The recently released trailers and gameplay videos
have all delivered a taste of the seamless blend of crime scene
investigation, interrogation, cop show drama and action that permeates L.A. Noire.
However, it's not until someone's been handed the controller to play
for themselves, that the experience truly shines. This past week, the
gaming press got their first opportunity to experience a few cases on
the Homicide desk. Below is a sample from some of today's preview stories:
"Recently, I got my first opportunity to play L.A. Noire... It works
well, and if you get off track, your partner is there to spot things you
miss. It’s important to scour the location for every clue, as missing
things limits your options in subsequent interrogations.... L.A. Noire
is going to give gamers an experience unlike anything we’ve ever played
before." - Game Informer
"L.A. Noire is spectacular, both in looks and scope. Your first 10
minutes in the game will be spent in slack-jawed appreciation of its
stunning visuals. Then you'll forget about that as you're swept into a
game world full of clever storytelling, believable characters and
stimulating gameplay." - MSN
"In interrogation scenarios you have a first-person view, letting you
get a good look at every little bit of reaction as you ask your
questions. Based on those reactions and the evidence you've gathered,
you've got three options for a response: you can accept what they've
said at face value; you can express doubt they're telling the truth if
you've got a hunch that they're trying to pull the wool over your eyes;
or you can call them out for lying, if you have the evidence to back
that assertion up. The capture technology means this isn't so much a
gameplay trick, as a purely human skill--it's not a matter of learning
tells, or gameplay being shoehorned in; it's a matter of looking at
someone's face and telling if they're lying." - GameSpot
"As someone who's been looking forward to L.A. Noire since it was
first teased, I couldn't be happier with how the game is shaping up. The
presentation, the mechanics, the story, the performances, they're all
spot on. May 17 never seemed so far away." - G4
"It’s worth gushing over the MotionScan technology again here. The ground-breaking tech not only makes the characters appear and speak more
realistically than any game ever, but it sets the scene perfectly and
without it L.A. Noire would lose a lot of its appeal and well realised
environments. As a result, it’s far from ‘just’ a cosmetic feature...On
the whole, L.A. Noire is a breath of fresh air in this FPS filled
world, and finally getting to grips with the game has heightened our
anticipation for the game even more... Team Bondi and Rockstar seem to
be onto a winner with this crime-thriller." - GamesRadar
"‘L.A. Noire’ is great entertainment, to tell it straight. The
combination of witty dialogue, top-notch acting and of course amazing
new MotionScan technology delivers something unique. How about that – a
genuine first in how long? Yet it doesn’t feel like a gimmick, rather a
mature new direction that ushers new opportunities for interactive drama
of all kinds." - Yahoo Games UK
"It succeeds on all fronts, and this is not purely a result of the
believable facial animation, but also the authentic setting, gruesome
plot and stellar penmanship at work... Emotionally engaging and
presented in a raw, bloodied context, L.A. Noire has the makings of a
grim masterpiece, putting both its underlying tech and the talents of
its ensemble cast to superb use." - NowGamer
"At the first look stage, we were enthralled; now, having gone
hands-on, we're totally enamoured. It's one thing to present a genuinely
innovative gaming concept that redefines styles of gameplay as we know
them, and it's quite another to pull that concept off. Rockstar and Team
Bondi are doing precisely that with LA Noire and, quite honestly, we
can't write enough superlatives to describe how fresh and invigorating
it is to play." - TVG
Source: Rockstar Games Newswire
One of the