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Platform: PC Download | Edition: Complete
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61 of 67 people found the following review helpful
By Chuck
Platform for Display:PC|Edition:Complete
Fun:
3.0 out of 5 stars
L.A. Noire follows the exploits of a WWII vet and now burgeoning cop Cole Phelps through 1940s Los Angeles. Rockstar has created a fantastically detailed overworld which bests its previous Grand Theft Auto series graphically and in its attention to detail. The game centers on sleuthing for clues and dramatic encounters that you have as you attempt to squeeze the truth out of witnesses and suspects and Rockstar has taken extraordinary measures in casting fantastic actors and using facial scanning software to create the most authentic and emotional interactions between characters which I've ever seen in a game.
Unfortunately, despite this incredibly promising platform, the game itself is pretty poorly executed. Though graphically beautiful, Rockstar seems to have done a slap job in porting and optimizing the game for the PC, and my fairly beefy PC frequently choked and stuttered to deliver consistent framerates even at modest settings. A couple of nearly barren rooms were so inexplicably shakey as to make moving about them difficult. It's possible that patches and updates in the future will address this, but who knows. Another big annoyance is the fact that you cannot skip cut-scenes. If you ever fail a portion of a mission you have to watch the cut-scene before your part which can be several minutes long. If it's a tough chase, you might end up having to watch the same scene seven or eight times.
The overworld is also surprisingly dull. Despite being an enormous recreation of 1940s Los Angeles, with incredible attention to architecture, pedestrians, automobiles and the signs and products of the time, there's hardly anything to actually do. Unlike the sort of anything-goes sandbox free-for-all which made the Grand Theft Auto series so popular, you really cannot do much more than walk, drive or sit outside of the locations of your current case. So while you can spend hours exploring the vast map, there's little incentive to do so. The game even penalizes you for driving recklessly. There are 40 small "street crime" side missions where you can chase down a thug, but there's little reward for doing so. With nothing to really discover driving between points on my mission, I ending up having my partner drive, which fortunately warps you to your destination immediately.
The gameplay is on rails. A case shifts between clue-finding and interviews with other people, with the occasional shoot-out or car/foot chase of a suspect. Clue-finding involves walking around a scene until a chime plays, clicking and then viewing the clue as characters comment on it. Interviewing requires you to determine if statements made by witnesses are either true, doubtful or a lie. Your interview choices with witnesses do have some bearing on how the case plays out and what evidence you can collect, but not nearly as much as the game wants you to believe. You as the player have so little control with the scene and story that you feel much more like you're watching a 1940s Law and Order episode. It's a bit like a story with some gameplay as opposed to a traditional videogame tied together with some cutscenes. You will spend about 90% of your play time watching characters interact and walking around rooms, trying to find the next clue.
The idea of a game driven by story more than gameplay isn't a completely terrible concept. The acting itself is fantastically captured and can be really dramatic at times, just as dramatic as if it were a live-cut scene with actors in the flesh as opposed to pixels. The problem is that the story itself is pretty mediocre. Every case is little more than a formulaic task of investigating the crime scene for clues, questioning witnesses for leads, investigating said leads for more information, chasing down suspects, making a suspect confess, case closed. What kept me playing through to the end was the overarching story, which ties together each of the cases. I finished sorely disappointed. For all the hours of game play, the protagonist isn't developed as anyone much deeper than a WWII vet hesitant to discuss his past and a cop with an upstanding sense of morality. Without giving away too much, this lack of development makes it difficult to understand certain decisions made by Cole and makes you feel distanced as a player. The ending is very anticlimactic and unsatisfying and there's no point in replaying old missions.
So while the game is very beautiful and the acting very good, I can't recommend buying L.A. Noire to anyone. I hope Rockstar incorporates the sort of face scanning and acting into their new games.
Unfortunately, despite this incredibly promising platform, the game itself is pretty poorly executed. Though graphically beautiful, Rockstar seems to have done a slap job in porting and optimizing the game for the PC, and my fairly beefy PC frequently choked and stuttered to deliver consistent framerates even at modest settings. A couple of nearly barren rooms were so inexplicably shakey as to make moving about them difficult. It's possible that patches and updates in the future will address this, but who knows. Another big annoyance is the fact that you cannot skip cut-scenes. If you ever fail a portion of a mission you have to watch the cut-scene before your part which can be several minutes long. If it's a tough chase, you might end up having to watch the same scene seven or eight times.
The overworld is also surprisingly dull. Despite being an enormous recreation of 1940s Los Angeles, with incredible attention to architecture, pedestrians, automobiles and the signs and products of the time, there's hardly anything to actually do. Unlike the sort of anything-goes sandbox free-for-all which made the Grand Theft Auto series so popular, you really cannot do much more than walk, drive or sit outside of the locations of your current case. So while you can spend hours exploring the vast map, there's little incentive to do so. The game even penalizes you for driving recklessly. There are 40 small "street crime" side missions where you can chase down a thug, but there's little reward for doing so. With nothing to really discover driving between points on my mission, I ending up having my partner drive, which fortunately warps you to your destination immediately.
The gameplay is on rails. A case shifts between clue-finding and interviews with other people, with the occasional shoot-out or car/foot chase of a suspect. Clue-finding involves walking around a scene until a chime plays, clicking and then viewing the clue as characters comment on it. Interviewing requires you to determine if statements made by witnesses are either true, doubtful or a lie. Your interview choices with witnesses do have some bearing on how the case plays out and what evidence you can collect, but not nearly as much as the game wants you to believe. You as the player have so little control with the scene and story that you feel much more like you're watching a 1940s Law and Order episode. It's a bit like a story with some gameplay as opposed to a traditional videogame tied together with some cutscenes. You will spend about 90% of your play time watching characters interact and walking around rooms, trying to find the next clue.
The idea of a game driven by story more than gameplay isn't a completely terrible concept. The acting itself is fantastically captured and can be really dramatic at times, just as dramatic as if it were a live-cut scene with actors in the flesh as opposed to pixels. The problem is that the story itself is pretty mediocre. Every case is little more than a formulaic task of investigating the crime scene for clues, questioning witnesses for leads, investigating said leads for more information, chasing down suspects, making a suspect confess, case closed. What kept me playing through to the end was the overarching story, which ties together each of the cases. I finished sorely disappointed. For all the hours of game play, the protagonist isn't developed as anyone much deeper than a WWII vet hesitant to discuss his past and a cop with an upstanding sense of morality. Without giving away too much, this lack of development makes it difficult to understand certain decisions made by Cole and makes you feel distanced as a player. The ending is very anticlimactic and unsatisfying and there's no point in replaying old missions.
So while the game is very beautiful and the acting very good, I can't recommend buying L.A. Noire to anyone. I hope Rockstar incorporates the sort of face scanning and acting into their new games.
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
By A. Stone
Platform for Display:PC|Edition:Complete
Fun:
3.0 out of 5 stars
I've been intrigued by this game since I first glimpsed the facial animation technology used to render such amazingly detailed features and expressions on the game characters, as well as the potential for a great interactive detective story set in 1940's Los Angeles; however, I was leery to spend $50 on a PC title so many people have had problems with. I finally decided to buy/download from Steam (because it was on sale), and I followed the advice on the help forums and was able to get the game running (which after reading some of the reviews seems a small miracle).
Excited to see the game boot up, I was instantly crushed by the dreadfully handicapped graphics. The performance of the game was abysmal. After updating drivers, dropping the graphics settings to the minimum and tweaking all the computer setting I could, the game still stuttered and lagged horribly. Admittedly my rig is not cutting edge (Windows 7 64bit, Intel Core Duo 2 (3.0GHz), (2) GeForce GTX260 SLI, 8 GB Ram), but it runs plenty of graphic intensive games just fine. I tried! truly I did, but after only 30 minutes of game play, I just couldn't get into the game or story with such horrible frame rates. So, alas, it's hard to say if the game is actually fun...it certainly looked fun.
Although I was really disappointed, I can't say that I was surprised. This is Rockstar's signature "nose thumb" at the PC gaming community. As far back as GTA Vice City, Rockstar has been releasing PC games as an afterthought, never bothering to optimize or rebuild the code to run smoothly on PC rigs. We, fellow PC gamers, do not make up enough market-share for Rockstar to really care. This is unfortunate, because I really do like their games (when they work). To be fair, I think Rockstar did an amazing job breaking new technological ground, but I just hope somebody else runs with it and makes a game designed to run on a PC, not a console.
If you say anything about Rockstar, say that they're consistent...consistent in selling non-optimized, sluggish PC games that are unplayable even on the fastest PC Rigs. Between GTA IV and LA Noir, I feel a bit battered...once bitten, twice shy? Twice bitten, pathologically terrified? I do not think I will be purchasing any Rockstar products again in the future.
UPDATE: After poking around a bit more in the Steam help forums I did find a workaround for my system (see specs above). It required typing a command line (modifier?) "-str" (without quotes) under the options menu on the launch screen. This is Rockstar's "fix":
"These command line parameters are not officially supported but are provided for your convenience. To use them, input the command line parameters directly into the Command Line field of the launcher. To access this, launch the game using LANLauncher and then access the Options menu."
"-str Enable single threaded renderer, which may improve performance or compatibility on some systems."
The -str command (with the graphics set to low or "performance"), increased my frame-rate from 5fps to about 30fps. This was a huge improvement that made the game more or less playable (although there were still frame-rate lags and funky textures). I'm still utterly frustrated with Rockstar for basically releasing a beta version of this game, which requires clumsy workarounds that "...are not officially supported".
I'm most of the way through the game. Overlooking all the technical flaws, the game is a refreshing change in genre and design. The rendering of 1947 Los Angeles is impressive and the game does immerse you in that time and place. Although the Cole Phelps character has a loose back story, I feel that Rockstar could have spent a bit more time developing the protagonist. The facial motion capture has set the bar pretty high, so I wanted to know why Phelps had that pained expression on his face(remorse or a bad burrito?). What drives this guy? Why does he care? Like in any good story, character development is key. I have high hopes that this facial motion capture technology will really allow the gaming industry to explore deeper story telling. All that said, the game is still pretty amazing and fun. If you like games where you have to hunt for clues, check your facts, and read your suspects amazingly detailed facial expressions (which can be very challenging), then you will enjoy this game. If you're looking for a 1940's version of GTA, then you'll be outta luck. I think most of the reviewers here do an excellent job summarizing the game itself, so I'll not babble on any further. Thanks!
Excited to see the game boot up, I was instantly crushed by the dreadfully handicapped graphics. The performance of the game was abysmal. After updating drivers, dropping the graphics settings to the minimum and tweaking all the computer setting I could, the game still stuttered and lagged horribly. Admittedly my rig is not cutting edge (Windows 7 64bit, Intel Core Duo 2 (3.0GHz), (2) GeForce GTX260 SLI, 8 GB Ram), but it runs plenty of graphic intensive games just fine. I tried! truly I did, but after only 30 minutes of game play, I just couldn't get into the game or story with such horrible frame rates. So, alas, it's hard to say if the game is actually fun...it certainly looked fun.
Although I was really disappointed, I can't say that I was surprised. This is Rockstar's signature "nose thumb" at the PC gaming community. As far back as GTA Vice City, Rockstar has been releasing PC games as an afterthought, never bothering to optimize or rebuild the code to run smoothly on PC rigs. We, fellow PC gamers, do not make up enough market-share for Rockstar to really care. This is unfortunate, because I really do like their games (when they work). To be fair, I think Rockstar did an amazing job breaking new technological ground, but I just hope somebody else runs with it and makes a game designed to run on a PC, not a console.
If you say anything about Rockstar, say that they're consistent...consistent in selling non-optimized, sluggish PC games that are unplayable even on the fastest PC Rigs. Between GTA IV and LA Noir, I feel a bit battered...once bitten, twice shy? Twice bitten, pathologically terrified? I do not think I will be purchasing any Rockstar products again in the future.
UPDATE: After poking around a bit more in the Steam help forums I did find a workaround for my system (see specs above). It required typing a command line (modifier?) "-str" (without quotes) under the options menu on the launch screen. This is Rockstar's "fix":
"These command line parameters are not officially supported but are provided for your convenience. To use them, input the command line parameters directly into the Command Line field of the launcher. To access this, launch the game using LANLauncher and then access the Options menu."
"-str Enable single threaded renderer, which may improve performance or compatibility on some systems."
The -str command (with the graphics set to low or "performance"), increased my frame-rate from 5fps to about 30fps. This was a huge improvement that made the game more or less playable (although there were still frame-rate lags and funky textures). I'm still utterly frustrated with Rockstar for basically releasing a beta version of this game, which requires clumsy workarounds that "...are not officially supported".
I'm most of the way through the game. Overlooking all the technical flaws, the game is a refreshing change in genre and design. The rendering of 1947 Los Angeles is impressive and the game does immerse you in that time and place. Although the Cole Phelps character has a loose back story, I feel that Rockstar could have spent a bit more time developing the protagonist. The facial motion capture has set the bar pretty high, so I wanted to know why Phelps had that pained expression on his face(remorse or a bad burrito?). What drives this guy? Why does he care? Like in any good story, character development is key. I have high hopes that this facial motion capture technology will really allow the gaming industry to explore deeper story telling. All that said, the game is still pretty amazing and fun. If you like games where you have to hunt for clues, check your facts, and read your suspects amazingly detailed facial expressions (which can be very challenging), then you will enjoy this game. If you're looking for a 1940's version of GTA, then you'll be outta luck. I think most of the reviewers here do an excellent job summarizing the game itself, so I'll not babble on any further. Thanks!
23 of 28 people found the following review helpful
By C. Jiang
Platform for Display:PC Download|Edition:Complete
L.A. Noire is one of those games that really appeals to me -- part action, part adventure, part puzzle, and part cinematic. I was quite excited to hear it come out for PC, and I got it the day of release. Overall, I've enjoyed the game immensely. The pacing, the story, and the characters are near perfectly executed. However, several technical issues mar the game, enough for me to lower my score by an entire star. If the points at the end of this review aren't a huge deal for you, then feel free to consider this a 5-star game.
The gameplay is superb, switching easily between exploration, evidence gathering, interrogation, and action sequences. The cases are also interesting and have lots of small twists and turns that keep you guessing. Even in the more straightforward cases, you enjoy moving the plot forward because of the characters and writing. Every person you meet, even the minor ones who are incidental to the case, have their own unique personality traits and quirks, so you always look forward to speaking to someone new. The acting in this game is also top notch -- not only are the voices well done, but the technology the team used to capture facial expressions adds a whole new dimension of bringing the characters to life. Indeed, an integral part of interrogations involves you looking at their faces to tell whether they're lying or not.
As an added bonus, the game is fairly long and will give you many hours of entertainment. One aspect of the game that I particularly like is the pacing. You don't always feel compelled to rush from one place to another. During the investigation and questioning phases, you're encouraged to slow down a bit and simply enjoy the scenery or flip through your notebook of clues. The slower moments make the the action and chase sequences far more exciting, and I think that Team Bondi has done an excellent job of adding scripted elements to action sequences, so they always feel a bit different from each other.
Graphically, the game is also excellent. As usual for a game published by Rockstar, the sights and sounds make the city feel alive, and even simple drives through the city are fun. Compared with Grand Theft Auto IV, many of the buildings and storefronts seem to have an extra level of detail such as modelled window displays instead of a flat texture.
However, the game is not without its technical issues as well. While none of the issues are critical, the added weight of them are enough for me to take off a star in the final score.
First, I purchased this game using via Steam, and like many others, I had issues starting up the game. For me, launching Steam in Administrator Mode worked for me. Subsequent loads of the game did not require the game to be launched in Administrator mode, but I still must click through several Windows User Access Control dialog boxes.
Second, I'm annoyed by any game that do not let you skip past intro movies. Yes, I know who made the game, and the fact that this game is fiction, not fact. I don't need to be reminded of it all the time. In addition, I also have to wait through a tiring minute of "Checking for Downloadable Content". I don't know why or what the game is doing for so long, but it's yet another example of why DLC is bad for gaming.
Finally, the game seems to be capped at 30 frames per second. It's not a huge deal, but 60 frames still feels much smoother, and the game ought to support that.
The gameplay is superb, switching easily between exploration, evidence gathering, interrogation, and action sequences. The cases are also interesting and have lots of small twists and turns that keep you guessing. Even in the more straightforward cases, you enjoy moving the plot forward because of the characters and writing. Every person you meet, even the minor ones who are incidental to the case, have their own unique personality traits and quirks, so you always look forward to speaking to someone new. The acting in this game is also top notch -- not only are the voices well done, but the technology the team used to capture facial expressions adds a whole new dimension of bringing the characters to life. Indeed, an integral part of interrogations involves you looking at their faces to tell whether they're lying or not.
As an added bonus, the game is fairly long and will give you many hours of entertainment. One aspect of the game that I particularly like is the pacing. You don't always feel compelled to rush from one place to another. During the investigation and questioning phases, you're encouraged to slow down a bit and simply enjoy the scenery or flip through your notebook of clues. The slower moments make the the action and chase sequences far more exciting, and I think that Team Bondi has done an excellent job of adding scripted elements to action sequences, so they always feel a bit different from each other.
Graphically, the game is also excellent. As usual for a game published by Rockstar, the sights and sounds make the city feel alive, and even simple drives through the city are fun. Compared with Grand Theft Auto IV, many of the buildings and storefronts seem to have an extra level of detail such as modelled window displays instead of a flat texture.
However, the game is not without its technical issues as well. While none of the issues are critical, the added weight of them are enough for me to take off a star in the final score.
First, I purchased this game using via Steam, and like many others, I had issues starting up the game. For me, launching Steam in Administrator Mode worked for me. Subsequent loads of the game did not require the game to be launched in Administrator mode, but I still must click through several Windows User Access Control dialog boxes.
Second, I'm annoyed by any game that do not let you skip past intro movies. Yes, I know who made the game, and the fact that this game is fiction, not fact. I don't need to be reminded of it all the time. In addition, I also have to wait through a tiring minute of "Checking for Downloadable Content". I don't know why or what the game is doing for so long, but it's yet another example of why DLC is bad for gaming.
Finally, the game seems to be capped at 30 frames per second. It's not a huge deal, but 60 frames still feels much smoother, and the game ought to support that.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Game!
When I first bought it, I thought I probably wouldn't enjoy it because it is to some extent pretty linear, but I have to say that the story makes up for that and then some! Read more
Published 1 day ago by D. Incognito
1.0 out of 5 stars
Doesnt play
I was able to download but only partially. Big waste of money and time and totally not worth the effort.
Published 17 days ago by Kara Allen
4.0 out of 5 stars
You've got to want it.
This is a beautifully designed game, and if you're a fan of Dragnet or 50's-style noir, the world Rockstar has created is amazing. Read more
Published 24 days ago by DesertIslandDJ
1.0 out of 5 stars
So far 1
Bought for Windows 8... downloaded it and so far it does not work. I am pretty computer savvy and is I have all the latest updates and manually installed them and everything and it... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Max Roberts
5.0 out of 5 stars
Groundbreaking
I love this game. The facial mapping, the game-play, and the story line. Sure there are a few wholes in the plot but that's the only criticism I have, and that's just nitpicking. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Eric
3.0 out of 5 stars
la noire
I guess it wasn't what i was expecting.Everything seems a little slow for my speed.. Could not get passed the 3rd case because i was so bored. It is a well made game though
Published 2 months ago by Will
1.0 out of 5 stars
DISAPPOINTED!
It would be helpful to know that this game will not even start unless you are connected to the internet-which my game computer isn't. What a waste. Read more
Published 2 months ago by anonamoose
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Game
I played through the whole game and was very impressed by the graphics, facial expressions, and the acting. The acting is the best I've seen in any game ever. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Q. Li
1.0 out of 5 stars
Corrupt Liscense Error!!!
I gave it 1 Star simply because I cant rate something I never got a chance to play!!!! The game itself is great cause I've seen other ppl play it on youtube and it looked wonderful... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Meshee90
1.0 out of 5 stars
Mislabeled: actually a frustrating adventure in 21st century computer...
Wasted hours trying to install. I am very comfortable with windows, but there is no legal path forward to make this game playable on Windows 7 or higher. Read more
Published 2 months ago by CognitiveBen
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Platform: PC Download | Edition: Complete
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