Amidst all the Super Bowl hoopla and general laziness that most of us participated in this past weekend some interesting info popped up concerning L.A. Noire. Last week we got a look at the Game Informer cover story and a promise that the game will feature “revolutionary” facial animation. Not only do we have some details on what L.A. Noire is doing on the gameplay and technical front but we also have a potential release date for Rockstar’s noir adventure.
Thanks to IGN spilling some details on the Game Informer cover story the noir tale of L.A. Noire is now known. Players assume the role of beat cop Cole Philips in 1947. Like most cops in the late 1940’s Cole is a cop who’s trying to clean the streets of the violence and corruption that fills them. But as Cole rises through the ranks of the police department (I mean this literally as Cole will start out as a traffic cop) he’ll have to face his own personal demons from WWII as he tries to clean the streets.
Game Informer wasn’t shown any of the actual gunplay or melee combat L.A. Noire offers but they did get a look at the crime solving aspect of the game. Obviously as a police officer it’s up to you to solve the grisly murders that happen but L.A. Noire is presenting how you solve the cases in an extremely real and un-game like manner.
Instead of having key items in a crime scene highlighted for the player or having a special “detective mode” ability players will have to use their natural abilities and gut instincts if they hope to solve a case. An example that was given in Game Informer was that if a pair of glasses is on the ground the player will have to actually pick them up and make note of any details that they offer. Any details the player gleams from crime scene items are jotted down in a notepad which can be brought up at anytime, something that's a bit similar to Drake’s notepad in Uncharted.
Once the player has found a perp to interrogate that’s where L.A. Noire’s “groundbreaking” facial animation system comes in to play. In a combination of motion capture techniques all of the facial animation and core acting for L.A. Noire is performed with actors wearing their characters’ wardrobe as they act the scene out as dozens of cameras capture their performance. This data, along with their voice tracks, is uploaded into the game and doesn’t require the aid of any additional animation.
Having this 1:1 match of an actor’s performance and seeing subtle details will be key in the actual interrogation sequences of the game as the player has to rely on the facial movements they see to decide if someone is telling the truth or if perhaps they need to push harder to get the facts. With such a heavy reliance on having convincing facial animation it almost seems like that’s the crux of whether or not L.A. Noire will fail or become a massive hit.
With an original concept and ambitious game goals some may think that L.A. Noire is a late 2010 or early 2011 release, especially with its troubled development. Thanks to Geoff Keighley divulging what was stated in the Game Informer story L.A. Noire is set for a September release. Obviously this date is subject to change but it would be wise for the game to perhaps stay away from the crowded winter release window since it's a new IP. It’ll be interesting to see if L.A. Noire is perhaps taking the release spot for Max Payne 3 which was rumored to have been set for an August/September as well but based on development problems was most likely going to miss that date.
For more details and images on L.A. Noire check out Game Informer's latest issue which should be available on newstands next week.
With Mega Man 10 recently released it seems like a good time for reflection. ShogunGamer would like to ask of you all the following: Which of the Mega Man series would you say was your favorite? There’s plenty to choose from with all the sub-series that became available through the years. But which of those will reign supreme?