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Rockstar's LA Noire has been shrouded in so much mystery that its very existence has been called into question. A recent casting call for actors not only confirms the game's continued development, but also reveals the many (if not all) characters to be featured in the game. The call asks for "STRONG ACTORS, able to handle LOTS OF dialog" for a cast of supporting characters, comprised mostly of detectives, police officers and the occasional crook.

The casting call is looking for a face similar to actors Gary Cooper or Gregory Peck (pictured above) for the protagonist -- Cole Phelps. Co-stars and supporting roles, such as jazz singer Elsa Lichtmann, will only be required to perform for 10 days or less. However, the actor chosen to play Cole Phelps will work for three months, from November to January, to record his performance for the game.

It's evident from the large roster of characters and the use of Hollywood actors that LA Noire is intended to be quite the cinematic game. However, with only three months of mocap, it still pales in comparison to the upcoming Heavy Rain -- which demanded nine months of motion capture work.

It's been a good long time since we've heard anything about Team Bondi and Rockstar's detective sim L.A. Noire -- we'd relish in even the smallest amount of evidence that the project still exists. Said evidence recently came in the form of 10 storyboards from an animation outfit known as Tui Studios -- you can check them out via the company's website, under the subheader appropriately named "Storyboards."

The images therein don't exactly give a conclusive inkling of the enigmatic title's plot -- but the stylish depiction of a bleak 1950s Los Angeles is enough to pique our interest. We've contacted Rockstar to see what the latest word on L.A. Noire is. Our ever-optimistic fingers are crossed for good news!
[Via VG247]

When last we heard anything on the Team Bondi (The Getaway folks) and Rockstar (the, um, GTA folks) aptly-titled film noire adventure, L.A. Noire, the game was rumored to be at least a year away (and, possibly, no longer exclusive to PS3). That was last September. Now its developer is staffing up for what might be a push to the finish.

Team Bondi's hiring page lists openings in multiple disciplines, including 3D modelers, game designers and a senior programming post. We're excited to see any sign of life coming from the project; we'll be even more excited if Rockstar makes a fall 2009 release announcement at E3.

[Thanks, Joe P.!]

Last week, the CEO of Tantalus and el presidente of the Game Developers' Association of Australia, Tom Crago made a few rumor waves in regards to Rockstar's long awaited, mysterious and PS3 exclusive L.A. Noire, saying that it'll also be making its way to the Xbox 360.

While chatting with Crago at GC Asia 2008, IGN reports that Crago mentioned that L.A. Noire was currently in development on both the PS3 and 360. Something that'd be very surprising seeing that Rockstar has said all along that L.A. Noire will be a PS3 exclusive and was partially being funded by Sony. But maybe the game's costs caught up with them?

And unless Rockstar directly addresses the game's rumored 360 release, we probably won't know the answer for quite the long time, because Crago suggested that L.A. Noire still has another year to cook in the development oven. Bum to that.

It's been a while since we heard from LA Noire, Team Bondi's mysterious noir game which was announced ... and well, that's about all. Originally announced for the PS3, it appears the game's incredible production costs may have transitioned it to a multiplatform title. Tom Crago, CEO of Team Bondi called their upcoming game as one of "the biggest budget videogame in development anywhere in the world. It would certainly ... in terms of console titles, be in the top ten... LA Noire is a massive massive project."

According to IGN, Crago supposedly mentioned the project was hitting both PS3 and Xbox 360. Could PS3 have lost yet another exclusive? We'll have to wait and see once Team Bondi makes an official statement.

[Thanks, frankym!]

The Rockstar-published L.A. Noire has been off our radars for a while, and possibly for good reason. Though the title was originally being developed by Team Bondi exclusively for PS3 -- and with full funding from Sony Computer Entertainment America -- rumor diva Surfer Girl believes that Sony may be no longer funding the film noir-esque title.

According to Surfer Girl, the potential decision to cease all funding may have come from Team Bondi's inability to meet deadlines. If the funding has in fact been stopped, there would be nothing stopping a release of the title on Xbox 360 as well -- if the title ever actually gets released. SCEA was the only source of funding for the game's development, meaning rough times could be ahead for the team if this rumor is true.

Surfer Girl also supplies a few more (possible) details about the title. The soundtrack is comprised largely of jazz music, and is comparable to GTA in terms of quantity. The developer hopes to fill the 1940s Los Angeles with a variety of NPCs, each entirely unique and featuring unique personalities and knowledge. The game's core mechanic comes from detective work, of which reactions are reportedly mixed. It all sounds very interesting, to be sure. We wonder if it'll ever see the light of day.

To think, we could almost see the detective clad in his tweed suit smoking a long cigarette while listening to a dame prattle on about her issues she needs a P.I. to look into. Ah, the good ol' days of Noire, we so were looking forward to you in the PS3 exclusive L.A. Noire. But Rockstar stomped all over these dreams recently, stating the title is going to miss the entire 2008 fiscal year, which effectively puts it into 2009. That's a long ways off.

It's not like we aren't used to hearing about a delay every now and then, but having a title pushed back into 2009 is fairly vicious for gamers. L.A. Noire takes a seat next to Resident Evil 5, it seems. Luckily, we're patient, as we'd like every game to take all the time it needs during development to mature and become the best it can. So, while we're upset that this game got delayed, we're not too concerned. It could've been Metal Gear Solid 4, after all. We'll manage!

[via Joystiq]

After what we imagine was a prolonged series of comically exaggerated high fives and hearty back pattings, the folks at Take-Two managed to sit down long enough to write up a report detailing their third quarter fiscal 2007 financial results. In fact, they were so excited after noting that critic's darling BioShock shipped an impressive 1.5 million copies – pulling the Xbox 360's attach rate even higher – they even called it their "new BioShock franchise." A franchise, eh?

Gamasutra notes that during a conference call with investors to discuss the results, they specified that BioShock could become a franchise on a "roughly two year interval," handily making up for the missing income their annual football franchise used to bring in. Of course, that's not all bad; the company's Grand Theft Auto games have followed a similar model and managed to remain well respected titles despite what could only be called some stagnation.

The execs also noted that the Rockstar and Team Bondi co-produced L.A. Noire, which was nowhere to be seen on the report's initial guidance for fiscal 2008, would not be released in fiscal 2008, which extends until 11/08. The game was previously listed as a PlayStation 3 exclusive for the fiscal '08 period.

Read – Take-Two Third Quarter Fiscal 2007 Financial Results
Read – BioShock Receives All-Time Highest Xbox 360 Ranking on Metacritic