User reviews

Rockstar have been slowly draining away at my insanity for the release of this game, the teasers were enough to wet the appetite of myself and other players respectivly who were interested in this type of game.

It wouldn't seem fair to compare this to GTA as other reviwers have ,purely because it has taken a completely different direction. Yes, you can still take cars, yes you can shoot and yes you can still drive around like a maniac but its all cleverly been done in the line of duty. They have taken an approach which has been unorthodox but who cares...it works! The story of Phelps (the player) is very neatly tied in to all the cases that the player must solve. All the previous cases come together and are referred back in later cases. The story has an incredibly thick plot and at times can leave you with a heavier brain once you put the controller down. It's very time consuming but well worth seeing it all the way to the end. Need i say the last case made me shed a tear....so it can be emotional for some.

Gameplay wise, L.A. Noire is no where near fast pace by any means, but there is always something new going on, whether it be a police call for a shooting/robbery or even a real case to solve, there's nothing that ever lets the player feel bored or exhausted of the same thing. However this being said, the game has a slight use of repetitiveness in it, but is actually necessary for the development of the story. The controls are very natural and rockstar have really pulled out their finger to achieve something that no other game has achieved, realistic and emotional characters. The whole truth/doubt/lie system is just genius and gave me a warm sense of accomplishment when i actually got the correct answer. The facial animations using the facial motion capture are just breath taking, i sometimes forget i'm playing a game and instead watching a movie, it's that realistic! Graphically stunning, buildings look very real, cars are modelled perfectly and the characters need nothing more added. The whole environment is just brilliant with props to both environment artists and the level designers. Hats off the story board guys, to make a story that ties in so well with each other must make them incredibly imaginative.

Overall L.A. Noire has really taken me by surprise, I really wasn't sure what i would expect to get until i played it through and my god you get hell of a lot for your money. If you don't come out with an IQ higher than 100 after completing this game, you went somewhere wrong. The game has been intelligently put together and has really left a mark on me. I'd recommend this to any player who likes an interactive, action, mystery and an adventure game packed all in one.

Well done Rockstar!

I won't lie. I picked this game up due to the overwhelming hype surrounding it, and the track record of Rockstar. What I didn't expect was an experience as close to playing a movie as I've ever seen. A narrative full of characters that talked and acted like real people, and a hero that is flawed in realistic ways. Team Bondi put a lot of work in getting everything to look and feel as authentic as possible, and it shows. I've played through this twice now, nearly two years apart, and been completely and totally engrossed by the story and the amazing facial motion-capture technique that just adds an extra dimension to the characters you'll come across during it's very long running time.

Some comments have been made about the extended cutscenes and what can be viewed as tedious and repetitive gameplay, but I had no problem with either of these aspects of the game, as the plot completely sucked me in.

Make no mistake about it, this is a very mature tale that features brutal crime scenes, language, and violence, all of which are handled very matter-of-factly. There was never a point where I felt these things were over-the-top, however, but, rather, I felt these aspects added to the realism. Along with this, the whole city of Los Angeles in the 1940's has been lovingly recreated, from the buildings and locations, to the vehicles, fashions, and entertainment of that era.

If I were to pick anything that I had issues with, it was the noticeable lack of side missions or random events. Given the attention to detail that went in to creating the city, I would have thought the development team could have found more creative things to do within it. There are crimes outside of the main narrative that you can respond to that gain you extra "intuition" points to be used during questioning or clue hunting, but not nearly as many or nearly as diverse as there should have been. Also, this is more than likely a game you won't be turning around and playing again immediately after finishing it. It's probably something that's best revisited maybe every year or two.

Overall, I found this to be a stunning and eye-opening look at what games can look and feel like. If this is any indication of what we can expect in the future, I, for one, can't wait to see what's around the corner.

The best detective game on the earth, amazing tech, great story, good character development. Almost 10 years and still need a sequel.

Greetings from Lithuania.

The only reason i did not gave "L.A. Noire" (2011) a perfect 10/10 is the fact that i played it and finished it a 100% for the first time in 2020, nearly 10 years after its initial release - and games unlike movies do age. I played remastered version.

Games like this do not come out anymore. "L.A. Noire" has more in common with a great movie "L.A. Confidential" then any other game i have ever played. It has superb story, amazing writing and compelling characters, with great acing by many actors. Music was great, and game does look great when playing it on PS4 pro 4K - its just that open world feels empty and repetitive. But those are minor complain. Other then that, this is a fantastic game, very unique one.

Rockstar games has done it again! This game is incredible - it's visually stunning, the gameplay is smooth and, most importantly, the story is fantastic. Once you start playing, you become enveloped into Cole Phelps. I bought the game at midnight because I wanted to watch the opening sequence, but I couldn't stop playing! Its true - the line between video games and movies is blurred more than ever. Especially with games like Heavy Rain and LA Noir (amoung countless others, such as Rockstar's own Red Dead Redemption), whose stories are rich and gripping. I highly recommend this game to anyone who is on the fence about getting it. You won't be disappointed!

One but cannot help but think that L.A. Noire has been inspired by L.A. Confidential (1997), Chinatown (1974), The Untouchables (1987), and James Ellroy's novel The Black Dahlia. After being in the development hell for seven years, L.A. Noire was released in 2011 and became a massive success. It is definitely worth playing, and if you have the patience to solve challenging puzzles you will enjoy this game. Also, you will learn how to read people during questioning and interrogations as to whether they are telling the truth, doubt them or lying by backing up your claims with evidence.

Set in Los Angeles in 1947, the story centers on LAPD police officer Cole Phelps played by Aaron Stanton (Mad Men), a former US Marine Lieutenant who served in World War II in the pacific. Cole Phelps starts out as a patrol officer and throughout the game you see his career rise in the LAPD through various assignments with Traffic, Homicide, Vice and Arson. Cole Phelps is also assigned various partners throughout the game including Officer Ralph Dunn (Rodney Scott) in patrol, Detective Stefan Bekowsky (Sean McGowan) in Traffic, Detective Rusty Galloway (Michael McGrady, Southland) in Homicide, Detective Roy Earle (Adam John Harrington) in Vice, and Detective Herschel Biggs (Keith Szarabajka, The Dark Knight) in Arson. Cole Phelps manages to catch the eye of Captain James Donnelly (James Connelly) as a rising star in the LAPD and promises to keep a close eye on Phelps. Phelps also finds himself caught up with German lounge singer Elsa Lichtmann (Australian model Erika Heynatz) and butts heads with former US Marine comrade Jack Kelso (Gil McKinney) who is working as claims investigator for California Fire and Life following the death of a former marine Phelps and Kelso served with during World War II.

L.A. Noire is very addictive gaming at its best and you can't help but feel you are being thrust into the world of a post World War II Los Angeles. L.A. Noire reminded me a lot of L.A. Confidential.

I wish there were more games like L.A. Noire however like this game it may take a number of years before a game similar to this will be released. Definitely one of the best games I have played in years.

10/10.

One of the Most Underrated Game after Heavy Rain (2010). Absolutely Amazing. Graphics, Gameplay are Stunning. The Interrogation Technique, Investigating Evidences, this Game will make feel you like you are a Detective. Go and Grab it!

I know that I will probably get a lot of comments about the tag line I used, but I sincerely believe that L.A. Noire had the potential to be an amazing game, but it fell short in several areas. It's a success because it -is- a great game, fun to play, good story... but it is a failure (to me) because it's the first Rockstar game I've scored less than 9. It fell well short of its potential.

I'll get right to it.

Graphics - 10/10 There's really no doubt that the game is absolutely gorgeous with the new facial scanning feature. This, coupled with the wonderful lighting and amazing detail to the city makes for a beautiful game to look at.

Sound - 10/10 The voice actors are phenomenal. They deliver believable performances without going over the top and they add a perfect amount of emotion to the dialog. The music is also amazing, adding to the overall engrossing atmosphere.

Controls - 8/10 There aren't any -major- complaints here. The shooting system leaves something to be desired, especially following in the wake of Red Dead Redemption. Driving controls aren't perfect either, but there have been much, much worse.

Story - 9/10 L.A. Noire has a very interesting story behind it. I've heard it said before: GTA meets CSI. That's an accurate assessment. Be prepared for an interesting journey.

Fun Factor - 7/10 Here's where things get interesting. Don't get me wrong, the game is fun, challenging at times, and interesting. My main problem with the game is after the first few cases, you'll notice that things get repetitive. You go to a crime scene. You look for clues. You go talk to suspects. You use your clues to get answers. That's about it. It also feels -way- too linear for me, often pushing you from one case to the next without giving you much time to explore the world and have fun.

There's a reason for that: There isn't much to do other than the main cases. Sure, you can respond to random calls from dispatch, but even - they- get repetitive. Go to the scene. Shoot out/chase/hostage situation. Rinse and repeat.

The major appeal to this genre for most people is the ability to go where you want, do what you want. While you might be able to go anywhere you want between cases, there isn't much to do when you get there. You can't even draw your weapon if you're not on a case. So all of those random rampages you love in GTA/RDR? Forget it. You won't be having those in L.A. Noire.

Another part of the game that some may not enjoy is that it often feels as though you're watching more than you're playing. There are a lot of cut scenes. Most of the game is cut scenes.

Replayability - 5/10 Since there isn't much to do beyond the main cases... No interesting side-quests, no random gunfights in the street, no stores or mini games or stunt challenges.... You'll already know all of the interrogation techniques, you'll already know who murdered who and why... You'll already have all of the answers. Where is the appeal to play again?

Overall - 8/10 It's a great game and an interesting concept. I know it wasn't meant to be a GTA clone, that it was meant to focus on the detective work and case cracking that hadn't successfully been used in a game before. But since the game is so narrow in its options as far as cases/case order/extracurricular activities, it's really hard to justify giving it any more than an 8/10. You'll have a blast playing through the first time. But when the credits roll, you'll find yourself wondering if it's destined to collect dust on your shelf.

For someone that love detective/mystery movies and books this game was a perfect way for entertainment. L.A Noire was created for around seven years, unfortunately I can count the number of games in Noire climate on one hand, there is only one worth playing – of course it's L.A Noire. Therefore it's more like interactive movie with Grant Theft Auto mechanics and some people expect more challenge from games. I personally find all the puzzles and investigations too easy, I was expecting something more challenging. If you like detective movies and books you will love this game too. If you don't like them than you will most likely find this game boring.

If you expect another Grant Theft Auto or Mafia I will have to disappoint you. Rockstar Games made this clear that L.A Noire will not include a lot of shooting. There are side missions; some of them include more fire exchange. Most of the time you will be looking for clues, driving to destined area and interviewing suspects and victims. There are at least 100 different vehicles including bonus vehicles. But what I really like about the game was interrogations and exploration of all the beautiful locations.

For me L.A. Noire is located quite close to the narrative perfection, it's a precursor to the new wave of adventure games along with games like Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls or Wolf Among Us or The Walking Dead. As result of games like this especially L.A Noire, new games like Murdered: Soul Suspect will be coming out soon. I have to give this game 10/10 because it was something that I was waiting for long time however I'm disappointed that there is lack of information about new Noire game. There is a leaked gameplay of another title from developers, it's called "Whore of the Orient" but it's taking place on the streets of Shanghai and I don't think it's something for me; I never enjoyed Chinese detective movies.

LA Noire is the most recent game from Rockstar – a name synonymous with quality sandbox gaming, big open worlds where you follow a main story but have some element of freedom within a larger world. As a result I was excited by the idea of being a cop in the sunny yet seedy world of late 1940's Los Angeles, with its movie stars, its drugs, its secrets – basically it looked like we would all be playing in LA Confidential. To a certain extent the game pulls this off and technically this is where you are.

I saw technically because it is in this realm where the game mostly excels. Spread over 3 disks, the game takes place in a massive city, with traffic and people going about their business while you do yours. It looks great from the cars, the outfits, the "look" of the characters in terms of makeup and hairstyles and of course the famous motion capture of the actors faces. This last part is astonishing as you do watch these computer characters and see natural movements and quirks – although viewers of Mad Men will be distracted by just how frequently members of that cast are used. The idea is good with this – use real faces to make the game about being able to spot a "tell" and call out liars to crack cases. It is a good idea. The problem is that it doesn't stand up; some faces are subtle but mostly the difference between truth and not-truth is pretty easy to see and then it comes down to having the evidence to say "lies" or just the hunch to say "doubt". I enjoyed this at first but quickly I tired of this aspect as it was never as cool or clever as it was billed.

Doing the cases involves lots of cut-scene watching – and I mean lots since this where the game occurs. You drive between them, get a bit of action here and there but mostly you're not playing. I would be fine with this if the game-play had held me more but it didn't. Crime-scenes involve walking round pushing the "investigate" button till you have all the clues, then the interviews. The cases progress even if you make mistakes and only once did I really mess up a case and this was late in the game where I was starting not to really care. The plots didn't engage me too much either – there is an overall narrative here but it didn't work that well and some cases are solved far too easily. I recall one murder case where I was really engaged in the clues and complexity, went to a grocery store, found the murder weapon on a table in an unlocked room, chased the owner, caught him, case closed – it really hurt my interest and the thought I was putting it for it to just "end" like that.

Outside of interviews there will be occasional car chases and shootouts, but again these are far too easy. Shootouts are generally all over in seconds without any effort, while the car chases will eventually end if you just keep up. Also, for some reason, in the chases, you do not get to shoot, only drive – it worked really well in GTA4 to do both, but in this I'm just the silent wheelman while my partner does the cool stuff – I hope that computer controlled character enjoyed it! So in terms of the story game-play I can understand the complaints because I did start to tire of the repetitive nature of it and I stopped caring so much and the cases started feeling like going through the motions. So what else is there? Well, this is a sandbox game so in theory you should be falling over with stuff like in Fallout 3 (where I could never go anywhere without getting another quest or random event) or Red Dead (where I played poker for hours and regularly found random little events while travelling). Well in LA Noire you have 40 street crimes but these are mostly very samey. I can think of several where I drove for 5-10 minutes to get to it, shot 2 guys and it was all over in 10 seconds. You can replay them but they are scripted and the same each time – they do not feel like random events in a real city. Outside of these? Well, you have collectibles but that's it. No random encounters and no real freedom to do much beyond drive round. The game needed random street robberies – people calling for help like in Red Dead, not cut-scenes, just people. It needed more freedom to pull your gun – you cannot pull your gun out in free-roam, not at all. You cannot hurt anyone and you cannot "mess around" when bored like you did in GTA4, RDR or other of their games – with this, when you're bored, going into free-roam will not help you. The very limited free-roam essentially wastes this massive city but also means the makers didn't seem to understand what the appeal of free-roam is – its freedom, not just the freedom to drive places for no reason.

LA Noire is still an impressive game though, but it is repetitive and not as clever as it thinks. The cases are linear and the free-roam is so restrictive that, beyond getting collectables, it is fairly pointless. No random events, no consequences and lots of cut-scenes. The ideas are all good and the technology impresses, but this is a first try – not the game to buy and love. If a sequel ever comes I would be there as the core of the game is good, it is just the repetition, the restrictions, the focus on scripted events and the lack of decent action sections that hurt it.

I finished L.A. Noire tonight and I have to say that the game lived up to my enormous expectations for it. It was such a rich and fully realized vision, the tone was perfected and all of the detail added so much depth to everything. It's one of those rare games where the story completely sucked me in and the cut scenes became just as engaging to me as the shootouts and the car chases. I really dug that each desk had it's own tone to it. Homicide was definitely the highlight for me, it had a really dark and gritty Fincher-esque tone to it that I adored. Things got a little repetitive as the game went on, particularly in the form of the interrogations, but for a game that was three discs long they did a surprisingly great job of keeping it fresh and exciting all the way through. I loved how everything came together in the end. It got so exciting seeing all of the pieces with the flashbacks and the newspaper backstory start to fall into place as the story went on.

The actors were all great too, probably the best acting I've seen in a game, it helped a lot in making it feel like I was playing through an actual film or television show. My one big complaint was having to play as Jack Kelso in the end. I understood how it worked within the context of the story, but I thought it was pretty ridiculous to have us play 95% of the game as Cole Phelps and then abruptly switch us over to Kelso for that last 5%. For something like this that is so cinematic and realized, I got very attached to Phelps and it drew me out of the experience a lot having to switch to a completely different person for that last stretch. Phelp's final scene was really heartbreaking.

The game looks, sounds, and feels great. But as far as gameplay goes? I mean who wants to repeat an interrogation over and over and over in order to narrow down the perfect line of questioning? I basically memorized all of the cutscenes because you have to retry them so much. AND HALF OF THE TIME YOU CAN ENTER QUESTIONING WITHOUT ANY EVIDENCE AND THE GAME DOESNT TELL YOU. Honestly its great but its not fun, at all, unless you happen to nail your judgement.

OK, yeah, I was expecting GTA in the 40s.... but then again you are a cop and that kind of limits how you can act. It's not really a free for all where you can blow through cars at a red light and drive through foot traffic to get to where you are going faster.

Remember, you're a cop, property damage kind of counts against you, but injuring pedestrians certainly does... at least in the story mode. Not so much in Patrol Mode.

But then... the soundtrack is amazing, both the dramatic sequences and the era appropriate radio music. The lighting (especially in Black and White mode) is superb and really feels like an old Hard Boiled detective film...

... but being a Chinatown fan, I kind of went for color.

And it's fun driving around 1940s LA and solving crimes. That is really where the appeal is, but if you saw "Rockstar' and "Open World" I can see there you thought GTA in the 40s.

The story slowly unravels as you put crimes together, your actions, the clues you find, and the how you question suspects and witnesses all determine how well you do, and how much you botch the case... which allows you to finish a mission and really screw the pooch, avoid tailing suspects by properly interrogating them, or put more links together and turn a small crime into a big bust.

If you're not into the boring detective work and the unraveling mystery, it's going to be slow and tedious for you, but if that's the kind of thing you enjoy, it will prove to be a fun and moody game.

When I went to read some of peoples comments, I was astonished that many people disliked this game. I thought that this was one of my most favorite/fun game I have played in a long long long time. The acting was great, with over five different actors from Mad Men. The scenery and story was very cool and fun. There were only a couple of parts that were boring, but that was it for me. This game comes with three discs of the same game. I have enjoyed every second of it. I finished the game in six days five months ago, and now I have decided to replay the game. If you miss a clue or screw up an instigation, your result could be different each time. This game takes place during the 40s, post world war II. We follow Cole Phelps, a world war II vet who is now a cop and is moving from rank to rank on the police force.

SOme of the murders are harrowing, with naked women and some peoples faces are torn apart. But, you can have a selection to skip this if needed.

This game might need some getting used to, but when you do, you just can not stop. I love it.

What can I add that others didn't already. L.A Noire is IMO currently the best detective game ever created. This game can make you feel like true investigator, with occasional chase and "shoot rm up" sequences. It pays homage to the film noirs of 40s. Visually stunning, highely detailed and atmospheric in evoking post WWII Los Angeles. Characters expressions and motions are incredibly and voice actors have done their job superbly. Lots of older (exotic) cars contemporary to the time and some of them you'll need to find to unlock. Storyline is intriguing, emotional and well written. Cole Phelps is one of the best characters that exist in a video game. For this genre ans style, what can you ask for more? The only flaw is: it's very repetitive. But again, it doesn't spoil the overall experience.

Excellent cinematic atmosphere, story, soundtrack, and great characters. The interrogation gameplay was interesting, but sometimes also frustrating. At times the correct choices seemed a bit far-fetched or inconsistent, even if you were very careful. Maybe the developer pushed this gameplay mechanic a bit too hard in an attempt to keep the difficulty high enough. This prevented me from enjoying an excellent game as much as I should have. The combat also feels out of place (when gunning down hordes of nameless bad guys like in GTA) in a mature game. Flaws aside, this is still a milestone and an example of video games slowly growing up. The open world city is also amazingly authentic, arguably better (and certainly larger) than Liberty City in GTA 4. Porting from consoles was done acceptably well - you get HD textures and enough options, but there is a console checkpoint save system, 30-fps lock and a little mouse lag. Sadly Rockstar Social Club is mandatory.

Graphics and acting were awesome :) your playing as a cop not a gangster or thief so if your expecting to shoot citizens you cannot as cops in real life cannot shoot at innocent citizens. i think rockstar wanted to create a realistic theme in a sense that way. i love the fact that you can free roam it tells you on the top left screen when you start the homicide case after you finish you click on streets of la so you can do the free roam look around and if your into trophies and getting everything you can do it here street crimes etc... so you can focus your main attention at your cases. I would play it again! In fact I am currently playing it for the 2nd time. I cant seem 2 get enough. I hope they come out with another one like this one. I'm hoping for one in Chicago that would b fun to see:) rockstar has another hit :)Facial scanning awesome need to do that 2 all the games :)

Just finished the game for the 6th time and thought... rockstar should work on la noir 2 after gta 6 is finished. It's a slower more interactive and investigatory game but still fun and expertly made. I love the references to noir movies lol.

This game doesn't hold back any punches when it comes to interrogation and questioning, and apart from Intuition Points it doesn't usually hold your hand. However, the game's replayability is *murdered* (pun intended) as you can't skip dialogue or cutscenes at all. *Plus* if you are a perfectionist and want to get questionings and interrogations 100% correct first try, you're SOL, as quitting to the main menu and coming back will 99% of the time send you back to the beginning of the area. This means that you'll have to find every clue in the area *again* and attempt the questioning *again.* If you aren't good at judging if someone is lying or not, then I'd avoid this game. The closest thing to any sort of accessibility option is the aforementioned Intuition Points, which are very limited and are only earned by ranking up, which is done by doing successful questionings or interrogations.

Soooooooo Disappointed!! Lamest excuse for a interesting, compelling, distraction I have ever seen. Wasted 40 bucks on the damned thing. It looks kinda cool but the actual game play blows!! its boring, redundant, slow, lame ass characters, and stupid dialog. I am a big fan of James Ellroy and L.A. Confindential. That was a great story and the film adaptation was very good. This does Not work here. You don't get to be Bud White doling out justice on those that deserve it. I saw the commercial and it looked great. And that really Is it. Don't be suckered! I wasted 5 hours of my life playing this lame ass BS waiting for it to get better but it just remained a very bland, mind numbing, tedious, chore!!

The best video game of it's genre by far.

If you love crime scene investigation and puzzle solving, you will absolutely adore L. A. Noire.

The some of stories told are based on true serial killers. Storylines and characters based on real people are altered from the truth. But made believable through the game's amazing face capture mechanics, which back in 2011 were incredibly game changing, and definitely was before it's time.

The question where is number 2, Rockstar?