Trailer for Rockstar's LA Noire is Ellroy-esque
by Christopher Grant 
{ Oct 9th 2006 at 8:00AM }
LA Noire, Rockstar's latest, takes you out of the role of a late 20th century street thug breaking laws in locations as exotic as Liberty City, Vice City, and San Andreas, and dumps you into the role of a detective, solving "a series of gruesome murders" in a gritty black-and-white, 1940s Los Angeles.
LA Noire looks like the videogame love child of James Ellroy's Hollywood noirs, like LA Confidential, and the classic chiaroscuro of films like Double Indemnity. Toss in an open-ended city (Team Bondi, the developer, did work on The Getaway), some cinematic storytelling, and you've got something that certainly sounds like it follows the GTA formula. Let's call it Grand Theft Auto: Noir City. There's no gameplay on display here, so we're not sure if this is what we can expect the finished product to look like (it seems doable), or if this is just a "target render."
Noire is a next-gen title without any platform loyalties announced just yet, though some major sites seem to think it's been confirmed for the PS3. But with Grand Theft Auto dropping its long-standing exclusivity, like many other next-gen titles, the lack of a console name on the official site may be sign of an impending exclusivity mystery, ala Assassin's Creed.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
saboola @ Oct 9th 2006 2:18PM
The one thing about EA being so big is the fact that they can on occasion experiment with titles like this. I think it sounds cool and is a fantastic break from 2007
bob @ Oct 9th 2006 8:20AM
It would be stupid for them to make this game console exclusive at this point for the ps3. They won't have enough units out for them to make any money. I think it will be both an ms and sony game.
Chris Lawton @ Oct 9th 2006 8:56AM
God, I hope this game isn't PS3-exclusive, because that means I would have to buy one. I love Crime Noir, and the idea of playing an open-ended, sandbox game set within a gritty 1940's city is enough to satisfy me, without all the additional hassle of buying her breakfast.
Bring it to the X-Box360!
ben @ Oct 9th 2006 9:21AM
Wow, that looks awesome.
MysticX @ Oct 9th 2006 9:27AM
I want this game for the Wii!!!
Methane47 @ Oct 9th 2006 9:32AM
Ok Joystiq. I have to post this again But the reason why All major gaming sites have this linked to PS3 is because Team Bondi ORIGINALLY named the project as a PS3 project back in July 2005. http://ps3.ign.com/articles/634/634560p1.html
Here is the quote for people too laze to check the link
"July 18, 2005 - Australian developer Team Bondi has revealed the name of its first title. The studio's website now lists L.A. Noire, a "detective thriller" in development specifically for the PlayStation 3.
Brendan McNamara founded Team Bondi eighteen months ago after leaving Sony's London-based Team Soho studio, where he served as writer and director for The Getaway. McNamara's new studio now employs 44 developers.
The company isn't announcing any further details on L.A. Noire just yet, but we expect to hear plenty more soon."
So I'm willing to put $100 on the fact that Rockstar is forcing Team Bondi to produce the game for the Xbox360.
BrotherEstapol @ Oct 9th 2006 9:36AM
Rockstar are the publisher, Team Bondi are the Developer.
There-fore it's more Team Bondi's game than it is Rockstars.
It shits me how Publishers get credit for a game that they didn't make.
That said, without the publisher, the Developer wouldn't have the funding...
Aussie devs ftw!
BrotherEstapol @ Oct 9th 2006 9:39AM
Btw, this has been in development as a PS3 title since Q2 2005...got a mate working there.
Though they could have easily started developing for other platforms since then, I can say for certain that it's being developed for the PS3.
But of course, there's no reason to believe me since this is just a comments section in a blog ey? ;)
ihavenoideawhatisgoingon @ Oct 9th 2006 9:51AM
Back in 2005 though, It was OK to expect something to be exclusive to the PS3...then all hell broke loose with their delays and craptastic marketing and business decisions. Now, the only games i'd really expect to be exclusive (on any console!!!) are the first party published ones. There's really no reason for a 3rd party to go exclusive.
C. Grant @ Oct 9th 2006 9:49AM
Methane47: I know, but that information is counterfactual at this point. Rockstar is publishing it, they make the decision, and there is no announcement, so continuing to call it a PS3 title is inaccurate. Thanks for the link though!
BrotherEstapol: Agreed, but them's the rocks. You can't tell me this doesn't fit Rockstar's MO. I'm thrilled to hear Rockstar isn't developing it though ... hopefully we'll get something new!
Peter Davis @ Oct 9th 2006 10:14AM
BAH. ITS ALSO BEING DEVELOPED BY TEAM BONDI.
nobody has given poor Team Bondi any recognition, no wonder the Australian Games industry is taking too long to get up to where it should be.
C. Grant @ Oct 9th 2006 11:33AM
Peter Davis: You mean the part where I wrote "Team Bondi, the developer, did work on The Getaway" neglected to mention the developer's name? Whoops!
dantebk @ Oct 9th 2006 11:51AM
You had me at "open-ended game from Rockstar"
Firegirl @ Oct 9th 2006 1:06PM
This is a game I will be keeping an eye on. Sounds incredibly interesting and Rockstar makes good games!
saboola @ Oct 9th 2006 2:20PM
Er, this is not EA, still Rockstar same argument applies
Pince @ Oct 9th 2006 4:14PM
I love crime noir and there are not enough games that get the feel of it right. The crime noir elements of Max Payne 2 made that one of my favorite games. I'd love to see rockstar pull off that feel to an even greater degree.
Exclusivity seems unlikely. Might this be a simulataneous multi-console release for Rockstar...maybe even PC as well.
Lefty @ Oct 9th 2006 5:53PM
expect more games to be excluisve for the 360 and pc than will be only exclusive for ps3 from 3rd party devs. all explained here.
thats why we have seen many 3rd party games exclusive to the 360 and vista to date
http://lefly420-gamers-unite.blogspot.com/2006/10/microsoft-and-xbox-360-have-already.html
next rockstar has shown they want to reach that xbox installed base so expect this game to be multi plat