  • RedSparrows #52 1 year ago

    Damn EG reviews, always bought/way too critical, I hate EG they suck, they never mention bugs/the serious lack of bugs, it's like they're all retards/vicious cynical bastards.

    In other news, I'm still not totally convinced by this.

  • Inmediasress #53 1 year ago

    This looks really great.
    The one thing that bothers me is that it may not be as succesfull as RDR was because this is a highly creative game and probably is targeted at a smaller audience. Kind of what happenned with Alan Wake tough probably not that hard.
    Anyway I do hope I see a PC port of this game one of only a few games in some three years that's worth buying.

  • DiamondIce #54 1 year ago

    @Genyus

    I am too afraid to do that with a Eurogamer review as I do want to leave some parts of the game a surprise for when I get to play it...

  • Goodfella #55 1 year ago

    @FiveMinuteHero

    Read the Giant Bomb review, it says "there were a few instances of painful frame rate drops and objects drawing in too slowly on the Xbox that didn't exist on the PS3."

  • AmherstWind #56 1 year ago

    So this is where the extra two points Brink got came from, you stole them from L.A. Noire!

    Brink = 6
    L.A. Noire = 10

    Of course it looks like Bethesda showered you guys in a lot more cash than Rockstar did, guess I'll have to wait for other sites to review L.A. Noire to see some non-biased opinions.

  • Shikasama #57 1 year ago

    Fool's on a troll

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #58 1 year ago

    I was sorta hoping this was gonna be shit as there are already too many good games on the way this year... but it does sound very, very good. Although the restart-the-case interrogation-failure thing sounds irritating.

    But, hey. I'm too busy for Portal, let alone something this size. It'll keep till Christmas.

  • Cronan #59 1 year ago

    94% on Metacritic, after 8 reviews. 1Up, Videogamer.com, Gamepro and Giant Bomb gave it 100%.

  • TheRealBadabing #60 1 year ago

    "many unskippable scenes"

    I'm out.

  • jablonski #61 1 year ago

    "Review read like an actual 8, not a sponsored one."

    Amazing

  • Dr_Salvador84 #62 1 year ago

    I see, but let's hear more from Eurogamer about Brink. They've barely covered Brink.

    BRINK

  • UncleLou #63 1 year ago

    Can't see this game coming to PC. It just wouldn't work and prob wouldn't sell well either. Also, Rockstar have a history of making shoddy PC ports. GTA4 on PC was horrible.

    Playing GTA4 on a multicore PC with a decent GPU is a dream, maximal draw distance and traffic density with 60 FPS. Makes the Euphoria physics engine really shine. Loved RDR, but boy was it a step back into the past, technically.
    Edited by UncleLou at 16/05/11 @ 17:48

  • Centrifugal #64 1 year ago

    "L.A. Noire resembles a cross between GTA, Ace Attorney and Heavy Rain--"

    The review could have ended there and I would have immediately been convinced to buy it.

  • coolbritannia #65 1 year ago

    Hmm, sorry boys and girls but the Brink review has made your opinion worthless in my eyes.

    I like Eurogamer, but you can't turn a blind eye to a review like Brink's. If the reviewer there could get it so wrong, and editorially it made the cut, how can anyone believe a critical word you say anymore?

    I bet LA Noire is higher than an 8/10 on Metacritic after a week.

  • jonsaan #66 1 year ago

    This sounds absolutely awful for me. Exactly the kind of game I hate. I can appreciate why others might love it but I'm Ooot.

  • Dr_Salvador84 #67 1 year ago

    Umm which 8/10 game should I get? LA Noire or Brink?

    HELP ME EUROGAMER!!!

    Fucking chancers

  • kraenk12 #68 1 year ago

    eurogamer sometimes i really strange in their reviews...luckily there are other sites (mags). rdr and l.a. noire both getting an 8/10 lol

  • Darren #69 1 year ago

    Having read the review, it sounds like Oli Welsh found the game a bit too slow moving but this is exactly what I'm looking forward to. I was hoping this wouldn't simply be a GTA clone and it seems my wish has come true. I love story-based games drenched in period atmosphere as they go hand-in-hand with my interest in movies. Unlike EG I actually enjoyed Mafia II for that reason and Red Dead Redemption was awesome. I really can't wait to play this. Don't care if it has flaws, all games do anyway, I just want to experience what is clearly an ambitious concept for myself. Beats playing another dreary me-too FPS anyway. :p
    Edited by Darren at 16/05/11 @ 18:59

  • Genyus #70 1 year ago

    @DiamondIce
    fair enough :p

  • the_sas_man #71 1 year ago

    Those unsure of what version to get, IGN have claimed this:

    "The Xbox 360 version has a few performance issues. While both versions have occasional framerate issues, L.A. Noire on X360 has more notable problems. It's not enough to take away from the game, but if choosing between the two, PS3 has fewer technical issues."

  • telboy007 #72 1 year ago

    Damn you eurogamer, why do you have to have your own opinion and give scores to games different from everyone else? WHY????? WHY??????????

    /more sarcasm

  • coolbritannia #73 1 year ago

    Shudders that "better than Brink" is replacing "better than Halo".

  • Architect_z #74 1 year ago

    Yeh but lets face it (except RDR) most rockstar games are worth 8/10 these days. San Andreas was an awesome game, but nothing that rockstar has made since then has been as good.

  • kirankara #75 1 year ago

    [link url=http://www.gameanyone.com/video/313168
    ]http://www.gameanyone.com/video/313168
    [/link]

    in case anyone missed this.

    i honestly can say this looks dull as hell to me, but sure some will love it.

    looks like gta minus interesting action,minus the humour, but same clunky controls, boring travelling from a-z and a tonne of cut scenes. my idea of hell, but hope u all love i and enjoy video

  • kirankara #76 1 year ago

    [link url=http://www.gameanyone.com/video/313168
    ]http://www.gameanyone.com/video/313168
    [/link]

    in case anyone missed this.

    i honestly can say this looks dull as hell to me, but sure some will love it.

    looks like gta minus interesting action,minus the humour, but same clunky controls, boring travelling from a-z and a tonne of cut scenes. my idea of hell, but hope u all love i and enjoy video

  • hulkamania78 #77 1 year ago

    Having looked at and read some of the 9/10 or 96/100 reviews I am getting sick of these against the norm reviews from EG. Just like RDR and I can predict if GT5 is officially announced the review for that will read something like same as before ' 8/10'. I dont understand whether this review is to shock people into visiting the site as true gamers dont get involved with the hype train of games like COD etc. Or to gain some respect from the true gamers but it doesnt add up.

    Everyone has an opinion but if one reviewer gives Brink an 8 then another gives LA an 8 its all a matter of taste but I have read some strange reviews that have gotten a 10/10 but the reviewer has slated the pacing or the glitches but it doenst seem to matter at times on here.
    I will wait until Friday to see when I get the game. I do appreciate an honest review but 15 other reviews have not gone below 90 so something doenst add up.

  • coomber #78 1 year ago

    The various sites I have looked at are all coming in with 8's or 8-and-a-bit.

    Maybe...maybe Oli got this one...right?

  • Syrette #79 1 year ago

    This is currently the lowest score on the internets for this game. Please don't base your purchases around EG and EG alone.

    @kirankara

    YOU not U

  • milki-tea #80 1 year ago

    well this MUST be one of the shittest games of the century if EUROGAMER is anything to go by, seens they scored this on par with BRINK. coz brink is fucking horrible bullshit wank stain of a video game.

  • mooseti #81 1 year ago

    8 I knew it!

    I will base my decision on EG, Edge and IGN as always...

  • Stockings #82 1 year ago

    It's only two nothces below the perfect score

  • kirankara #83 1 year ago

    foreverafternothing
    16/05/11 @ 18:15

    This is currently the lowest score on the internets for this game. Please don't base your purchases around EG and EG alone.

    @kirankara

    YOU not U.

    I know, but don't care that u are have an anal fascination with this correct spelling of the word. Why don't u pick up up another posters use of Ooot instead of out? if u really do care so much about correct spelling of words, or if u really so bothered about the purity of the English language being maintained, start correcting people's grammar and punctuation. In fact, lets open the foreverafternothing English correction website?

  • Jonny5Alive7 #84 1 year ago

    Because EG have handed out so many 8's to average games its hard to tell what that stands for now. Im disappointed it got that score even tho that used to be good.

  • Mockerre #85 1 year ago

    Hi guys!

    Been playing LA Noire whole day (just got promoted to the Vice desk) and I can say that every niggle Oli mentions is true. There’s a lot of unskippable cutscenes. The body movement is stiff. The driving is a bit meh. The stories are linear. The main character is a bit on the bland side. The gunplay is so-so and the controls are a bit clunky. I’m a gamer that has to get everything right (also masochistically playing with the clues’ cues off), so I really can be frustrating to repeat a case again and again.

    And yet it’s a 10/10 for me. There’s just something… I don’t know, the whole thing is genuine and fresh and engrossing. I really feel like I’m solving those cases. I love the face motion capture, the game can really become emotional. Love the variety. Love how the story treads are coming together. Love the setting.

    It’s more than an adventure game, more than a shooter and more than an open world sandbox. If you like crime novels and aren’t discouraged be a slower pace, you will love this game to death.

    And this comes from a guy, who found GTA4 a bit meh (never finished), and RDR boring.

  • Maziarss #86 1 year ago

    F****** With This Score ....
    What a fool have to Review it?
    8 ??????????????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Edited by Maziarss at 16/05/11 @ 18:33

  • Maziarss #87 1 year ago

    الاغ ها

  • Chufty #88 1 year ago

    Who gives a shit about the score?

    Seriously. Read the fucking words, or is that too difficult for you?

  • jablonski #89 1 year ago

    @kirankara


    "I know, but don't care that u are have an anal fascination with this correct spelling of the word. Why don't u pick up up another posters use of Ooot instead of out? if u really do care so much about correct spelling of words, or if u really so bothered about the purity of the English language being maintained, start correcting people's grammar and punctuation. In fact, lets open the foreverafternothing English correction website?"

    Cyountface

    :)

  • Gunhappy23 #90 1 year ago

    [link url=http://www.picstation.net/pictures/abd43d6b663cb1e96b08136cc6fcb560.png
    ]http://www.picstation.net/pictures/abd43...[/link]

  • metalangel #91 1 year ago

    @Mockerre: can you push people in front of streetcars?

  • kirankara #92 1 year ago

    fightman9z3
    16/05/11 @ 18:20
    "ive had this since saturday...more like a 7, gets very boring very quickly once the novelty wears off. zero replay value too. what a waste of 6 years."

    That would be my response based on videos and reviews too, but if it works for others great.

    ulov3
    16/05/11 @ 18:17

    "Not my cup of tea from reading the review. i might give it a rent. Slow and methodic? well i am more for the fast and unexpected experience.

    But since it is as good as rugby 08...i can't miss it.

    honestly this giving 8 to 90% of the games makes the scoring lose its purpose. It might be about time to upgrade to the .5 kinda score. 7.5 BRINK and 8.5 LA Noir would make a lot more sense."

    Reckon ratings full stop are pointless and should be done away with, as people get caught up in the rating rather than actual pros and cons of the game. They just end up arguing over scores more often than not, saying this game shouldnt be an 8, it should be a 7.5 or an 8.5 etc.

    YOU (just this once for YOU foreverafternothing) find people on internet, who wont try a game , as its an 8/10 or a 7/10 and they only play 9/10's.

  • Weezer #93 1 year ago

    Does not read like an 8...

  • kirankara #94 1 year ago

    @Mockerre

    glad to know there are others out there who weren't overexcited by RDR and GTA4

  • kirankara #95 1 year ago

    jablonski

    "Cyountface "

    :)

    Fook u lol

  • Redeye #96 1 year ago

    Is it just me, or is anyone else actually intending to just play it themselves and make their own minds up?

    And to all of the "OMG8SHITSCOREROFLBBQ111!" crowd, WTF?

  • Syrette #97 1 year ago

    Some of you guys attach far, far, far too much weight to EG review scores.

  • Xardan #98 1 year ago

    I expected an 8 and an 8 is a good score.

    Cant wait to explore 40's L.A.

  • PeacockDreams #99 1 year ago

    And to think, all i have done since PSN went down is wank, and then the first game im going to buy since PSN is restored has dead naked corpses.....more wanking

  • M1chl #100 1 year ago

    Gunhappy23: Where did you get the picture? Your own work?

  • Mr.DNA #101 1 year ago

    I became bored rigid halfway through both GTA 4 and Red Dead Redemption. The Rockstar formula of drive there; kill him; drive there; watch cut-scene; drive there; kill him; watch cut-scene; play mini-game; watch cut-scene, became stale a long. long time ago.

  • Mockerre #102 1 year ago

    @metalangel

    I don't think there's a 'push someone' button (never tried to push a pedestrian on purpose), but you can definitely push someone running into them (happened to me once or twice; poor lady fell in front of a tram...). Also NPC’s can be hit by NPC vehicles. One time I was chasing a crook across a busy road, I was lagging a bit and then the poor sap was run over by a pickup truck.

    @kirankara

    I tried to like them – I really liked the previous GTA’s and the premise of RDR seemed appealing. Got bored playing a cab for Roman and others. And RDR had a dull story that just dragged on, it was executed well, but I just knew that the 5 minute rant from that crazy dude or from the snake oil guy was just fluff.


    TIP 1: To everybody who wants to repeat an interrogation in LA Noire without having to repeat the whole case, there’s an exploit. Just quit to main menu before the interrogation is over and then reload. It’ll save your nerves, trust me.

    TIP 2: If someone on the radio tells you there’s a place you need to go immediately, you need to go immediately. Some areas are available only for a short time and then disappear (crossed from your notebook).

  • Machiavellian #103 1 year ago

    Wow, typical Eurogamer giving this an 8! No way are Brink and L.A. Noire both deserving of the same score! L.A. Noire is a revolution in videogaming!

    Yeah, because Brink is exactly like LA Noire and when a gamer is buying both games they are looking for the exact same thing!!!

    Really...Brink and LA are two different games and will have two different types of audiences. What makes Brink an 8 cannot be compared to what makes LA an 8. Why some people can never understand this just amazes me. Comparing LA to other adventure type of games along the same lines would be at least closer to getting a feel of where the score should be but even then you have different reviewers and with different taste and opinions. What is game breaking for some could easily be a minor annoyance for another.

    What amazes me is why people would take the opinion from one reviewer from one site as gospel. Unless you know that reviewer opinion are directly in line with your own it seems silly to ever expect opinions to not be different and what is important within a game to differ among reviewers and yourself.
    Edited by Machiavellian at 16/05/11 @ 20:02

  • KreyAtiv #104 1 year ago

    Looking forward to this game. Have it pre-ordered so counting down the days to release. :)

  • kirankara #105 1 year ago

    foreverafternothing

    "Some of you guys attach far, far, far too much weight to EG review scores."

    whooo, finally something we can see eye to eye on mate lol

    Never understood the attachment to review scores full stop. people seem to forget that a reviewer on any website, is still just an individual like you or me, and has their own tastes and cant offer some sort of objective truth about how good a game is, the whole process is totally sunjective

  • dsmx #106 1 year ago

    I don't really understand why this game isn't on the PC it is basically an adventure game at is heart and surely that's a genre which does work better on the PC and always has done.

  • spekkeh #107 1 year ago

    Of course it looks like Bethesda showered you guys in a lot more cash than Rockstar did, guess I'll have to wait for other sites to review L.A. Noire to see some non-biased opinions.

    Derp.

    Not only did you say reviewers that are showered with L.A. Noire's money are non-biased in their opinion as opposed to Welsh that wasn't... But at least seven other people thought that was a very sensible remark.

  • NicolasVH #108 1 year ago

    Played LA Noir for a couple of hours now and must agree with the text. Although, I wouldn't give it more than a 7/10; but then again. I'm not finished with the game.

  • metalangel #109 1 year ago

    @Mockerre: thanks :) I might go all Judge Dredd on a few suspects and see...

    "Dammit Phelps, that's the fifth suspect you pushed in front of a red car this week!"
    "You'd know all about what it's like out there Chief, you can see it fine from behind your desk!"

  • Pehmu #110 1 year ago

    foolbritannia: No better than Brink then.

    And they're both first-person shooters so you can totally compare them.

  • dsmx #111 1 year ago

    For some reason metalangel I thought about this when you mentioned judge dread and I have no idea why http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lClNhxgCGEY

  • orangpelupa #112 1 year ago

    nice detailed review.. im concerned about the "invisible wall" in the story.
    hoping it wont be bad. 19 May! please LAN have arrived to my door please please :D

    also cant wait for the DF Face off, on IGN review they say the xbox got graphical glitch.
    curious if installing to HDD (or to USB Flash Disk) will solve the issue.

    i only have standard 20GB xbox HDD here haha... will need to delete something..
    Edited by orangpelupa at 16/05/11 @ 19:30

  • Farzlepot #113 1 year ago

    I love it when people complain about the score for a game they haven't played themselves yet, as though they have some kind of vested interest in the success or failure of that game. At least wait until you've played it and decide for yourselves if the review was fair or not!

  • morriss #114 1 year ago

    Chandler, not Ellroy, but whatever. :)

  • kirankara #115 1 year ago

    foolbritannia
    16/05/11 @ 19:25
    Ignore poster | #130
    0
    "I love the usual sad cunts who gallop in to these comments threads on their high horses and telling everyone that the score doesn't matter and to only go on what the text says. That's like saying don't judge a 2 star hotel by the 2 stars"

    Except there are standardised criteria by which u judge a 2* hotel, whereas video games are subject to variable reviewers, who have to establish what they feel is a suitable rating to give a game at that particular point in time, having probably had a limited time with the game, which was played in an office, or a conference centre, rather than at their own leisure. They could have had a headache, or a bad day and not really enjoyed it as much as they would otherwise etc etc.

    How do u rate enjoyment? theres no barometer, its completely subjective and theres no specific criteria by which u can hold them up against a game and say "check", so its hardly scientific is it?

    ps3/360 comparison video on gamesradar, looks identical on both platforms except for the colour/contrast on ps3 being the usual slightly more washed out and in need of adjusting

    http://www.gamesradar.com/ps3/la-noire/r...
    Edited by kirankara at 16/05/11 @ 19:46

  • kinky_mong #116 1 year ago

    Really...Brink and LA are two different games and will have two different types of audiences.

    True, in a week's time Brink will have an audience of 15 people who are able to put up with the dreadful lag and woeful bot AI.

  • FutureDave #117 1 year ago

    "a reviewer [...] cant offer some sort of objective truth about how good a game is"

    Isn't that exactly what they're paid to do? Unless, of course, they're an independent critic who's subjective tastes suit you.

  • local_celebrity #118 1 year ago

    A really well thought out and beautifully crafted review.

    Nice one, Oli.

  • Pehmu #119 1 year ago

    foolbritannia: Oh so according to your invisible rule book blaa blaa blaa..."

    This invisible rule book is also known as common sense. Feel free to compare Gran Turismo with Virtua Fighter all you like. It still doesn't make any sense.
    Machiavellian said it already: "Brink and LA are two different games and will have two different types of audiences. What makes Brink an 8 cannot be compared to what makes LA an 8."

    This can't be so difficult to understand.

    The score doesn't tell you the reason why the game's good, bad or mediocre. EG gave Mafia 2 a 4/10. The number at the end of the text told me it's a bad game. Good thing I read the review and actualy decided to buy it. I really liked it.
    I wouldn't mind if EG decided to get rid of the whole scoring system.

    foolbritannia: I love the people who gallop in to these comments threads on their high horses telling everyone that the score doesn't matter and to only go on what the text says.

    Are you afraid they might have a point?

  • dsmx #120 1 year ago

    The problem with review scores in general is they're almost meaningless. They've been devalued thanks to paid for reviews and every dam website marking on a 7-10 scale. There's also the problem that reviewers can't mark to harshly either since they run the risk of not getting review copies before launch.

    Personally I think the time has come to get rid of review scores and force people to actually read the review.

  • Goodfella #121 1 year ago

    @Mr.DNA

    Lets get one thing straight as it seems to be confusing a lot of people, including reviewers. Rockstar didn't make this game, they are the publisher, Team Bondi are the developers, founded by Brendan McNamara who is responsible for The Getaway (developed by Team Soho Studio) on PS2.

  • coolbritannia #122 1 year ago

    Loving my tribute act. I guess that means I've made it.

    /looks self up on Wikipedia. Is disappointed.

  • Pehmu #123 1 year ago

    Oli's the same person who reviewed MGS4, right? Loved that one. First EG forgot (or "forgot";) to tell what score MGS4 got. Kids were in panic because without a score they couldn't tell whether MGS4 was a good game or not.

  • Mr.DNA #124 1 year ago

    @Goodfella: thanks for the info- I assumed that Team Bondi was just Rockstar's Australian division. The game does seem to have a heck of a lot in common with Rockstar's other games though, don't you think?

  • kirankara #125 1 year ago

    coolbritannia
    16/05/11 @ 20:08
    Ignore poster | #143
    +3
    "Loving my tribute act. I guess that means I've made it.

    /looks self up on Wikipedia. Is disappointed."

    not a patch on the real deal though

  • coldfoot #126 1 year ago

    So buying this after the correct interrogation answers are posted on gamefaqs :)
    Edited by coldfoot at 16/05/11 @ 20:29

  • Goodfella #127 1 year ago

    I can't deny there is some similarity. I think Rockstar assisted in some capacity but the game is mainly Team Bondi's work. They started it as an exclusive for the PS3 and was funded by Sony. Then it was 'sold' to Rockstar.

  • Theticket #128 1 year ago

    I think this might just be great, despite the issues mentioned in the review.

    Just wondering, has anyone pr ordered a game off Amazon using the next day delivery service on prime? If so, do you reckon I could end up getting it a on Thursday, or would they send it out on Friday, meaning I would have to wait until Saturday? I know Play sometimes gets the goods to gamers a day early, but are amazon as good?

  • Caimbeul #129 1 year ago

    i think it is worth remembering that a score system of 1-10 means that a score of 5/10 is actually average,any thing above is above average.

  • Marshall2008 #130 1 year ago

    Day 1 purchase.

  • kimchibaka #131 1 year ago

    What's this about not being able to compare review scores???

    Of course you can! We're not talking about comparing the games themselves, we're talking about comparing the QUALITY of games.

    That's the whole point of a scoring policy - just look at EGer's. It doesn't talk about different scoring criteria for different genres, does it? An 8 for a FPS shooter should mean the same level of QUALITY within that genre as an 8 for any other type of game (within its own genre).

  • Badassbab #132 1 year ago

    I thought RDR was brilliant and it got an 8 from Eurogamer (who just love old skool score based games hence 6 hours games like Vanquish and Bulletstorm get 9) so I think I'll love L.A Noire.

  • technicianTed #133 1 year ago

    "ps3/360 comparison video on gamesradar, looks identical on both platforms except for the colour/contrast on ps3 being the usual slightly more washed out and in need of adjusting"

    Looks very close on that video, but i am hearing that the 360 one has more framerate issues than the ps3 version.
    Not surprising i guess as it was ps3 led and certainly the version i'm getting, but i hope the issues aren't enough to spoil the game on 360.
    I'm all for ps3 to 360 ports as it's meant to be easier to get nearer parity that way around, but if the 360 versions start to suffer because of it then that's a different story altogether(i own both consoles).

    It'll be interesting to see how the games led on ps3 first pan out over the following months onto the 360.

  • captain-future #134 1 year ago

    GRAND THEFT AUTO, ACE ATTORNEY and HEAVY RAIN.

    Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuudddde. ^^

  • greenllama88 #135 1 year ago

    Will have to play before I can have an opinion on the game itself, but it does annoy me slightly that games as a whole are criticised for taking a while to draw you in. I find the slow burners (in games and books) often have the best pay off in the long run and I dislike games that rely on explosive starts and then tail away. Will have to wait to Friday to establish if this is a fair criticism in this case.

  • spekkeh #136 1 year ago

    Of course you can! We're not talking about comparing the games themselves, we're talking about comparing the QUALITY of games.

    Erm yeah, but the standard by which quality is measured differs per genre. as are the qualities themselves. A high quality action adventure needs to have nice graphics, a good story, and creative puzzles, whereas a good platformer can skip everything but has to excel in the gameplay, and an iPhone game just needs to have something that doesn't totally suck for it to be deemed high quality.

  • Beano #137 1 year ago

    Another "safe 8" from Eurogamer.

  • kirankara #138 1 year ago

    @technician Ted

    Well I just traded in my 360 and kept my ps3(just before psn went down ....bastard lol) and so im happy if they work out better that way lol, but in all seriousness, I guess one seems to lose out either way, and differences affecting 360 on ps3 led games seem far less than other way, so seems lesser of two evils i guess


    From the giant bomb review:
    “Having spent a lot of time with both versions of L.A. Noire, the PlayStation 3 game is the clear-cut winner. Both versions of the game look fantastic, but there were a few instances of painful frame rate drops and objects drawing in too slowly on the Xbox that didn’t exist on the PS3. Also, the shadows look a bit more jagged. This is splitting hairs since, both games look good enough that you should just get the one on the platform you prefer, though the PS3 also has the added benefit of being on a single disc to the Xbox’s three, and includes an exclusive downloadable case (which I didn’t get to try, and you probably won’t be able to play either until the PlayStation Store is back online)”


    uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/116/1168433p2.html

    7.5 Graphics
    The faces are pretty damned awesome — it’s the actors, after all. The X360 version suffers from some performance issues — framerate stuttering and graphical glitches.

    thats best ive found so far regarding a face off, wouldnt rely on ign for telling me what colour the sky is, as theyd get it wrong, but seems to be consensus so far

  • spekkeh #139 1 year ago

    it does annoy me slightly that games as a whole are criticised for taking a while to draw you in

    I too can't really talk for the game until I play it, but I read that it has the standard 'rise through the ranks' trope. This 'hero's journey' works in games, because ultimately when games have you improving your skills and feeling the related boost in self-efficacy, the story should mirror this somehow (or vice versa, giving you the illusion of improvement)... well at least that's how game writers do it mostly...
    But it does make the story, at least the overall arc, pretty predictable and derivative. It also creates a problem because obviously you're not going to get the interesting cases when you're still writing out parking tickets. So I can imagine that, if you have to progress through the low ranking cases to get to the part where it matters, this may quickly come off as pointless and laborious, while also hurting the pace of the story. Could be wrong of course, but this is what I feared beforehand and seems to be reflected in the review.

  • Stockings #140 1 year ago

    GRAND THEFT AUTO, ACE ATTORNEY and HEAVY RAIN.

    One of those games is great.

  • dfooster #141 1 year ago

    I suppose how the game is rated depends on how you handle the slow pace compared to games like cod and crysis 2 which are just constant action. I think this sounds like one the more mature gamer will hail a classic and the can't sit still for more than two minutes hyper active kids (and adults) will find boring.

  • sybixsus #142 1 year ago

    I don't know why so many people are criticising the review. It's Rockstar's fault for not paying as much as Bethesda paid for Brink.

  • kirankara #143 1 year ago

    sybixsus
    16/05/11 @ 21:33
    Ignore poster | #164
    0
    I don't know why so many people are criticising the review. It's Rockstar's fault for not paying as much as Bethesda paid for Brink."

    how do u know that they didnt pay all the review sites more, and actually this game is awful??
    Edited by kirankara at 16/05/11 @ 21:36

  • des #144 1 year ago

    8/10...zzz

    another meh review from Eurogamer

  • HL706 #145 1 year ago

    Hmmm, I'm still burned from RDR - and this doesn't seem to have addressed any of the issues (ie, the slow placed plodding along).

  • metalangel #146 1 year ago

    Why do all the screenshots on page 1 have Japanese subtitles? And what's going on in picture number 9? It looks like he's trying to buy a roll of black garbage bags.

  • joelstinton #147 1 year ago

    great review oli, asked and answered all the right questions, and took most things into account!, more like this please. Can't wait to get absorbed into this game.

  • metalangel #148 1 year ago

    Wouldn't you know it, some of the achievements do indeed appear to be skanky. Here are some of them:

    The Third Degree (30)
    Correctly branch every question in every interview in a single story case.

    Shamus To The Stars (unconfirmed gamerscore)
    Complete all story cases with a five star rating.

    The Hunch (30)
    Use four intuition points in a single interview session, correctly branching each question.

    In other words, yes, feel free to use your intuition to work stuff out and do the best job you can. But unless you want to replay the entire game, be aware there's a set correct way to do everything :(

    source: http://www.trueachievements.com/LA-Noire...

  • makeamazing #149 1 year ago

    I think the problem with gamers is that some rely way to heavily on single reviews, rather than their own instinct. The main problem with reviews is that they're subjective and the reviewer can make all the difference to the score, some games i've seen 10/10 for on sites havent deserved it while others that got 6/7 and the dismal review of Mafia 2 at 4/10 just showed why i shouldnt rely on a single website.

    RDR got an 8 and that game was amazing...some people hated it, but if you know what you are getting into then it makes a whole lot of difference. This game sounds perfect for me, and i cannot wait to get it. Though it really should have skipable cutscenes after one playthrough imho, I've never understood why games do that.

  • kirankara #150 1 year ago

    makeamazing
    16/05/11 @ 22:13

    totally agree, i made mistake of ignoring my gut instinct with RDR , which i figured i wouldnt like as i didnt like gta 4 either due to awesome reviews but really didnt like it, and after about 4-5 hrs it stayed on shelf till it got traded

    PPl should abandon review scores imo, and just read the comments, and compare it to other reviews and see whether they like overall impression thy get from them.

    I think review scores date back to a time where space in mags was limited and they couldnt afford to talk and talk about pro's and cons in games, and so a score gives a rough indication of their overall feelings, but with internet we have more and more space available at no extra cost , so can discuss these things in more length.
    Edited by kirankara at 16/05/11 @ 22:41

  • BlinkeredAxis #151 1 year ago

    This is obviously a 'play it and see for yourself' sort of game.

    Love the cool/fool britannia thing, like yin and yang, the negs will balance, and we will no longer be bound upon the wheel of life.

    8/10 is a good score. Rockstar games are always excellent, but with an annoying part that spoils it a bit.

  • kimchibaka #152 1 year ago

    spekkeh, just read Eurogamer's scroing policy. 8 = 'very good'. A lot of people are saying Brink is a steaming pile of (broken) poo (i.e. NOT good). People now doubt Eurogamer know how to score a game at all. How is that so hard to understand?
    Edited by kimchibaka at 16/05/11 @ 22:54

  • charming_fox #153 1 year ago

    Review reads like it's been copied and pasted from Joystiq... in fact, all reviews look about the same... what to do? it actually sounds a bit... should I say... boring and tedious???

  • number3son #154 1 year ago

    Yahtzee's going to have a field day with this one. Everything I'm reading about it tells me that this is a game that desperately wants to be a movie, and the gameplay suffers for it. I'll be waiting for the greatest hits release.

  • drhickman1983 #155 1 year ago

    When I saw the rating out of ten I had a feeling the comments would devolve into an argument about scores.

    I wasn't wrong.

  • joelstinton #156 1 year ago

    The problem with scores, particulary out of 10 is that a lot of reviewers don't adhere to there 1-10 scoring policy, but what makes it worse is the audiences also (on part of a reviewer failure to adhere) think that anything below a 8 is shite. the same with IGN. Anything in the 8.0 bracket or above is relatively decent, anything below is utter tosh.

    Brink by all accounts on general consensus of reviews seemed a bout a 6 maybe a 7. An 8 for LA Noire is regarded as "Excellent" by Eurogamer. Which by all accounts is errr.. Excellent. A def buy. with some flaws. So the review seems pretty much spot on.

    Eurogamer could rate games out of 5 with Abysmal, Bad, Ok, Good, Amazing, where its a bit clearer but then they lose flexibility in there scores. And most games would get 4/5. I think a few sites need to re-release, modify, inform the audience aware of there scoring policy, To many are too wish washy with there scores.

    As for this review, i think it was really really good, well written, and informative and placed well in context. and and 8 seems like a fair score.
    Edited by joelstinton at 16/05/11 @ 23:22

  • deez #157 1 year ago

    I've had the chance to play it early, and 8 is about right. Those expecting something groundbreaking may well be disappointed - it really does feel like gta reskinned to me. The interrogation bits are not that fun either, plus it seems the chase sections all have very similar conclusions thus far. There is a lot of bunbling around peoples houses tapping x... and the map looks massive but 3 hours in I'm 17% complete, which seems shorter than expected as I'd guess you'll complete it around 70...? That's 6 out of 21 cases complete.
    Edited by deez at 16/05/11 @ 23:32

  • muttler #158 1 year ago

    A well written review with lots of good information that imo read like he was going to give it a 9. It almost seems like Oli was told not to score LA Noire higher than an 8. A great game that has bravely (and successfully) gambled with risky gameplay elements, and has raised the bar in it's genre of slow burning, serious detective story nearly into orbit. Deserves a 9, and a decent 9 at that.

  • muttler #159 1 year ago

    @joelstinton #167

    Well said I agree with that, apart from the 8 for LA Noire, unless EG want to restructure their scores so that it's like an EDGE 8, ie a serious recommendation. To rate it the same as Brink, which is a failed attempt at doing something slightly different within a saturated market, is bad.

  • drumbaby #160 1 year ago

    Can you run over jaywalking hos in a helicopter though?

  • Harmonica #161 1 year ago

    Another Rockstar formula game pillaging too heavily from its source material to be considered a proper work of fiction in its own right, and relying too much on seeming like a film to be an exciting and fresh gaming experience. Polished, but these days that could be leveled as a criticism. I'd rather have rough around the edges but exciting like the original Grand Theft Auto.

    And everyone who has never seen LA Confidential or Chinatown, do yourself a favour and watch those first before they're drubbed all over.

  • thermopyle #162 1 year ago

    ADD Gamers need not apply/pass police academy.

  • Raconteur #163 1 year ago

    Thanks EG for the spoiler in the 3rd from last paragraph.

  • frazzl #164 1 year ago

    Pre-ordered the 360 version and am looking forward to Friday. This game was always going to be a day 1 purchase for me, so I am glad it seems to have turned out well :).

  • Odessa #165 1 year ago

    I would trust this 8 more then a 100% from any other side. Cause NO game in the world is 100%.

    And do not compare two 8s from different genres. Ratings are also based on simular games like PES is rated also against Fifa.

  • Kazama74 #166 1 year ago

    Sometimes I get the idea that some people here are disappointed in the final version of this game because it doesn't quite live up to what it could have been or what they wanted it to be and somehow blame EG for this. Don't shoot the messenger. Excellent review Oli.

  • modo_komodo #167 1 year ago

    Personally, I'm not too bothered about what score it gets - I want to give it a go myself.

    Do you think these claims that the game is slow are a symptom of the 'casualisation' of games? People seem so keen to get these fast-paced, instant gratification fests that they are just not prepared to slow down a little.

    I was really interested to see the division in opinion with Red Dead. Some people complained that it was far too slow because you had to ride across half the map to get from point A to B. Others loved it because they took time to absorb the atmosphere or watch the sun set - in other words, they understood what Rockstar had put together and why they were making you do it. These are very deliberate design choices.

    L.A. Noire is going to be the same. Get absorbed in the atmosphere. Enjoy the journey

  • Zerobob #168 1 year ago

    This game just looks so....boring. It also seems like every gameplay mechanic has been done before and done better.

  • Marshall2008 #169 1 year ago

    Finally a thinking mans game. All those who thing this has anything to do with GTA (beyond the assistance of Rockstar getting this game out of the door) are fucktards.

    Expect this title to appeal to RPG and point and click fans, CoD and GTA fans look elsewhere.

  • spekkeh #170 1 year ago

    Do you think these claims that the game is slow are a symptom of the 'casualisation' of games?

    Could be, but personally I think it's a sign of the audience becoming more critical. I love movies that slowly but deliberately set the stage, but even the longest movie has a major plot twist after two and a definite resolution after four hours, and most are a lot shorter. Of course games take a bit longer because you have to learn the controls and have a chance to err, but if a game only picks up pace in the second half, then that's 15 hours. To me that seems at least ten hours too late, and therefore just basically bad pacing.

    Sure, trying to draw people in quicker may be a sign of casualisation, because the casual crowd is fickle and doesn't want to invest time in something that isn't immediately rewarding, but you can also say that the fickleness is based on the fact that there's a lot of equally worthwhile things to do in your spare time, and it's up to the game developer to be better than the rest.
    Edited by spekkeh at 17/05/11 @ 09:52

  • deez #171 1 year ago

    @Marshall2008 I believe you'll think differently once you've played it, it's not that far from gta I'm afraid.

    I like gta though, so I'm enjoying it.

  • Virtual_Entity #172 1 year ago

    @machiavellian
    to say I don't know that L.A. Noire and Brink are two different types of games is insulting; when I wrote my comment it was not with that in mind rather that Eurogamer decided to point out a number of glaring faults in L.A. Noire but didn't do this with Brink! If they had spent as much time pointing out the million and one problems Brink has the game wouldn't have even mustered half the score it got!

  • Graveland #173 1 year ago

    8/10, the same score as RDR which turned out to be one of the most painfully boring games I've played this Gen.

  • Zerobob #174 1 year ago

    "Expect this title to appeal to RPG and point and click fans, CoD and GTA fans look elsewhere. "

    Who the fuck do you think you are grouping people as "CoD and GTA fans" and telling people who enjoyed a certain game not to play L.A. Noire?

    I've not read such an ignorant sentence in a while.

  • chrisola #175 1 year ago

    The best part about it is a largely non interactive recreation of late 40's LA? Brilliant just what i always wanted.

    The investigation bit reminds me of the Mass Effect ore mining mini game -- move the cursor around the screen until you hear a noise and your controller rumbles -- it's the exact same game mechanic! My god that was dull.

    Based on this review it seems Gareth Keenan did more invetigating than you get to do :p

    Not sure at all about this -- i do love a good noir film so perhaps i'll enjoy it, but the review makes it sound easy, linear, pointless and uninspired (unless you like to play virtual tour 47: LA)

  • mcreddie #176 1 year ago

    Christ, it's an Oli Welsh review... I'll just have to play it myself then

  • 32768Colours #177 1 year ago

    I love the premise of this game, but in the end it doesn't sound like this will be for me.

    The review clearly states that the driving is unspectacular (mentioning you can skip it as a plus point is a bad sign), the combat is basically GTA fodder, and the centre piece of the game - interrogation - is often laborious and occasionally "hammy".

    Based on the review (because I've obviously not played it) the game seems to be rated on ambition and how nice the city looks, even though the gameplay is quite dull. There's actually very little positive he says about the game that isn't qualified by a "if you're willing to make the effort". They're not words that usually enter into a glowing review.

    Rockstar's game reviews usually follow the same pattern: "The gameplay is flawed, but the environment is so pretty, that you have to admire the scale and ambition." So basically, the game is average but beats its chest hard enough to get respect beyond its tangible benefits. So I take reviews of Rockstar's games with a hefty pinch of salt, as they are clearly one of the darlings of the industry.

    I'm well aware that I'm in a minority here and I'm probably going to get negged to hell and back, but its just my take on their games. Hopefully my waffle explains my viewpoint well enough that I don't come off like a troll. Fair play if you like their games :)

  • spekkeh #178 1 year ago

    Fully agree with you (at least for all GTAs past 3), however I feel like I am willing to make the effort for a game that at least seems to try to do something new. (also, RDR was quite okay, bar the mid-part GTA-like slog)

  • FTM #179 1 year ago

    shows how like most things, everybody has a different opinion

    people bemoaning the scoring of RDR and saying how boring it was..I loved it and its one of the few games I wanted to actually complete to 100%...

    same with this..I may hate it, I may not, but I wont know till I play it. I think it wil press all the right buttons for me but I wont know till its installed on the hard drive.

  • Zizou97 #180 1 year ago

    I might be wrong here, but isn't a lot of people still claiming this to be Rockstar's effort? Aren't they just the publisher since Sony themselves pulled out of this project? Sure, if Rockstar were involved in this, they were bound to influence on some level or maybe even have key people taking part in the actual process of making the game, but this is developed by Team Bondi. I get the impression that a lot of people see this as the next installment from the people who brought us GTA and RDR, and therefore expect this to be "GTA in a police suit", with all that would come along with that. I'm afraid that there are more people than usual that will pick this up with that idea in mind and then bash it when they realise what it actually is about.
    Then again, I see there are people in this thread that claims to have played the game already and points out that there are a lot of similarities with GTA, so who knows... I think that this will do very well opening weekend, then dip in sales and also show up in second hand retail faster and in larger quantity than normally for a title of this magnitude. I'll give it a serious go though, no doubt.

  • Schmoke-n-a-pancake #181 1 year ago

    Definitely going to give this a try.

    I'm hoping for the second coming of Red Dead Redemption, my game of the gen so far.

    But if it falls nearer to GTA, then I think I'll be sorely disappointed with it.

    Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

  • jablonski #182 1 year ago

    Think I'll give this a miss.

    I found Red Dead incredibly dull and formulaic. Riding around on a horse all day long is seriously boring.
    Sick to death of cut scenes too.

    I appreciate it's a different studio, but this just looks like the usual GTA template. And I've had enough of that

  • Stockings #183 1 year ago

    Disc swapping, framerate problems and pop-in on the 360 version, looks like the PS3 version if you have a choice.
    360 version for every other game though so you're better off just having a 360 unless you're rich.

  • Syrette #184 1 year ago

    Complaints about horseriding in RDR are seriously exaggerated in my opinion.

    You who complain, do realise that setting up camp allowed you to fast travel to places, right?

  • peppergomez #185 1 year ago

    Based on the gameplay videos, the heads of the characters are out of proportion to their bodies, laughably so. How could the designers have missed this?

  • Masta200 #186 1 year ago

    Well considering that Eurogamer are harsh reviewers, this is a great score.
    Oh and to all of those going "Meh not going to buy it now" try to form your own opinion instead of relying on somebody elses.
    It shocks me how some people consider 8/10 a bad score.


  • smoison #187 1 year ago

    I guess I'll wait for a demo so I can form my own opinion.....

  • UkHardcore23 #188 1 year ago

    An 8? Who would of thought it? LOL!

  • Rodchenko #189 1 year ago

    Eightoftengamer.net

  • Jay-ITFC #190 1 year ago

    @smoison Are you still waiting for the GTA4 & RDR demos as well? ;)

  • MeBrains #191 1 year ago

    ok... i bet it is a good game and all. but the graphics look absolutely bad - I can't be the only one thinking this, no?

  • Shabbaranks #192 1 year ago

    Sounds like a good game to get me through the long dark winter nights. Plus will be a bit cheaper.

  • Syrette #193 1 year ago

    Struggle to see how anyone can call the graphics "bad".

    It's beyond my comprehension. Stunning they are not, perhaps.

  • DRUNK3N-_-DRAGON #194 1 year ago

    8? i have lost all trust in EG reviews now! just check out videogamer.com because they gave it a 10 and said it was a masterpiece,
    and i think i believe VG.
    you neggn little dick...you just have to check out most of the more than decent games that are out and you will see they all get an 8 on EG unless its a 360 exclusive
    Edited by DRUNK3N-_-DRAGON at 19/05/11 @ 02:09

  • Bombonera #195 1 year ago

    I've played it for about 6 hours and my main gripe is how ambiguous the correct answers to the in game interview questions are. I've invariably been getting most or all of the questions wrong during cases, which is frustrating as getting one question wrong means you need to restart the whole case (as the review states) if you want the best rating. You also can't rely on intuition points as they are few and far between.

  • deez #196 1 year ago

    @DRUNK3N-_-DRAGON - Wait until you play it, it's no masterpiece. 8/10 is spot on.

  • deez #197 1 year ago

    @Bombonera - agreed, it's also a bit frustrtaing that you can miss the opportunity to nail parts of the case despite having figured it out because you haoppen to visit locations in the 'wrong' order... and why do all the chases end with the same hostage mechanic that was good in the Robocop game 20 years ago? Don't mind it but I must have done 5 of those bits in 6 hours of play..

    Just hitting disc 2 after 6 odd hours.

  • TaniumZX #198 1 year ago

    Eurogamer, how about catching up with the 1990's and doing the scores out of 100.

  • mukki #199 1 year ago

    What! just an 8!
    ah kidding!
    Looking forward to this one!
    and nice review!

  • Andeus #200 1 year ago

    @Oli: "But there's never been such a high-profile attempt to bring this popular form of fiction to the video gaming mainstream as L.A. Noire."

    And what was Black Dahlia and the Tex Murphy adventures? Especially Black Dahlia.

  • metalangel #201 1 year ago

    Yeah! I bought Fahrenheit because it was pushed as a detective story. There was no mention of button mashing QTEs, having sex with the undead or physical manifestations of the Internet!

  • timberwolf #202 1 year ago

    So it's a very short and gutted gta iv, with protracted unskippable cutscenes presumably as badly written as the gta iv ones.

  • absurdio #203 1 year ago

    "At least you can enjoy the ambiance along the way. One of Rockstar's greatest talents is for transposing iconic slices of pop culture – Miami Vice, Spaghetti Westerns or the gangster rap myth – into games with perfect tone and timing and an uncanny sense of cool. In L.A. Noire, it has performed its most surgical transplant yet."

    Well written as usual, but I find it kind of funny that the reviewer is the most adamant about the correctness of the one time period of those listed from GTA that he, realistically, knows least. Ah, well, the ancestry of famous mafiafilms will do that to you, I s'pose...

  • Azhrarn #204 1 year ago

    As with Red Dead Redemption I will have to wait for the PC version.

    Yeah I know.... When hell freezes over...

    I would love to have these games.

  • WJF #205 1 year ago

    @deez You probably already know this, but the idea in most chases is to lock your pistol on the target, not merely run after them. The hostage part is a second chance for people who kept up, but couldn't get a warning shot off

  • deez #206 1 year ago

    @WJF I didn't know that, thanks. Doesn't seem particulalry well explained, but that's probably just me..

  • CHACK #207 1 year ago

    the technical commitment is certainly there and absolutely engaging but mini missions and action are extemely repetitive and v easy. Why Rockstar didn't or couldn't tech share for the superior "humanlike" characters from Red Dead seems unfortunate because characters have that awkward cardboard crease at the elbow.

    I found the LAPD street beat missions over far too quickly but overall its engrossing, visually impressive but lacks just that little bit of shine to make this stellar.

  • Bradius #208 1 year ago

    The "Game" is a triumph of style over content. Its shiny, stylistic, amazing voice acting, great charaters, good animations. Has stunning facial recognition technology great plot/story....However the game play is pants.

    I havent really had to engage my brain in any of it.

    You cant really fail as far as detective work is concerned. there are no red herrings when gathering clues. if a clue is relevent its put in your book if not, it tells you its not.

    The game plays out mostly on rails: go there , search until music stops, go somewhere else ask question press a,b,c then go somewhere else.
    There is no deduction, no piecing together of clues. Its basically a movie where you can slightly change the sub plots by pressing 3 buttons

    The only respite is repetative GTA chase sequences.

    I am a bit gutted, maybe they will release content in the future that will actually let you play as a Detective.

    I think 8 was a bit generous btw. As its a game review and not a movie review.

  • xrnzaaas #209 11 months ago

    Wonderful game. Much much better than Mafia 2 (I know they're from different genres, but they also have a lot of similarities).