L.A Noire

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zadokAllen

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So, after years of waiting and few near-cancellations, it seems this thing will finally seem the light of the day in May.

Unfortunately, it`s only for consoles - perhaps sign of the New Videogame World Order and things to come. Such complex and huge title not finding it`s way to PC - which it would thrive on - is most worrying. It seems to be Rockstar`s new PC (non)policy - half assed GTA IV port, no Read Dead Redemption, and now this. Sad.

But, it`s shaping to be a great game anyway… Especially for someone like me, brought up on a Raymond Chandler diet of books :) Of course I don`t expect it to be anywhere near that mood - it`s Rockstar after all - but there`s not much alternatives. And gameplay might be really interesting, if it all comes together.

Recap - setting is 1940`s Los Angeles, recreated in sort-of-realistic-GTA style. Whats different from usual GTA shenanigans -driving/3rd person shooting is the bigger linearity caused by the fact you have cases to solve. Apparently interrogation, facial reading, searching/analyzing clues all play a role.

Here`s some McNamara`s comments and gameplay video
 
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Rockstar have released their games only on consoles at first since GTA3, it's nothing new. We'll probably get Red Dead Redemption and LA Noire ports a year or so after they came out originally.

Unless they are finally giving up on us now, after all the GTA4 bitching. That would suck. It's way too early to call that though. If Red Dead gets a complete collected edition with no word of a PC port THEN it's time to panic.
 
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Facial-tech is indeed extremely impressive - but they say players are gonna use it to tell truth from lie in interrogations. Controversial :)

As for PC edition I agree, it might still happen - it`s just the mood I`m reading after GTAIV is not, ahem, jubilant…
 
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Graphically, it sort of looks like a 1940s version of Heavy Rain.

It's not actually being developed by Rockstar though (a good thing imo), only published by them. Team Bondi is the developer.
 
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I'm looking forward to this game. I'll enjoy the investigative/detective aspects; that's right up my alley. I will also enjoy this era and the noir approach. I'm impressed with the facial animations, too. Emotional impact is lost when character's faces don't animate realistically. This looks like it could be a big step forward in that regard.

I didn't get into their earlier game, The Getaway, though, so I'm hoping the gameplay mix keeps my interest.
 
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Rockstar`s not the dev, but they saved this game from near-certain demise few years ago and I expect they call the shots on all major decisions. Seems Mr McNamara is one of these larger-than-life Molynesque`s characters…

There`s no chance it can be as dull as The Getaway thou :) Which I waited for long time as well, only to get sorely disappointed. (It did contain an obscure pub (now defunct) I managed, so kudos for that at least)
 
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Well The Getaway was developed by Team Soho. Afaik the only link between them is that McNamara fellow, who apparently did the writing for TG.

I never played The Getaway, but I know it didn't get very good reviews. Hopefully LA Noir is better.
 
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If Rockstar is not actually developing it then I would guess it will never come to PC, which sucks.
 
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Ah, Rockstar ... Anyone remember the sub-studio "Rockstar Vienna" ? ;)
What they did to them is something I'll never be able to forgive ...
 
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Rockstar Vienna? ZOMG - is this what became of `neo Software Produktions GmbH`???

Wow…I missed that…terrible fate. The Clue! is one of my favourite underdogs of all time :) Also Whale`s Voyage…forgot all about that :)
 
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JDR13 said:
Well The Getaway was developed by Team Soho. Afaik the only link between them is that McNamara fellow, who apparently did the writing for TG.
Click to expand...

Is that right? I thought LA Noire's developer was the same as The Getaway. I haven't kept up with the press much, though, so I could very well be mistaken.
 
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zadokAllen said:
Rockstar Vienna? ZOMG - is this what became of `neo Software Produktions GmbH`???

Wow…I missed that…terrible fate. The Clue! is one of my favourite underdogs of all time :) Also Whale`s Voyage…forgot all about that :)
Click to expand...

Yes, that's them !

And suddenly, without knowing, they stood before locked doors, and Rockstar had exchanged even the door's locks !

This was a scandal here - but apparently not where the headquarters of Rockstar are. So, no-one noticed the rage that was here, then.

There is - by the way, a freeware or fanmade port or version of "The Clue!" out there ... Forgot where it was ...
 
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McNamara was a writer/director for The Getaway and a general all-over-the-place git. It was a tormented title, not unlike L.A Noire - many years in development and fantastic claims. Their first preview in The Edge was mind-boggling, with PS3 like graphics in PS2`s early days and promise of living/breathing London recreated in tiniest detail.

It didn`t, ahem, quite work out like that…which is why I`m glad Rockstar stepped in for L.A Noire after Sony dumped them - this project would have imploded otherwise. Here`s some Twitter drama regarding the inner workings of Team Bondi. Of course, disgruntled employers are hardly credible sources, but if you followed this games` wobbles since 2005 announcement, it makes sense.

@Alrik
Eh nostalgia…I like my original Clue though, (and the 3d sequel) - one day will come back to it for sure, still haven`t pulled a successful caper yet :)
 
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Okay, so it is essentially the same developer, with the same lead director/writer, but minus some employees and with a new owner/manager (Rockstar). Got it.

I didn't know about all the drama around The Getaway. Yeah, it's good that Rockstar is overseeing.
 
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Anderson said:
Okay, so it is essentially the same developer, with the same lead director/writer, but minus some employees and with a new owner/manager (Rockstar). Got it.
Click to expand...

No. Not from what I can see anyways.

Team Soho is a British developer located in London. Team Bondi is based in Sydney, Australia. Other than McNamara, I'm not aware of any other connections between them.
 
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JDR13 said:
No. Not from what I can see anyways.

Team Soho is a British developer located in London. Team Bondi is based in Sydney, Australia. Other than McNamara, I'm not aware of any other connections between them.
Click to expand...

Team Bondi was founded by McNamara and a handful of ex-Team Soho employees.

Here's Brendan McNamara:

We've been in business [as Team Bondi] since 2004 basically when six of us came out from London to Sydney to start Team Bondi. And previous to that, we worked at Sony, where we had our own label within Sony called Team Soho. We made the Getaway for Playstation 2 and, when that did very well for us, we came out here.
Click to expand...

http://www.ifc.com/news/2011/02/interview-team-bondis-brendan.php
 
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Anderson said:
Team Bondi was founded by McNamara and a handful of ex-Team Soho employees.
Click to expand...

Ah, so there are also five others that were ex-Soho employees. That's a very small percentage considering the size of modern development teams though. Definitely nowhere close to being the same developer.

Still, I can understand your concern if you didn't like The Getaway, seeing as how McNamara might be calling all the shots.
 
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Well, as founding members, the percentage might belie their impact on the group. Founding members will often set the tone for subsequent hiring decisions. But no matter.

I didn't play The Getaway more than about an hour, so I didn't give it a fair opportunity. It seemed like a generic shooter to me, and I wasn't interested in that, and so I moved on quickly.

I'll give LA Noire a lot more time than that. It has more hooks in me already -- the detective aspects, the facial animation system, the understated tone, the noir atmosphere, the interrogations, etc.
 
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That's what I meant with my previous comment about McNamara. Although it still won't be the same group, unless they do all their hiring from Team Soho. ;)

Been watching some clips of The Getaway on Youtube. The driving sequences looked terrible imo, even by PS2 standards. Other parts of the game reminded me a little of Kane and Lynch, which was actually a decent game.
 
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