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