Touted as an atmospheric "detective thriller," Noire is a very different beast from publisher and co-developer Rockstar's previous open-worlders.

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Review

A defining moment in video games on this generation, and more than just because of its use of MotionScan technology. The free-roaming genre has become a little stale in recent years, yet LA Noire manages to inject a renewed sense of vigour to the scene and capably demonstrates that video games don't have to be just about your trigger skills.

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Review

This is vastly different from the countless first- and third-person shooters and all the "me too" open-world games sitting on store shelves. All the things I've only read about in Dashiell Hammett novels, or seen in film classics like Double Indemnity, have all come to interactive life in L.A. Noire.

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Review

There's something entrancing about the way this game plunges you into the violence, the corruption, and the sadness of post-war Los Angeles. Each of the four major desks has a remarkably different tone, and while the slow reveal of Phelps himself is the major narrative thread, it's equally true to say the dark heart of the city itself is an equally important protagonist.

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As an interactive movie, L.A. Noire stakes its claim as the best-written, best-acted, and most expansive of any I've ever seen.

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The fact of the matter is I have never played a game like L.A. Noire and chances are unless we may not again for a while, which after my countless hours with the game is a real shame.

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Review

L.A. Noire is everything that people expected it to be. It has a fantastic set of stories that drive the game from beginning to end, beautifully motion captured actors and enough gameplay elements to keep the gamer deeply involved. On top of this there is a large city to explore and enjoy. Rockstar certainly brought the goods with this one.

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Review

L.A. Noire is a bold release, because it defies the expectations not just for the type of game Rockstar usually releases, but also for the type of game that receives this degree of care and proficiency in its execution. The world already has enough open-world action games, but a game which marries that open world to such a methodical style of gameplay, with a budget this big, is a rare thing indeed.

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LA Noire is the first game to lack any such element which naggingly reminds you that you're playing a video game, rather than strolling through a film or TV series.

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Review

LA Noire is full of plot twists, great dialog and acting, and an experience that is like nothing I have ever played before. It may drag on a little towards the end, but each case is different enough and the characters are so believable and entertaining that you can't help but to do "just one more case."

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And if gaming’s holy grail is a thousand stories, well told, L.A. Noire might be the first to come within spitting distance.

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Review

LA Noire floors you out of the gate, loses some steam due to repetition, but eventually wins the day thanks to its subtlety, attention to detail, and stunning character interaction. It has a certain level of class to it and sets a new standard for storytelling in video games, but it's also a bit limited compared to its contemporaries.

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L.A. Noire may not always be "fun" in the traditional sense, but it's also unsatisfied with being "merely fun," and the result of that aspiration is something that no one who cares about video games should miss.

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Review

Add that sense of uniqueness and intelligence to the fact that L.A. Noire is a terrific bloody videogame, and you have what is guaranteed to be a classic for years to come. True maturity and narrative depth in mainstream gaming begins right here.

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If you thought games like Heavy Rain showed off crazy facial detail, you will be shocked what L.A. Noire has to offer.

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There are few games that I would attribute the word "important" to, but L.A. Noire is one of them.

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L.A. Noire presents a beautiful, innovative and overwhelmingly atmospheric re-jiggering of the adventure game genre.

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Review

L.A. Noire's absorbing investigations and intoxicating sense of style make it an unforgettable journey through the seamy side of the City of Angels.

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LA Noire is one of the most important games I’ve ever played.

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Fascinating story and characters

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Review

It's good to see the company broaden its horizons more and more; L.A. Noire plays its tropes well, and it's a fine exploration of the crime-adventure genre's flip side.

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L.A. Noire is ambitious. It throws the player headlong into a complex, emotional detective saga set in 1947 Los Angeles.

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Like many of the fictional detectives of the era, LA Noire is flawed, but it gets the job done. More importantly, if leaves you hoping for more adventures.

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In spite of its flaws, L.A. Noire is still easy to recommend based on its incredible presentation and new take on the old adventure genre.

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It reaches high and almost succeeds as a brilliant new type of video game narrative.

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The second this dame game came into my office, I knew it’d be trouble

L.A. Noire is a lot like Heavy Rain, and not just because they’re both mystery games.

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Searching for Meaning in the Faces of L.A. Noire

With its latest game L.A. Noire, Grand Theft Auto maker Rockstar Games has taken a significant step further, using pinpoint-precise motion-capture technology to record the faces of actors as they recite their lines.

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L.A. Noire may owe its vision of the city to Ellroy and others, but as a game, it can depict it in a way those others can't.

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Where it needs to improve is the design of its interrogation system.

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Noir is French for “black” and this game is a homage to “film noir” which was largely an accidental film genre, driven by the austere times directly after the war and into the late 1960's.

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In conclusion, there are definitely elements of L.A. Noire that work, and I think that the facial animation stuff will amaze just about everyone when they see it at work.

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L.A. Noire is a fairly dull detective game unnecessarily superimposed on an open-world.

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