L.A. Noire: The Complete Edition

Summary

L.A. Noire takes place in Los Angeles in 1947 and tasks the player, as a Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officer, with solving a variety of cases across five different divisions. Players must examine crime scenes for evidence, pursue leads, and interrogate suspects, with their performance in these tasks influencing how much of each case's narrative is uncovered. The game is heavily inspired by both the storytelling and visual style of film noir, a cinematic genre that gained popularity in the 1940s and 1950s and is known for its dark visuals and themes of crime and moral complexity. While the game features a unique color scheme, it also offers a black-and-white mode as a tribute to classic film noir. The story draws on key themes from detective and gangster films such as Key Largo, Chinatown, The Untouchables, The Black Dahlia, and L.A. Confidential. L.A. Noire is known for its use of MotionScan, a cutting-edge technology developed by Depth Analysis, which captured actors' facial expressions using 32 surrounding cameras to record every angle. This technology is essential to the game's interrogation system, where players must analyze suspects' reactions to determine if they're being truthful. L.A. Noire was the first video game to be featured at the Tribeca Film Festival. Upon its release, the game was widely praised for its storytelling innovations and advanced facial animation. By February 2012, the PC and console versions had sold nearly 5 million copies combined. In addition to the original game, L.A. Noire: The Complete Edition for PC includes a code that grants access to all previously released downloadable content from the console versions, such as the “Nicholson Electroplating” Arson case, the “Reefer Madness” Vice case, “The Consul’s Car” Traffic case, “The Naked City” Vice case, and “A Slip of the Tongue” Traffic case.

Storyline

Set against the backdrop of Hollywood's Golden Age in the aftermath of war, Cole Phelps, an LAPD detective, is thrust into a city overwhelmed by its own prosperity. Corruption runs deep, the drug trade is surging, and murder rates have never been higher. In his quest to rise through the ranks and uphold justice, Phelps must piece together the truth behind a series of arson cases, organized crime schemes, and violent killings. He'll face down the criminal underbelly of L.A. and even corrupt allies within his own department to expose a secret that could bring the city's rot to light.

Screenshots

Release dates by platform

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