L.A. Noire

"Blurs the line between video game and CG movie with a strong narrative, spot-on voice acting, and cinematic presentation."

―1Up.com, giving a perfect A to L.A. Noire.

L.A. Noire
Name:	L.A. Noire
Developer(s):	Team Bondi Rockstar Leeds
Publisher(s):	Rockstar Games
Release date:	May 17, 2011 (Consoles) November 8th, 2011 (PC)
Platform(s):	PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 PC
Engine:	Custom engine Havoc (Physics)
Series:	L.A. Noire
Protagonist:	Cole Phelps Jack Kelso
Mode(s):	Singleplayer
Date takes place:	1947
Location:	Los Angeles
Downloadable content:	The Naked City A Slip of the Tongue Nicholson Electroplating Reefer Madness The Consul's Car The Broderick The Sharpshooter Nickel Plated Pistol Chicago Piano Gun The Badge Pursuit Challenge

L.A. Noire is a crime game developed by Team Bondi and published by Rockstar Games. The game was first released on May 17, 2011 to both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was later released to the PC on 8 November 2011, as The Complete Edition.

Set in post-WW2 Los Angeles, L.A. Noire follows the stories of LAPD detective Cole Phelps and investigator Jack Kelso as they discover a large-scale conspiracy by the strongest men in the city - Suburban Redevelopment Fund. Throughout the game, the player mostly controls Phelps as he solves different crimes on several departments, while in the final hours of te game the player shifts from Phelps to Kelso as the two attempt to stop the SRF.

Upon release L.A. Noire received wide acclaim, scoring 89/100 on MetaCritic; critics highly praised its use of facial animation technology, deep and complex storyline, voice acting and presentation. The game went on to sell over 5 million copies by 2012. PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 Nintendo Switch PlayStation 4 Xbox One Microsoft Windows Rockstar Games Team Bondi

Plot

L.A. Noire follows the story of Cole Phelps, a former OCS Marine Lieutnant, who during the Battle of Okinawa won an Silver Star for an act of cowardice, which lead to him feeling guilty and disgraced over himself. After returning from the war, he got married and had two children with his wife, Marie, however he still felt horrible over what happened in the war and as a result, he sought personal redemption through protecting the pepole of Los Angeles as an police officer. Phelps starts out as an simple Beat cop, but eventually roses up in the police hierarchy.

Towards the end of the storyline, Phelps, his partner at the time, Hersche Biggs and Phelps' former war buddy, Jack Kelso, discover a vicious scam, run by

• property mogul Leland Monroe;

• doctor Harlan Fontaine;

• a journalist from one of L. A.'s newspapers;

• and the mayor of L. A.;

This scam consisted of:

• Constructing houses that were meant to be inhabited by war veterans with low quality materials;
• Getting someone to destroy these houses so they could be bought and sold again (Harlan Fontaine blackmailed the troubled war veteran, Ira Hogeboom into doing this in exchange for morphine);
• Buying the properties where the houses were going to be built at low prices and selling the houses at extra-high prices, thus making a big profit;
• Getting the mayor to secure these properties;
• And the journalist published the stories of the burnt down houses while never mentioning the names of the others involved in the scam.

In the last three cases, this changes dramatically:

• Ira continues burning houses down, though Leland and Harlan have already told him to stop;
• Harlan is killed by Ira after attacking Elsa Lichtmann, Phelps' affair;
• Leland's crew is killed in his mansion and Leland himself is wounded by Jack Kelso with the help of Jack's war companions;
• Kelso searches Ira's house and realizes Ira was part of his and Phelps' squad in the war (ironically, Ira was a flamethrower operator and got mind-troubled after seeing the killing of Japanese people in a burning down hospital, ordered by Phelps) and both, along with Herschel Biggs go to the L. A. Sewers to find Hogeboom and Elsa;
• When they get there after being chased by many police cars, Petersen, who was running for D. A. and was helping Kelso, accepts an offer made by the L.A.P.D. chief and turns corrupt;
• Kelso and Phelps rescue Elsa and Hogeboom, with his war uniform and flamethrower asks Kelso to get killed. Kelso kills him, much to Elsa's revolt. With the water level rising, because of the rain, Phelps decides to help Elsa and Kelso climb the sewers' roof first, and when the time comes for him to jump he says "Goodbye." and is taken away by the water, thus dying;
• In Phelps' funeral, Roy Earle, a corrupt cop, who had been Phelps' partner in the Vice desk and had betrayed Phelps' (by letting the Police's circle of power know of his extra-marital relation with Elsa, drawing away the attention from the burnt houses, and in exchange for a cut of the money of the house scam) gives a speech about Phelps' and a revolted Elsa calls Roy a "pig". This triggers a small dialogue between Herschel and Kelso:

"Go to her, will you Herschel?"

―Kelso

 

"...You were never his friend, Jack."

―Herschel

 

"I guess you're right...Herschel!"

―Kelso

 

"Yeah, Jack?"

―Herschel

 

"I was never his enemy."

―Kelso

 

"I think he knew that, Jack."

―Herschel

The storyline ends with Roy and Petersen shaking hands, revealing that Petersen has become corrupt as well.

Characters

Main article: Characters in L.A. Noire

See Also

• L.A. Noire on the L.A. Noire Wiki.