text: l.a. noire l.a. noire ( pronounced / / ) is a neo - noir detective video game developed by team bondi and published by rockstar games . it was initially released for the playstation 3 and xbox 360 platforms on 17 may 2011 ; a microsoft windows port was later released on 8 november 2011 . l.a. noire is set in los angeles in 1947 and challenges the player , controlling a los angeles police department ( lapd ) officer , to solve a range of cases across five divisions . players must investigate crime scenes for clues , follow up leads , and interrogate suspects , and the player 's success at these activities will impact how much of each case 's story is revealed . the game draws heavily from both the plot and aesthetic elements of film noir - stylistic films made popular in the 1940s and 1950s that share similar visual styles and themes , including crime and moral ambiguity - along with drawing inspiration from real - life crimes for its in - game cases , based upon what was reported by the los angeles media in 1947 . the game uses a distinctive colour palette , but in homage to film noir it includes the option to play the game in black and white . various plot elements reference the major themes of detective and mobster stories such as the naked city , chinatown , the untouchables , the black dahlia , and l.a. confidential . l.a. noire is notable for using depth analysis 's newly developed technology motionscan , whereby the actors portraying the game 's characters were recorded by 32 surrounding cameras to capture facial expressions from every angle . the technology is central to the game 's interrogation mechanic , as players must use the suspects ' reactions to questioning to judge whether or not they are lying . l.a. noire was the first video game to be shown at the tribeca film festival . upon release , the game received wide acclaim for its advances in storytelling and facial animation technology . as of february 2012 , both pc and console versions had shipped nearly 5 million copies combined . gameplay l.a. noire is an action - adventure neo - noir crime game played from a third - person perspective . players complete cases — linear scenarios with set objectives — to progress through the story . the game also features a mode which allows players to freely roam the open world . in this mode , players can also engage in optional activities . the world features multiple landmarks , which are all based on real monuments from 1940s los angeles . the game takes place in the city of los angeles , in the year 1947 , with players assuming the role of los angeles police department officer , and later detective , cole phelps . the game starts with phelps as a uniformed patrolman , and follows his career as he advances through the police department bureaus ( desks ) of traffic , homicide , vice and arson . each desk gives players a new partner who will help phelps in his investigation of a number of cases based on a specific type of crime . the game assigns players with cases that they must solve . after each case , players receive a rating of 1 – 5 stars depending on their performance in both interrogations and searching for clues . in some cases , when searching an area for clues to the crime , players can also find newspapers . besides reading the story , the newspapers give access to a short cinematic that either covers a part of the game 's overarching plot or a flashback to phelps ' war memories . near the end of the final desk , players assume control of private investigator jack kelso , who becomes the player character for most of the rest of the game ; although different in appearance and personality , he controls identically to phelps . the game blends investigative elements with fast - paced action sequences , including chases , combat , interrogations and gunfights . players use melee attacks and firearms to fight enemies , and may run , jump or use vehicles to navigate the world . in combat , auto - aim and a cover system can be used as assistance against enemies . should player characters take damage , the character 's health will gradually regenerate . weapons can only be used in appropriate circumstances , such as during firefights . when driving vehicles , players have the option to skip directly to the destination by nominating their partner as the driver . players can also ask the partner for directions . in addition to storyline cases , players may engage in an optional 40 side - investigations , known as street crimes , that are not related to the case that they are working on . suspects and witnesses in a case can be interrogated for information , when the interviewee responds , players are given the option to either believe them , doubt them , or accuse them of lying . if players accuse them of lying , they must submit evidence to prove it . when interrogating two suspects at the police station , players may decide who to charge with the crime ; charging the wrong suspect affects players ' end rating . players have the option to skip past an action sequence and continue through the narrative if they fail it three times . there is also a free roam mode called " the streets of l.a. " , which is unlocked after each crime desk is completed , except for the patrol desk . in this mode , the player and his partner are allowed to free roam the city of los angeles . the player can replay street crimes , find golden film reels , discover landmarks , collect hidden vehicles , find badges or just cruise around and listen to the radio . plot following the end of world war ii , cole phelps ( aaron staton ) , a decorated usmc veteran of the pacific campaign , returns to los angeles , california to live with his family while taking on work as a patrol officer of the lapd . in 1947 , working with his partner , officer ralph dunn ( rodney scott ) , phelps successfully solves a major murder case and impresses his superiors , who make him into a police detective . working alongside stefan bekowsky ( sean mcgowan ) in traffic , and then " rusty " galloway ( michael mcgrady ) in homicide , phelps earns a reputation for solving difficult cases that eventually land him a promotion into vice . during this time , he begins falling for german lounge singer elsa ( erika ) and soon has an affair with her . unknown to him , roy earle ( adam j. harrington ) , his partner in vice and a corrupt cop , uses this information to help several prominent figures in the city , including the chief of police , cover up a major scandal by making him a media scapegoat , in exchange for a place in a syndicate known as " the suburban redevelopment fund " ( srf ) - a development program that supplies homes for homecoming wwii veterans . when his adultery is exposed , phelps becomes disgraced in the lapd , while his wife ends their marriage . prior to his demotion to arson , phelps had found that several marines of his former unit had been selling morphine stolen from the ship that had taken them home , the ss , which had later led to most being assassinated by mobsters working for mickey cohen ( patrick fischler ) , who controlled the drug trade and had resented the competition ; most of the stolen drugs remains unaccounted for by the time he is demoted . while investigating a pair of suspicious house fires with his partner in arson , herschel biggs ( keith szarabajka ) , phelps notes a connection between them and a recent housing development , known as " elysian fields " , but is warned by earle to back off from tycoon developer , leland monroe ( john noble ) . seeking help to investigate the development , phelps advises elsa to refuse a life insurance payout in order to prompt his old comrade , jack kelso ( gil mckinney ) , now an investigator for the california fire & life insurance company , to look into the matter . kelso quickly discovers that the development is using unsuitable building materials , and after nearly being killed , becomes an investigator for the assistant d.a. whereupon he soon learn that monroe and his former employer , the owner of fire & life , are involved in the srf syndicate . kelso and phelps eventually learn from their investigations that the fund is merely a front to conceal its true purpose - to defraud the us federal government . run by several local businessmen , dignitaries , as well as monroe and even the chief of police , the syndicate had learnt about the proposed route for the whitnall parkway through the wilshire district of the city , and thus bought the land it would run through . monroe then built communities of " matchstick " houses , while fire & life falsely claimed the land was a higher value , knowing that the government would pay whatever the land was worth in order to gain eminent domain over it . further investigations reveals that courtney sheldon ( chad todhunter ) , a headstrong corpsman of phelps and kelso 's former unit , had been involved in the theft of the morphine , of which the remainder of it had been given to his mentor and pop - psychiatrist , harlan fontaine ( peter blomquist ) , who sold it on to finance the fund , while murdering sheldon after he began questioning the syndicate 's plans . following a shoot - out at monroe 's mansion , kelso quickly learns that the srf had used a former flamethrower operator from phelps ' and kelso 's unit , named ira hogeboom , to help them with their plans . hogeboom , who was suffering from ptsd and schizophrenia after inadvertently killing a large number of civilians on phelps ' orders during the battle of okinawa , had been unknowingly manipulated by fontaine to torch the houses of holdouts who refused to sell out to the srf , until eventually going insane after he inadvertently incinerates a house with an entire family inside . after learning that hogeboom had murdered fontaine and kidnapped elsa , phelps and kelso pursue him into the los angeles river tunnels as a heavy rain begins , fighting their way through corrupt policemen and thugs trying to stop them from exposing the srf scam . to help them , the assistant d.a. brokers a deal with the chief of police to keep his corruption silent , in exchange for his testimony against the other fund conspirators and a promise that no more police officers will pursue phelps . eventually the pair rescue elsa , with kelso killing hogeboom to put him out of his mental anguish . with the water level rising , the group struggle to find a way out of the tunnels before soon using an open manhole to escape . phelps quickly volunteers to lift kelso up through the manhole , but upon realising he cannot escape the rising water , bids his comrade a final goodbye before the current sweeps him away . whilst the srf scam is exposed , several members escape justice to attend phelps 's funeral , each delivering eulogies to his memory , much to the disgust of elsa , who walks out in a huff as earle gives his eulogy . as biggs prepares to go after her , he remarks to kelso that phelps was never his friend , to which kelso agrees but responds that he was never phelps ' enemy . an epilogue flashback scene soon reveals that kelso had known about the stolen morphine and sheldon 's involvement , after they and their other fellow marines found the surplus supply on their ship home . however , kelso refused to be involved in sheldon 's scheme to sell the drugs along with the other marines , telling them all that they will lose his respect for them as marines if they go through with the drug profiting , setting in motion the events of the game . development team bondi began to develop l.a. noire following their founding in 2004 . initially due to be published by sony computer entertainment , the publishing rights were later handed over to rockstar games in september 2006 . though team bondi oversaw development , the work was shared between team bondi and multiple rockstar studios around the world . unlike other games by rockstar , which run on their proprietary rockstar advanced game engine , l.a. noire uses a custom engine , which includes a combination of facial motion capture and animation software . the game is notable for being the first to use motionscan , developed by depth analysis . motionscan functions by recording actors with 32 surrounding cameras to capture facial expressions from every angle , resulting in a highly realistic recreation of a human face . the technology is central to the game 's interrogation mechanic , as players are required to use the suspects ' reactions to questioning to judge whether or not they are lying . analyst estimations place the game 's combined development and marketing budget at more than us $ 50 million , which would make it one of the most expensive video games ever made . the game is set in 1947 los angeles , and the open world was modelled accordingly . to model the city , the developers used aerial photographs taken by photographer robert spence . the team also used the photographs to create traffic patterns and public transport routes , as well as the location and condition of buildings . while striving to recreate an accurate model of 1947 los angeles , the team also took some artistic license , such as including the appearance of the film set for d. w. griffith 's intolerance ; the set had actually been dismantled in 1919 . in addition to recreating the city as it was in 1947 , all of the in - game cases that the developers worked upon were each inspired in some part by the actual real - life crimes that the city 's media reported on during that year . each of the game 's cases features at least a few of the real - life elements that were reported in newspaper articles of that time , with one example of a case that developers found inspiration for being the " red lipstick murder " . the case , part of the game 's homicide desk , is based upon the facts and elements that were mentioned in articles about the real - life , unsolved murder of jeanne french , a woman who was found dead in exactly the same conditions as the victim of the in - game case is found in , including the m.o. used on the victim , the state the body was left in , the lipstick message found on the body , and the initial suspect being the victim 's husband , yet the in - game case differs from this in that it is closed by the main protagonist and not becoming a cold case towards the end of its investigation . after a secretive audition process , aaron staton and gil mckinney were selected to portray protagonists cole phelps and jack kelso , respectively . their performances were mostly recorded using motion capture technology . in october 2003 , team bondi announced their first project , for " a next - generation sony platform " . in 2004 , mcnamara said that the project was wholly funded by sony computer entertainment america . the title of the game was not revealed until 2005 , when they announced that l.a. noire was to be released exclusively to the playstation 3 . in september 2006 , it was announced that rockstar games would be handling the publishing of the game . the debut trailer was released in november 2010 , followed by a behind - the - scenes development video the next month . the game missed its original projected " fiscal 2008 " release date , pushed back to september 2010 to allow for further polishing . this was later pushed to the first half of 2011 , and then narrowed down to march 2011 . later , the final release date of 17 may 2011 was confirmed . to spur pre - order game sales , rockstar collaborated with several retail outlets to provide pre - order bonuses . music production l.a. noire features an original score . the game 's score accompanies the gameplay , alerting players at specific times . like other games published by rockstar , l.a. noire also contains licensed music tracks provided by an in - game radio . over thirty songs , from artists such as billie holiday , louis armstrong and ella fitzgerald , feature in the game . to work on the score , the team engaged andrew hale and simon hale , as well as woody jackson , who had previously collaborated with the team on red dead redemption ( 2010 ) . recorded at abbey road studios , the score was inspired by orchestral scores from 1940s films . in addition to the original score and licensed tracks , the game also features original vocal recordings in order to create an authentic sound to suit the musical identity of the period . when the real tuesday weld were commissioned to compose the original compositions , they sought vocals that could " evoke the period " , ultimately falling upon claudia brücken . three vocal tracks were produced : " ( i always kill ) the things i love " , " guilty " , and " torched song " . the game 's score won the award for best original score at the 2012 bafta video games awards . additional content several standalone cases , collectibles and challenges for the game were released as downloadable content in the months following its release . " the naked city " , released on 31 may 2011 , is a standalone administrative vice case that follows the murder of a model . it is based on jules dassin 's 1948 film of the same name . " a slip of the tongue " , released on 31 may 2011 , is a traffic case that focuses on a grand theft auto . " nicholson " , released on 21 june 2011 , is an arson case based on the 1947 explosion of the o 'connor electro - company . " reefer madness " , released on 12 july 2011 , is a vice case that leads the detectives to further conspiracies about illegal operations . " the consul 's car " , released on 26 july 2011 , is a traffic case that follows a grand theft auto ; initially released exclusively for north american playstation 3 versions , " the consul 's car " was later made purchasable in europe , and eventually included in the complete edition . all in - game items initially available as pre - order content were also made available as downloadable content on 31 may 2011 : two suits , the broderick and the sharpshooter ; two guns , the nickel plated pistol and the chicago piano gun ; and the badge pursuit challenge , challenging players to collect badges placed around the game world . on 28 september 2011 , rockstar announced the pc version of the game , subtitled the complete edition , which was released on 8 november 2011 . it contained all downloadable content from the original versions . enhancements include keyboard remapping and gamepad functionality , increased fidelity , graphical enhancements , and stereoscopic 3d support . the complete edition was made available for consoles shortly afterwards . reception l.a. noire received " generally favorable " reviews , according to video game review aggregator metacritic . l.a. noire has been widely praised for its advances in storytelling and facial animation technology . the first review was published by uk newspaper the guardian , which awarded the game a perfect score , and stated " ever since it first worked out how to assemble pixels so that they resembled something more recognisable than aliens , the games industry has dreamed of creating one thing above all else – a game that is indistinguishable from a film , except that you can control the lead character . with l.a. noire , it just might , finally , have found the embodiment of that particular holy grail . " ign gave the game 8 . 5 out of 10 , stating " l.a. noire may not reach the emotional heights of a game like heavy rain , but it 's something everyone must try out . it reaches high and almost succeeds as a brilliant new type of video game narrative . " gametrailers gave the game a 9 . 1 out of 10 , concluding that " l.a. noire floors you out of the gate , loses some steam due to repetition , but eventually wins the day thanks to its subtlety , attention to detail , and stunning character interaction . " gamespot 's carolyn petit awarded the game a 9 out of 10 , concluding that " l.a. noire 's absorbing investigations and intoxicating sense of style make it an unforgettable journey through the seamy side of the city of angels . " gamezone gave the game an 8 . 5 / 10 , stating " the story is intriguing , albeit a little slow at first . l.a. noire takes an old school approach toward its storytelling . it ’ s a much slower approach , similar to older movies , with a heavy emphasis on detail . it is that attention to detail that sets l.a. noire apart from other games and makes it enjoyable to play . " edge praised the facial technology , and pointed out that while there are no other major aspects of the game that had not been done better elsewhere , the fact that team bondi had brought together such a wide range of game genres in such a stylish , atmospheric , and cohesive manner was an achievement that few developers had managed . joystiq gave the game a score of 9 , and stated that " l.a. noire may not always be ' fun ' in the traditional sense , but it 's also unsatisfied with being ' merely fun , ' and the result of that aspiration is something that no one who cares about video games should miss . " official playstation magazine gave it 9 out of 10 , and stated that " in many ways , l.a. noire is similar to an amc series ... it 's a slow build , but once hooked , we couldn 't get enough of this provocative adventure , with its compelling characters and innovative gameplay . it 's not perfect , but it 's also unlike anything else on the ps3 right now . " official xbox magazine gave it 8 out of 10 , and concluded with " yes , it 's flawed , but l.a. noire is an honest - to - goodness detective crime thriller – a genuine breath of fresh air that values narrative and story above all else in an age where scripted action sequences and online deathmatch rule the day . it 's the closest thing xbox has to playstation 's unique adventurer heavy rain . " gamesmaster gave the game 92 % , and concluded that l.a. noire is " rockstar 's most mature take on open - world fun to date , brought to life with incredible tech . " despite the overall positive reception , some reviewers thought that the game had too many redundancies in the cases and left too little control to the player , leading to the game being boring at times . although 1up gave it a perfect score , they also warned that the extended cut - scenes in the game could make some players feel they lost control of the action . responding to criticism that accused the character 's bodies of being lifeless , despite the game 's use of motion capture , brendan mcnamara , the game 's director and writer , stated in an interview with eurogamer , " people were saying people were dead from the neck down . that 's because we had all this animation in the neck and all this animation in the face , but the clothes don 't move . once you get to the level that people can actually see that level of realism , then people expect to see clothes moving and the rest of the body moving in a way we can 't replicate in video games . " in the same interview mcnamara also responded to queries about why phelps sometimes responds with particularly aggressive lines of dialogue during interrogation scenes . " it 's funny . a lot of people say aaron turns into a psycho . when we originally wrote the game the questions you asked were coax , force and lie . it was actually force because it was a more aggressive answer . that 's the way we recorded it . but when the game came out it was truth , doubt or lie . everyone always says aaron on the second question is a psycho . so that 's not his fault . " at the bafta video game awards 2012 , l.a. noire won the award for best original score , the game was also nominated in seven other categories . sales on the day of the game 's u.s. release , shares in take - two interactive , rockstar games ' parent company , closed up 7 . 75 % on the day ; a three - year high for the company . the rise was attributed to the positive reviews that l.a. noire had been receiving . in the last available figures from february 2012 , the game had shipped almost 5 million copies . according to npd group , l.a. noire was the best - selling game in the united states in may 2011 , at 899 , 000 copies across the playstation 3 and xbox 360 . l.a. noire went straight to top of the uk games chart and became the fastest selling new intellectual property in the uk ( a record it held until the 2014 release of watch dogs ) . it stayed top of the uk game chart for three weeks . in australia , video game stores in major cities reported that the game was going out of stock after a week . l.a. noire debuted in japan for the week of 4 – 10 july and sold a combined 71 , 057 units on playstation 3 and xbox 360 . the playstation 3 version topped the chart , with 58 , 436 units sold , and the xbox 360 version moved 12 , 621 units . possible sequel on 22 may 2011 , mcnamara said that a sequel to l.a. noire would take less than the five years it took to develop the first as the technology already exists . he also stated that they are considering using the motionscan technology for full body performances rather than only faces . the same week , in an investor conference call , take - two interactive ceo strauss zelnick said that l.a. noire was " a very successful release " and that they " have every reason to believe that l.a. noire is another strong franchise for this company " . he reiterated that they " do see l.a. noire as a powerful new franchise " . during an investor call in november 2011 , zelnick re - iterated the importance of the game to take - two , stating that the game " has become an important franchise for the company . " he announced that the game was take - two 's " most successful new release " in the past fiscal year and has become a key property in its portfolio . also in november 2011 , it was announced that mcnamara 's next game would be titled whore of the orient , described as " one of the great untold stories of the 20th century " . it was to be published by studios , but was confirmed to be cancelled in june 2016 . on 13 february 2012 , rockstar games answered numerous fan questions about their games , including a question regarding the future of the l.a. noire franchise . rockstar said that they are " considering what the future may hold for l.a. noire as a series " , adding that they " don 't always rush to make sequels " . they also announced that no further dlc or additional content would be developed for the current edition . in march 2013 , karl slatoff , chief operating officer of take - two interactive , revealed that the company has an " extensive pipeline of unannounced titles in development " and mentioned that the l.a. noire franchise was important to the company .