L.A. Noire

[PZ]

... also shows my newest achievement, a posh suit with a fancy shoulder holster -

You look kind of like Frank Nitti  :-()

[Art Blade]

Interesting guy from Chicago known by the nickname The Enforcer, he was apparently far from what we know from the movies. What stands out is that he had been friends with Al Capone since almost childhood and later was Al's choice to run "the outfit" (mob organisation) while Al was put in jail. He was not a public guy and his organisational talents and brains were his capital although he knew how to use violence.

Apart from nice suits there is not much he has in common with Cole Phelps, the lead character of L.A. Noire, but thanks for the unexpected comparison because I first had to learn who he was  :) and so watched this (hopefully) good documentary about Frank Nitti:

Spoiler

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SeQWSjWXtM

[Art Blade]

Difficulty increases over time. The cases are more complex and interrogations comprised of more questions to be asked and answers to be evaluated. The last case, the Studio Secretary Murder, again required me to replay a case. This time it was necessary to interrogate suspect A before B although both were in interrogation rooms at the same time. I had to go back and forth between them and even do a phone call in between to solve the case with five stars.

Now I'm on my last murder case before moving to Vice :) This case is different. I am following a trail of clues all across the city, the Black Dahlia murderer is playing games with me. Coming to think of it, some of the previous cases made me wonder whether I really charged the right person with murder. It seems possible that we all were played by someone unknown.

However, in between, I enjoy the marvellous views and details. Driving a police car using the siren actually influences traffic: cars wait or pull to the side lane so I can race on. And I try to have fun -- my partner shouted, "you can't be serious!" when we got into this vehicle :-D
[smg id=5950 type=preview align=center caption="some fun ride"]

[PZ]

The visuals do appear to be quite spectacular.  It the game similar to the Fallout series in that you need to find and speak to people as the main thrust of the game?  That is the main reason that I lost interest in Fallout because I was not patient enough to listen to everyone's sob story.  :-()

[Art Blade]

I got you, PZ :-D

Yes, in a way it is similar. It is even far less of a shooter. I reckon that you spend most of the time without shooting. Within 56 hours of gameplay, I haven't yet killed a hundred people. Nearly, though, 94.. and 70 of 'em with a bullet between the eyes :-() and spent almost exactly one hour in gunfights and another five minutes in fistfights.

Most of the game (a case, respectively) works like this:

• Inspect the crime scene and find clues like a matchbook in the victim's handbag
• drive (or quicktravel) to the first new location; e.g. the address was imprinted on the matchbook and belongs to a bar
• talk to the barkeeper, he might give you names ("person of interest," POI) a time, an address..
• follow the clues you got
• sometimes you need to chase someone as they run or drive away when they spot you
• interview (on site) or interrogate (at the police station) those POIs and use your informations to rebut wrong statements
• search a POI's residence and find evidence such as blood stains on a white shirt..
• talk to all POIs and visit all related locations until it's time for the final interrogation
• conduct the final interrogation at the police central and prove someone is guilty
• case closed, go for the next one. Maybe do some free roam or some street crimes in between or during cases

[Art Blade]

OK, I got promoted for my last 5-star case (which was a tough thing, regarding my character's career, the case "never existed") and left homicide to join vice.

Here a pic from my last homicide (mass murderer) case. It is not a pic in any way related to preparing a juicy steak, though  :-D
[smg id=5951 type=preview align=center caption="black dahlia residence"]

[Art Blade]

I found PZ's most favourite secret hideout.  :-D
[smg id=5952 type=preview align=center caption="nibbles"]

[PZ]

  :-X

The game is beginning to look more appealing!

[Art Blade]

Fastest car in the game, a 1934's Duesenberg Walker coupé. Its top speed is 140mph. Most other cars in the game range somewhere around 100mph. Some are slower, some faster.
[smg id=5954 type=preview align=center caption="Duesenberg Walker coupe"]

showing the car in action

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vybJkFxJzyk

[fragger]

Great rundown so far, Art :-X Looks and sounds intriguing. Love the pics! 8)

Is the game open-world in terms of playing area, like a whole city as in the GTA games? Looks to be a pretty big area judging by your screenies.

[Art Blade]

Thanks, mate :)

And yes, on both aspects.

Only during parts of any given mission (e.g. having to interrogate someone or when inspecting a crime scene) you are somewhat restricted which makes sense. You can walk freely on a set, you have to discover clues and evidence, and after you're finished with that set you can do whatever you like until you choose to take on a new part of the case.

It works like this: You start a new case with a cutscene of a briefing and are given a first location, obviously the crime scene. Then you can do what you want and eventually you'll visit that crime scene which triggers a new cutscene. Usually you'll walk around in that restricted area to find evidence and clues and gather new goals, usually a new address. Then you are free again to do what you want until you want to visit that address, new cutscene, inspect the location and find more clues. From this point on, you'll usually have a couple of people you need to find and interview. Some of them try to escape which triggers a chase that takes as long as you take to stop someone which means it may be a short or a long chase. Some are on foot, others by car, or both. Rinse and repeat until you end up with a final part which usually means that you'll have to go to the police station and conduct a final interrogation in order to charge someone with something. Cutscenes are commonplace as the entire game is meant to be a movie that you play the lead character in.

Between visiting mission-related locations you may receive a radio call (only if you're driving in a police car) telling you about a crime in your vicinity (or you may check your map to see if currently there is a symbol for such a crime; they occur randomly) and you may choose to to participate in that. This is like a small case: Get there, cutscene, and either get into a firefight, a fistfight, or a chase on foot or by car, or any combination of it. Sometimes you have to follow someone without being seen. Cutscene, done.

You may explore Los Angeles whenever you like. There are hidden collectible things such as police badges, special cars and film reels and there are landmarks to discover.

Quite a few of the buildings are accessible and some ("dry cleaners") are access points to the subterranean railway tracks where you can walk around (careful, trains may catch you :-() ).

You can stop any vehicle at any time and take it so you can drive around with it; there are 95 different cars to have fun with. And of course you can walk around.

Here a stand-alone example of a dry cleaners building. You can open the front door, find another door inside to a staircase that leads several storeys down to the rail tracks (bloody hell, that IS far down).
[smg id=5955 type=preview align=center caption="cleaners subway entrance"]

[PZ]

Nice  :-X

In the video the car was heading toward the Hollywood sign in the hills, and that scene reminded me of a clip in "I Love Lucy" where they were in L.A.  Almost made me feel like I was there.

[Art Blade]

Historical facts:
The sign originally was an advertisement for a housing development and erected in 1923. It was only meant to last 18 months but already had become a landmark so they left it standing. Over time, it deteriorated and fell victim to vandalism and accidents rendering it quite a mess. In 1949, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and the City of Los Angeles Parks Department decided to repair and rebuild the sign which included removing "LAND" (and by that the roots of the advertisement) to read "HOLLYWOOD," the name of the district.

Here, I came to see it myself, using the same type of car as depicted in the video :)
[smg id=5956 type=preview align=center caption="Hollywoodland"]

[Art Blade]

Another fact: The HOLLYWOODLAND sign was illuminated with around 4,000 light bulbs and they used additional search lights. Here's a nice game screenie showing the sign at night :)
[smg id=5959 type=preview align=center caption="Hollywoodland2"]

[PZ]

I'm quite enjoying your screen captures.  I might even invest in the game just to wander the streets of old L.A.

[Art Blade]

I'm sure that you'd enjoy at least that and I also think that you'd enjoy the game itself. I know you like old movies, this is your chance to play a lead role in one of them  :-()

You'll even meet a character (during a street crime called "fatal plunge") who bloody damn well could be Orson Welles as Citizen Kane (1941)  ??? :)

Trivia: Orson Welles died in Los Angeles October 10, 1985.

[smg id=5962 type=preview align=center caption="Citizen Kane Orson Welles"]
[smg id=5963 type=preview align=center caption="Citizen Kane Orson Welles 2"]

[Art Blade]

PZ. check the previous post again, I edited it after you started viewing it.  :-D
[smg id=5964 type=preview align=center caption="random impression 01"]

[PZ]

I just did a quick check on the price of the complete edition for the PS3 and it was still $57!  That's steep for a game this old!

[Art Blade]

whoop.. indeed  ??? Maybe you can get a special offer like I did, by chance.
By the way, check this: the real Orson Welles as Citizen Kane.. doesn't the guy in the game look just like him?  :-X
[smg id=5965 type=full align=center caption="real Orson Welles Citizen Kane"]

copyright notice

This w@&k is in the public domain because it was published in the United States between 1923 and 1963 and although there may or may not have been a copyright notice, the copyright was not renewed. Unless its author has been dead for the required period, it is copyrighted in the countries or areas that do not apply the rule of the shorter term for US works, such as Canada (50 pma), Mainland China (50 pma, not Hong Kong or Macao), Germany (70 pma), Mexico (100 pma), Switzerland (70 pma), and other countries with individual treaties.

LA Noire - Walkthrough - Street Crime - Fatal Plunge

[PZ]

Yes he does!

I can get a used game for $$27 at Gamestop, but I might wait for a better deal.

[Art Blade]

indeed.. unless you can't wait  :-()

I edited the previous post adding a YT clip with said street crime, maybe you want to take a look.

[PZ]

Just did; that clip is kind of cool.  My partner reminds me of my little brown faction friends hanging out of the helos in JC2  :-()

[Art Blade]

:)

Actually, all of your partners are capable. I had several shoot-outs, needed to replay some, and my partners actually killed bad guys more than once and more than one  :) :-X

[Art Blade]

OK, meanwhile I finished vice, or, more to the point, I got played so it finished me. Now I'm demoted to arson and busy with pyromaniacs. Still, I got all cases rated 5 stars so far.

General tip
The game does a lot of autosaving for you but you've only got one savegame of the current game which is highlighted in bright green. The others serve for replay purposes. It is very helpful to frequently make and keep a backup of your latest savegame. Like that, you are able to override the actual savegame and reload a point before you screwed up  :-D

You can do that while the game is still running. Best bail out with ALT-TAB, override the current savegame with your backup, ALT-TAB back into the game and choose "quit." Like that, when you now choose "resume," the savegame will display the correct time stamp of your backup and you can indeed resume your last backed-up game. Extremely useful for achievements that require you to do something at the first attempt without failure or when you screwed up interviews/interrogations :) To get 5-star ratings, you'll really appreciate a proper backup strategy: When you start a case, make a separate backup so you may indeed start the case anew and not as a replay. Then, regarding the normal playthrough, save (backup) early, save often (and careful, don't backup screwed-up saves) :-()

However. Arson is quite something. I just finished my first case :)
[smg id=5966 type=preview align=center caption="arson 01"]

[PZ]

Excellent detective w@&k on that tip, Mr. Tracy  :-X +1