August 20, 2025 • 33 mins
We dive into LA Noire, Rockstar Games' often overlooked 2011 detective thriller that pioneered facial animation technology but struggled to become a true classic.
• LA Noire was revolutionary for its MotionScan facial animation system, creating unprecedented realism for interrogation scenes
• The game's "Truth, Doubt, Lie" system became iconic but often led to unexpectedly aggressive responses from protagonist Cole Phelps
• Many cases were inspired by real 1940s Los Angeles crimes, showing Team Bondi's commitment to historical authenticity
• While individual detective cases shine, the overarching narrative struggles with cohesion and too many competing storylines
• The 1947 Los Angeles open world looks impressive but feels empty compared to other Rockstar titles
• Combat and action sequences are merely serviceable, with the detective work being the game's true strength
• The award-winning soundtrack perfectly captures the noir atmosphere and remains one of the game's highlights
• Despite its flaws, LA Noire scored well with critics (89 on Metacritic) and deserves recognition for its ambition
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to your go-to source for entertainment.
Wait for it Gaming.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Wait for it.
Anime PLUS ULTRA.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Mr Eric Almighty and Phil the Filipino.
Yeah, they've got you covered,and all you gotta do is wait for
it.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
This is the Wait For it Podcast.
Hey, everyone, welcome back tothe Wait For it Podcast.
I'm your co-host, phil Barrera,aka Phil the Filipino.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
And I'm your other co-host, mr Eric Almighty, and
for this edition of the GameRoom, where it Happens, we are
talking about a classic, I wouldsay underrated gem back in 2011
.
Rockstar Games you know thatwe're waiting on GTA 6, so why
not reminisce about a game thatpeople don't talk about enough?
(01:00):
And that game, phil, is LANoire.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Yeah, 2011 release, published by Rockstar, developed
by Team Bondi, and this is agame that now you know.
Obviously it's very much memed,one specific meme that pops up
quite a bit when you think of LANoire.
But what a lot of people haveforgotten in the almost 15 years
since it released is that itwas kind of a cutting edge game
(01:25):
in terms of trying new things.
Did those things work?
Maybe to varying levels ofsuccess, which we will talk
about.
We have a very uniqueperspective here because Eric
has been streaming this gameover on the Wait For it Twitch.
So, if you want to, if youlisten to this episode, I
believe there'll be one more LANoire stream that you can check
out if you're listening to thison the day of release.
(01:47):
But, yeah, eric, a veryinteresting game and honestly,
it kind of like bums me outbecause I just don't know that
Rockstar is going to take a shoton something like this again in
the future.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
So I've been playing the game recently a lot and I
think when I say underrated forits time, it's underrated
because going back to play itlike I definitely I've got a lot
of mixed feelings all stillpretty positive, which is why we
wanted to do this episode, butit's been really eye-opening to
see, like, what that game wastrying to do back in 2011.
(02:21):
So I think it's going to be aninteresting discussion that
we're going to have phil, havingnot played the game since then,
and then me with a fresh pairof eyes in 2025, like does this
game hold up?
Uh, the answer is yes and no,so very excited to kind of talk
about that and talk through whatyou remember and what I've
noticed since we played it backthen yeah, I was working at
(02:44):
gamestop at the time when thisgame came out.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
It got the Game Informer treatment, you know,
first or main cover as far asthe game coming out, and, yeah,
it was a big deal as far as thethings that this game was trying
to accomplish.
So let's go ahead and get intoit here.
If you want to know where youcan find the rest of our
(03:06):
episodes, as well as all of ourGame Room episodes, make sure
you stick around to the very endand we'll give you a reminder
as to where you can find all ofthat.
But yeah, eric, let's get intoit.
La Noire 2011,.
Like I said, published byRockstar Games.
La Noire is a detectivethriller set in 1947, los
Angeles, where you play as ColePhelps, an LAPD officer working
his way through cases inspiredby real crimes of the era.
(03:30):
Using groundbreaking facialanimation, you'll investigate
crime scenes, interrogatesuspects and uncover a city
where glamour and corruptionwalk hand in hand.
So yeah, eric, are we adoptingthe three takeaway system for
this episode?
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Yeah, why not?
Let's do that.
We didn't really talk aboutthat, but that actually.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
I mean that kind of makes sense all around, yeah.
Yeah, cool.
Well, let's start with thefacial animation and technology
there first, because that's themost important.
That's one of the first things,if not the first thing, that
people talk about when it comesto LA Noire is the motion scan
system, and it deliveredunprecedented realistic facial
(04:12):
expressions and they actuallydid not use like Rockstar's
typical engine.
I can't remember the name of itoff the top of my head, but
that is what people think ofwhen it comes to this game, and
a lot of people also bring upEric, that uncanny valley effect
.
So again, I have.
Only I have not played the gamesince it has released.
(04:32):
You have more recently seenthis and you actually are
playing LA Noire in its rawestform, because the re-release did
not come out on PC, which isstrange.
Not sure why they didn't dothat.
So you're playing this game asit released in 2011.
So what was it like going backto that and seeing that facial
animation and technology?
Do you still get that likesomething doesn't look right
(04:54):
feeling, or did it not botheryou as much?
Speaker 1 (04:57):
So it's definitely interesting because that's when
we talk about the highs and thelows.
This game definitely has a lotof them and with the facial
recognition, all I thought ofwas that being like the thing I
remembered the most about thisgame.
Going back to it, it's a littleclunky at times, but I do think
it's still very impressive forthe time.
(05:19):
Like, I definitely see whatthey were doing there and I
would love to see what that kindof like role play environment
would be, where it would be alittle bit more seamless, like
when I'm playing the game.
You would have the characterdisplay a lot of emotions and
then there'd be a pause or abreak and then they'd start
(05:41):
making faces as you're trying totell.
Are they telling the truth?
Are they doubting?
Are they just straight up lying?
Can you prove that?
That's an interesting aspect initself, but getting to see the
faces, while they are prettydecent, sometimes that cut
between the statement they makeor the expression they had.
It doesn't always line up inthe moment and that leads to you
(06:04):
know some and probablypurposefully so leads to a
little bit of confusion on whatthey're actually intending, and
obviously that's a mechanic ofthe game.
But I think because it came outin 2011,.
Some of it was just before itstime and it does come across a
little clunky, a little goofy attimes and I don't think that
(06:25):
was the intention back then.
Just the limits of thetechnology back then.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Yeah, do you remember in the museum episode of the
Last of Us, part Two, where youcan go to the mirror and make a
bunch of faces as Ellie, kind oflike that?
That's what's happening.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
In LA Noire?
Are you pro or anti-PolarExpress?
I can't remember.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
I mean I guess I would say pro just because, like
, I do sit down and watch itwhen it's on.
So yeah, I'd say pro, come onnow.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
So you know a lot of people you know bring up that
Beowulf is like another projectthat people bring up when it
comes to like the strangeuncanny valley effect here.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Adventures of Tintin.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Tintin, yeah, when it comes to like the strange
uncanny valley effect here.
So, adventures of tintin tintin, yeah, we very much enjoyed
tintin.
Tintin probably fit right rightinto this world, actually, at
least to to.
I mean, I'd play the hell outof a tintin game.
Actually, now I think, oh,that's uncharted, never mind,
anyway, we're getting away fromthe beat, but, yeah, something
about it.
Even looking back at it allthis time later just seems a
little off.
Also, I don't know if thiswould have affected your
(07:28):
gameplay, eric, but when theyupdated the game in 2017, when
they re-released it, theychanged the truth, doubt and lie
to good cop, bad cop and oh mygosh, what was the last thing?
Good cop, bad cop and a thirdoption, but they changed those
options as far as functionalitygoes, when you're in the
(07:50):
interrogation scenes.
Do you think that that wouldhave altered your gameplay a
little bit?
Because there were a lot ofpeople that had criticisms about
doubt, because it would justmake Cole just get really
aggressive.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
So that was actually.
I'll provide what you weremissing there and then I'll also
, okay, go to my takeaway, whichis is cole a good guy?
Is he a good cop at all?
Uh, is he a no nonsense, likestay by the law kind of guy?
I don't know, because he he'slike unnecessarily aggressive I
(08:24):
I remember that about the game.
I now know it's just like sounwarranted, it's so so
unwarranted.
So I guess they changed it.
Truth, doubt and lie are nowgood cop, bad cop and accused.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
Accused that's what it was.
Yeah, accused.
You're like, well, you're a fatpiece of shit, you're going to
die alone, tell me the truth.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
I'd say personally good cop, bad cop accused.
I would like to play that wayand, honestly, now that I have
those in my brain because Ididn't know they made those
changes on the new version orthe updated version that's going
to help me.
It really is.
So I don't think truth, doubtor lie is very effective because
(09:06):
Cole gets so aggressive ondoubt.
That's obviously the meme.
The other thing is it's hard toreally know when to do truth or
lie, like you want to like getsomeone caught.
But sometimes what I noticedwith the game is you might not
know, you have the evidence, itmight not be very obvious, so it
(09:26):
like makes you really hesitantand then your two choices most
times are truth or doubt andthat's where you run into that
really delicate balance ofsometimes you'll just select
truth because you know Cole'sgoing to be a complete asshole
and you're like I don't, some ofthese people will not talk to
you anymore, like they'll justlike you're an I don't, and some
of these people will not talkto you anymore like they'll just
(09:47):
like you're an asshole, I'm nottalking to you, and it's kind
of a crazy dynamic againsomething that I love about the
mechanic of the game but inexecution, playing it in 2025.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
It is definitely a frustration point for me yeah, I
think I saw that of thedialogue.
The correct answer is doubt.
So you know they do lean onthat quite a bit, so, and you
can tell that the voice actorhad a lot of fun doing it as
well, as far as like kind ofgoing off the rails.
This is also a sidetrack area.
(10:18):
This is very heavily inspiredby a lot of obviously noir based
films, and I would like to addla confidential to our late to
the party list, so something Idefinitely would like to like
dive into in the future.
But yeah, the good cop, bad copaccused system is much better.
I would have liked to play that.
I'm it's.
It's nice that they added thatupdate in the remaster.
(10:40):
They also added all the dlc, soI don't know that I would,
after this episode, like Ireally don't have the desire to
go back and play it on likePlayStation or or on Xbox.
So, uh, you know, just gettingto dive into the game and
learning more about it has beena lot of fun, though.
But yeah, that is aninteresting question.
Like is Cole.
(11:01):
Like he is kind of like brandedas this do everything by the
book, but he's just soaggressive and when you learn
more about his backstory.
I'm not sure how far into hisbackstory you've gotten or that
you recalled.
You know he's gone through alot of shit, but still, like he,
I would like to do like afull-on doubt run.
You should just doubt everybodyon your next playthrough.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
Just get all that dialogue just get it out of the
way.
Well, I'll be right 45% of thetime, apparently.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
That's almost half, so it's almost a guarantee.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Something to consider .
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Well, what is your?
Those are our first takeaways.
I'll throw it back to you.
What's your second takeaway?
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Yeah.
So for my second takeaway, Ithink in playing this game, one
of the things that I don'tremember about this game is the
story, and I think when we talkabout some of the narrative
structure with this story, thisis where we kind of get into the
lower lows, where again a lotof stuff is like highs and lows
or just highs, and I think, whenit comes to the gameplay, you
(11:59):
know we'll get into that.
I'm sure at some point that'sgot a mixture.
The story, I think, is mainlyjust lows, not the detective
cases, though that's where thosekind of stick at a high, and I
think there is some realism inthat.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but Ithink there is some reality into
those cases, like real worldcases, like things that actually
(12:21):
happened that they pulled from,and it can get really dark, and
in those moments, you know youkind of appreciate what the game
is doing, unfortunately, due tothe times and the settings.
You know kind of appreciatewhat the game is doing,
unfortunately, due to the timesand the settings, you know
everybody really hates women andanybody of ethnicity, like
ethnic background, so it's uh,it's tough in that aspect too.
(12:41):
The story, though, at its corewhat it's trying to tell.
I guess is weird, phil, becauseI'm not all the way so I don't
remember every moment of it, butthe story is really wonky
between all the detective caseswhich each individually
introduce you to characters andsettings and scenarios that are
(13:03):
interesting.
But there's this like flashbackstory because he went to World
War II and you're reading thesenewspapers which also has like a
separate side story that Ithink does tie in to the main
story.
Potentially, phil I'm not surewhat you gathered from your
research you might be able togive some more input on the
overarching theme, but for me,just playing about eight hours
(13:27):
of it on stream, it was my leastfavorite part and all these
years later, before I evertouched the game again, the
story was the thing I forgotabout the most and I could kind
of tell why now.
So that's my second takeaway isdetective work and what you're
doing when you're on patroltraffic you go to um homicide
(13:47):
and then like arson, like thosethings are all really
interesting individually, but inthe grand scheme of things,
story-wise, this is not why Iwanted to play this game again
yeah, we're pretty much inlockstep here in terms of our
second takeaway, so we'll justblend them together here.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
so, yeah, to talk about what you first had
mentioned, a lot of, a lot ofresearch went into creating this
game.
You could tell they definitelywanted to make this like a love
letter to that era.
A lot of the in-game cases wereinspired by actual cases, a lot
of real life headlines.
Some of the things that theyactually got from newspapers
(14:22):
back in the day were actuallyjust too silly to fit the theme
of the game.
They went through a bunch ofnewspaper archives, sitting
sifting through like the losangeles times, they they spoke
with retired lapd officers,things like that nature.
So all of that really shinesthrough.
But I think, in terms of justmaking a cohesive narrative,
(14:44):
because they're trying to juggle, like you said, the backstory
and also the current day.
You know they also reference,like the Black Dahlia killer If
you're a true crime aficionado,the Black Dahlia, that's like
one of like it's like one of themain true crime stories that's
out there.
So they try to like branch itinto this alternate timeline of
(15:04):
if that continued to happen.
So I think they're justjuggling a lot and because the
project is so ambitious thatmaybe that's why it fell a
little short when it came to thestory.
Because, yeah, the final wholestory does go back into Cole's
days in the war and honestly,it's like it's not that
(15:25):
interesting, to be honest withyou, and because there are so
many horror stories from thatera, cole's isn't particularly
like harrowing, you know, andand also we've already touched
on it already like is he evenreally the most likable guy?
You know who's really likable?
Is his first partner, his firstpartner when he gets to traffic
(15:46):
, I think is probably hisstrongest partner out of all of
them, and but he's not our maincharacter, so that's that's a
problem.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
They're more shitty as we go on.
I think yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
And then that's that plays into the the corruption
story that they're playing.
And so you're dealing withcorruption and an up and coming
cop and he's got a tainted pastand you know there's serial
killers and all this going on.
And then there's serial killers, all and all this going on, and
and then there's the plot.
Have you gotten to the plotabout the shitty houses that are
being built like?
Have you gotten?
Speaker 1 (16:16):
to that point?
I don't know that part.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Yeah, so there's that , you know.
So there's just.
So they're juggling so much andthat is something that you
expect from a rock star game,but remember, they're just
they're publishing this game.
They're not developing,developing it.
So, like Team Bondi, I thinktheir only other, their big
notable game is, I think, thegetaway game, which is a good
game, but, like you know, it wasjust a lot to juggle,
(16:39):
especially again 2011.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
Yeah, it's really one of those things where I think
you know it's the age of thegame showing itself, but also
like it's just not as cohesiveas some of those bigger titles.
So while this game is like anunderrated gem, it is also kind
of understandable that it wasn'ta big market game, like it's
not a big game like a grandtheft auto or a red dev
(17:04):
redemption.
I can understand that a littlebit more now, having played it
after all these years.
But that was my uh, you knowsecond takeaway, phil.
What was uh?
Yours was also pretty much thesame, so why don't I throw it
back to you for the third, uhand final takeaway that you had?
Speaker 2 (17:21):
yeah, for the third, it's kind of both again, like we
already talked about.
It's like they're both highsand lows, positives and
negatives.
I do very much like that.
They like the detective stuff.
I think they nailed like someof our favorite parts about the
Arkham series is doing thedetective work like we.
I would play the hell out of adetective focused Batman game
where you do imagine doing likethis style of interrogation is
(17:44):
Batman.
I think that would be reallyreally interesting, except we
would just be like where arethey?
We just do that over and overagain.
Doubt, just doubt, doubt, doubton Batman over and over again.
So I really enjoyed that, likeI, in terms of investigating a
crime, because you could miss apiece of evidence and it
completely changes yourplaythrough or your gameplay and
(18:07):
it can be the differencebetween you solving and not
solving a case or getting abetter score when it all comes
down to it.
Unfortunately, with it being arock star game, even though it's
not like really encouraging youto explore, it's got a very
empty, open world, so just kindof tying that into gameplay as
well.
And even though, once again,not the focus I don't remember
(18:29):
the shooting being especiallyfine-tuned this game really
shines in terms of, again, thedetective work.
I think some of the chasesequences were pretty
interesting.
A lot of those and a lot of thecases are like, especially, I
think, once you get to HomicideEra correct me if I'm wrong are
really lengthy, and that's good.
These cases can sometimes takein real life obviously weeks,
(18:53):
months, years, so obviously youhave to condense that down in a
video game.
But it's fun that they actuallyagain are doing their due
diligence and making it seemlike you're investigating real
crimes and I think that's wherethe game really shines.
And unfortunately it ishampered by, quote-unquote, an
open world, even though thislike didn't need to be an open
world game.
Like the way the Mafia gamesare open world, like those don't
(19:13):
need to be open world either.
I would have been OK with uswith with LA Noire telling us
where to go and just having areally and it does have a really
pretty backdrop when it comesto LA, but you know, just a
little empty.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Yeah, it could have been a little bit more linear in
that aspect.
I will say I didn't drive verywell in this game.
I don't drive well, I think, ingeneral in games.
I really struggled in this one.
So I very much, because I wasalso just tired of having to
constantly ask I know it soundslike a great mechanic, but in
execution again, not in thisgame Asking your passenger side
(19:52):
who knows the directions, likehey, when take a left?
But you have to keep clicking xto initiate that discussion,
and then they're also talkingduring the drive as well, so you
have to find like when is theright time to interrupt.
And then you're crashing allover the place, like the amount
of city damages that I causedwas just a nightmare.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
so you're a liability here.
You're off the force yeah, so.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
So open world not great.
I also got to explore a littlebit of it on foot because on
twitch a patron of the show,briar, uh, redeemed channel
points where I couldn't drivefor five minutes.
So I just walked and ran intopeople, which was a little
entertaining, uh, but got oldvery, very quick.
And all that to say, I agreewith you, phil, on everything
(20:31):
you mentioned.
I could kind of reinforce whatyou were feeling from back then,
because the open world is veryempty.
You do get some stuff you canrun into and like it's like a
bank robbery you can stop or ashootout you can join, but
that's not enticing enough to goout there into the world,
unfortunately.
And then on top of that, thecombat is the weaker part of
(20:55):
Rockstar's library as far asI've been familiar with.
It's doable, it's okay, butyeah, the combat is not exactly
fine-tuned, it's justserviceable, which definitely is
an issue.
But even though there are somehighs and lows there, I think
one of the high highs and, phil,you talked about the 1940s vibe
(21:18):
and noir, obviously vibe ofthis game, the high for me is
the music and that is thatoriginal score and soundtrack
that was created.
This is a soundtrack that haswon awards, it's been remixed,
it's had a lot of notoriety andpopularity.
I would say it's how somepeople even learned of the game
(21:40):
and phil.
The music set the tone so muchthroughout the game, which is
exactly what they were trying todo.
They didn't want to make it amechanic of the game.
They really wanted it to setthe mood and I think they
definitely executed that.
At no time did I really feeldisengaged with the music.
It just always felt like areally positive part of the
(22:01):
experience of the game itself,and I think I had to mention it
here.
We can mention great music in alot of video games, but this
one's so crucial to the wholetheme and vibe that I think it
just has to be probably my lasttakeaway and it's probably the
most positive takeaway when wetalk about the high highs of
this game.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
Yeah, that's also a thing that, once again, it's
prevalent in like the mafiagames, like in modern GTA, like
I'll always find myself eitherturning off the radio or
flipping through the stationuntil I can find something
that's like not making my earsbleed.
But here, like, there's a lotof licensed music.
You know, like Louis Armstrongis in there and I never remember
(22:43):
like wanting to shut that off,which again, is why I'd like to
do a little bit more of a deepdive into some of these older
films that definitely inspiredLA Noire, so yeah, and also even
coming down to the sound design, like when you in an
interrogation and there's like alittle audio cue.
Like even that stuff is really,really nice and again, akin to
(23:03):
those movies from those style offilms.
So, yeah, I'm really glad thatyou pointed that out, because
the score is outstanding, thelicensed music is great and,
yeah, really it brings the gameto life in a way that again, its
streets unfortunately do not.
So, yeah, you know, I thinkthey were like on the cusp of
(23:24):
something very, very special andagain, it is groundbreaking
what they were able to pull off,but maybe a little bit better
writing, a little fine tuningwhen it comes to the gameplay
and we probably would have hadsomething that would be talked
about in the same vein as someof like the GTA fours, the Red
(23:45):
Deads, along those lines whenyou talk about Rockstar.
But unfortunately it's like,right there, I'm like I think
that B tier.
I think it's a really good game.
That could have been great.
So I want to kind of bring itback around to what I had
mentioned in the very beginningof the episode, eric is do you
see Rockstar taking another shotat something like this?
(24:06):
Again, they're just publishershere.
They're not developing thisgame, but like we know what red
dead and especially, of course,grand theft auto 6 being on the
horizon, like they had a, thatspy game that was supposed to
come out at one point thatrockstar was developing, that
just disappeared from the faceof the earth.
It was called agent and it'sjust gone now.
So like, do you ever foreseerockstar ever doing something
(24:30):
outside of the red dead or gtabox ever again?
Speaker 1 (24:34):
probably not.
I mean, I'm actually surprisedthey haven't made this more of a
game mechanic in anotherfranchise, like a grand theft
auto, like I could easily seethem just like throwing it in
there.
The facial recognition thing II don't think that's something
they're going back to the wellfor, and maybe that has to do
with the fact that this game gotdelayed so much and maybe that
(24:55):
had something to do with it, butI don't know that there's
really going to be an audiencethat's waiting for like an la
noir 2.
I think if they were going todo it, it would be a completely
brand new franchise or propertythat would have a similar
element or theme.
If this game could have alittle bit more substance in the
open world, like a grand theftauto, and a little bit more of a
(25:18):
cohesive story like a red devredemption.
With the elements it has,there's a masterpiece of a game
here, and playing this game in2025 pretty fun, pretty fun.
I'm not like dreading it, likeI'm not dreading to play this
game just for content or justfor the episode, like I had a
really good time with it.
Some of them are lengthy andsometimes it doesn't feel like
(25:40):
the consequences are fully there, like I always felt like when I
did really good, I felt goodabout myself, but when I did
shitty and I still managed tofinish the mission, I didn't
really love that aspect of it,which is why I think our main
point or takeaway is that thisgame could have been more linear
.
I think if it really had thebacking of Rockstar and its
(26:01):
technology and all of the IPthat it has, I think they could
take elements from a lot ofgames that they perfected and
they could make a really greatLA Noire sequel.
I just don't think from 2011 to2025, I just don't think
there's been an appetite for itand that's why we haven't seen
it and I keep bringing them up.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
But it's just kind of like in the same vein.
But, like I just think themafia games fill this role now
and even though obviously you'renot a detective, it does fill
in terms of like a period piece,like GTA is covering current
day, red Dead is covering theWild West and Mafia covers the
Mafia.
Because, as you were talkingabout an LA Noire 2, I was like,
(26:42):
oh yeah, think about how coolit would be if they did a
different era, like when Chicagowas like run by gangs.
I was like that's Mafia, that'salready Mafia.
So I mean, I guess it could bea little bit different doing it
from the perspective of adetective.
I think that could be veryinteresting.
But yeah, 15 years removed fromthe game, one remaster it
hasn't been remastered over andover again like a grand theft
(27:05):
auto.
So la noir is probably going tosit by itself, unfortunately,
but not a terrible game andsomething that I would consider
revisiting, like if I everreally really got into my
library.
But it's good to still talkabout it because it has seen a
little bit of a resurgence interms of like YouTube
(27:26):
documentaries Shout out to thosethat I watched getting prepared
for this episode, but yeah, Imean it was very well received
for its time.
Eric, we'll go over the scoresbefore we wrap up the episode.
The Metacritic score is at an89, which obviously is very,
very good.
Edge, eurogamer and Edge andEurogaming gave it an 8 out of
(27:48):
10.
Game Informer 8.75.
It's got a couple of perfectscores from like GamePro and the
Guardian seven five.
It's got a couple perfectscores from like game pro and
the guardian ign 8.5 out of 10.
So game spot 9 out of 10.
So yeah, very much wellreceived, and for good reason,
like you said.
As far as those because likeour negatives are just like,
they're not terrible, they'rejust like man I wish they.
(28:09):
If they had just done a littlebit more fine-tuned a couple
things, this could have been aclassic.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
So, yeah, still still a very good game and was and
reviewed very well as well yes,I, I definitely would say that's
the overarching theme is thatthis is a good game with flaws,
but I think those flaws have toreally do with its time period
of when it was developed andwhen it released.
So, you, you know, phil,there's a lot of reminiscing
(28:35):
going on for this particulargame.
But, you know, without goingover like the individual cases
and individual characters andreally going into that type of a
breakdown, which isn't what weset out to do here, I think
we've kind of summarizedeverything we wanted to for our
Reminisce episode of LA Noireand when this episode drops, the
day it drops, I'll definitelybe streaming this at least one
(28:56):
more time because it is a reallygood time to play.
So if this is a game that's onyour radar to play for the first
time, or you're just like usand you remember it fondly, I
would recommend checking it outin 2025.
I think there's definitelystill some fun to be had here.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
Do you want to talk about the ending before we end?
Do you remember the ending?
Speaker 1 (29:17):
I think he dies right .
Yes, yes.
Speaker 2 (29:19):
Okay, he does die and he very later on in the game.
Again, this ties all back tohis World War II days, like a
guy that he had served withkidnaps a woman.
And then they get into thesewers and then, like you play
like the last hour or two of thegame, not as somebody else, and
I just remember being like whatwe spent all this time with
(29:42):
Cole and he does sacrificehimself.
But, yeah, again, story stuffthat just like you could have
done better, just just missed alittle bit.
But yeah, you get swept away inthe in the Los Angeles sewers.
Not a great way to go.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
And maybe I mean, was it a final, like a finality
death, or was it like open-ended, because you never know?
Speaker 2 (30:04):
I don't know.
They had a funeral for him.
I think the body was in thecasket.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
Did they show?
Speaker 2 (30:09):
it.
That's the thing.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
No, it was not open casket.
Okay, well, I'm saying now itcould be a witness protection
living a whole new life.
You know, they could again,they could make it happen if
they really wanted to.
But yeah, cold felts willreturn I.
I remember the sewer stuff atthe end and like the chase, but
yeah, I don't really againremember much memorable about
the story, that that that wouldhave served a real purpose or
like given me a lot of emotionalimpact.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
So let's also be honest at one point.
A lot of these white peoplelook the same in the 40s.
Listen which one, uh, which oneof these, which one of my
partners is that there's theskinny one and the fat one.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
I'm not.
You're not lying.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
But yeah, but that's LA Noire.
Folks, have you played thisgame recently?
Would you play it again andwould you like to see this type
of game, or even an LA Noire 2,in the future?
We'd love to hear from you.
So make sure you click the link.
Tree link Boy.
I'm going to tell you guys I'msick, no-transcript.
(31:39):
Those are very helpful for thelifeblood of the show and we
thank you so much.
But if you find yourselfwanting to get a little bit more
from the podcast, maybe gettingepisodes early and even having
a hand in the content that werelease, Eric will let you know
a little bit about that Beforewe get out of here.
I'm going to lay down.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
If all of that sounds amazing and you have way more
energy than Phil, bring that onover to our Patreon, where
patrons of the show Briar T3Kato, vintage Macaroni, corey from
the World Is my Burrito and NickCasparo, the author of the
Vidularium series are supportingus monthly on that platform in
exchange for behind the scenesand early access to episodes
(32:19):
like this one.
The month of october iscurrently planned to be patreon
month, and it's the second onewe've done this year where our
patrons of the show will be ableto select games and other forms
of media, like movies and shows, to recommend, and we're to
cover them here on the podcast.
But if that's not somethingyou're interested in or you're
not in a position to do so, allthe free stuff that Phil
(32:42):
mentioned really helps quite abit.
With all that being said, thatis the end of our episode and
Phil needs a nap, so pleaseremember that we release new
episodes every Wednesday.
I'm Mr Eric Almighty, it's Philthe Filipino, and all you gotta
do is wait for it.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
This is the Wait For it Podcast.
Welcome to your go-to source for entertainment.
Wait for it Gaming.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Wait for it.
Anime PLUS ULTRA.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Mr Eric Almighty and Phil the Filipino.
Yeah, they've got you covered,and all you gotta do is wait for
it.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
This is the Wait For it Podcast.
Hey, everyone, welcome back tothe Wait For it Podcast.
I'm your co-host, phil Barrera,aka Phil the Filipino.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
And I'm your other co-host, mr Eric Almighty, and
for this edition of the GameRoom, where it Happens, we are
talking about a classic, I wouldsay underrated gem back in 2011
.
Rockstar Games you know thatwe're waiting on GTA 6, so why
not reminisce about a game thatpeople don't talk about enough?
(01:00):
And that game, phil, is LANoire.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Yeah, 2011 release, published by Rockstar, developed
by Team Bondi, and this is agame that now you know.
Obviously it's very much memed,one specific meme that pops up
quite a bit when you think of LANoire.
But what a lot of people haveforgotten in the almost 15 years
since it released is that itwas kind of a cutting edge game
(01:25):
in terms of trying new things.
Did those things work?
Maybe to varying levels ofsuccess, which we will talk
about.
We have a very uniqueperspective here because Eric
has been streaming this gameover on the Wait For it Twitch.
So, if you want to, if youlisten to this episode, I
believe there'll be one more LANoire stream that you can check
out if you're listening to thison the day of release.
(01:47):
But, yeah, eric, a veryinteresting game and honestly,
it kind of like bums me outbecause I just don't know that
Rockstar is going to take a shoton something like this again in
the future.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
So I've been playing the game recently a lot and I
think when I say underrated forits time, it's underrated
because going back to play itlike I definitely I've got a lot
of mixed feelings all stillpretty positive, which is why we
wanted to do this episode, butit's been really eye-opening to
see, like, what that game wastrying to do back in 2011.
(02:21):
So I think it's going to be aninteresting discussion that
we're going to have phil, havingnot played the game since then,
and then me with a fresh pairof eyes in 2025, like does this
game hold up?
Uh, the answer is yes and no,so very excited to kind of talk
about that and talk through whatyou remember and what I've
noticed since we played it backthen yeah, I was working at
(02:44):
gamestop at the time when thisgame came out.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
It got the Game Informer treatment, you know,
first or main cover as far asthe game coming out, and, yeah,
it was a big deal as far as thethings that this game was trying
to accomplish.
So let's go ahead and get intoit here.
If you want to know where youcan find the rest of our
(03:06):
episodes, as well as all of ourGame Room episodes, make sure
you stick around to the very endand we'll give you a reminder
as to where you can find all ofthat.
But yeah, eric, let's get intoit.
La Noire 2011,.
Like I said, published byRockstar Games.
La Noire is a detectivethriller set in 1947, los
Angeles, where you play as ColePhelps, an LAPD officer working
his way through cases inspiredby real crimes of the era.
(03:30):
Using groundbreaking facialanimation, you'll investigate
crime scenes, interrogatesuspects and uncover a city
where glamour and corruptionwalk hand in hand.
So yeah, eric, are we adoptingthe three takeaway system for
this episode?
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Yeah, why not?
Let's do that.
We didn't really talk aboutthat, but that actually.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
I mean that kind of makes sense all around, yeah.
Yeah, cool.
Well, let's start with thefacial animation and technology
there first, because that's themost important.
That's one of the first things,if not the first thing, that
people talk about when it comesto LA Noire is the motion scan
system, and it deliveredunprecedented realistic facial
(04:12):
expressions and they actuallydid not use like Rockstar's
typical engine.
I can't remember the name of itoff the top of my head, but
that is what people think ofwhen it comes to this game, and
a lot of people also bring upEric, that uncanny valley effect
.
So again, I have.
Only I have not played the gamesince it has released.
(04:32):
You have more recently seenthis and you actually are
playing LA Noire in its rawestform, because the re-release did
not come out on PC, which isstrange.
Not sure why they didn't dothat.
So you're playing this game asit released in 2011.
So what was it like going backto that and seeing that facial
animation and technology?
Do you still get that likesomething doesn't look right
(04:54):
feeling, or did it not botheryou as much?
Speaker 1 (04:57):
So it's definitely interesting because that's when
we talk about the highs and thelows.
This game definitely has a lotof them and with the facial
recognition, all I thought ofwas that being like the thing I
remembered the most about thisgame.
Going back to it, it's a littleclunky at times, but I do think
it's still very impressive forthe time.
(05:19):
Like, I definitely see whatthey were doing there and I
would love to see what that kindof like role play environment
would be, where it would be alittle bit more seamless, like
when I'm playing the game.
You would have the characterdisplay a lot of emotions and
then there'd be a pause or abreak and then they'd start
(05:41):
making faces as you're trying totell.
Are they telling the truth?
Are they doubting?
Are they just straight up lying?
Can you prove that?
That's an interesting aspect initself, but getting to see the
faces, while they are prettydecent, sometimes that cut
between the statement they makeor the expression they had.
It doesn't always line up inthe moment and that leads to you
(06:04):
know some and probablypurposefully so leads to a
little bit of confusion on whatthey're actually intending, and
obviously that's a mechanic ofthe game.
But I think because it came outin 2011,.
Some of it was just before itstime and it does come across a
little clunky, a little goofy attimes and I don't think that
(06:25):
was the intention back then.
Just the limits of thetechnology back then.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Yeah, do you remember in the museum episode of the
Last of Us, part Two, where youcan go to the mirror and make a
bunch of faces as Ellie, kind oflike that?
That's what's happening.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
In LA Noire?
Are you pro or anti-PolarExpress?
I can't remember.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
I mean I guess I would say pro just because, like
, I do sit down and watch itwhen it's on.
So yeah, I'd say pro, come onnow.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
So you know a lot of people you know bring up that
Beowulf is like another projectthat people bring up when it
comes to like the strangeuncanny valley effect here.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Adventures of Tintin.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Tintin, yeah, when it comes to like the strange
uncanny valley effect here.
So, adventures of tintin tintin, yeah, we very much enjoyed
tintin.
Tintin probably fit right rightinto this world, actually, at
least to to.
I mean, I'd play the hell outof a tintin game.
Actually, now I think, oh,that's uncharted, never mind,
anyway, we're getting away fromthe beat, but, yeah, something
about it.
Even looking back at it allthis time later just seems a
little off.
Also, I don't know if thiswould have affected your
(07:28):
gameplay, eric, but when theyupdated the game in 2017, when
they re-released it, theychanged the truth, doubt and lie
to good cop, bad cop and oh mygosh, what was the last thing?
Good cop, bad cop and a thirdoption, but they changed those
options as far as functionalitygoes, when you're in the
(07:50):
interrogation scenes.
Do you think that that wouldhave altered your gameplay a
little bit?
Because there were a lot ofpeople that had criticisms about
doubt, because it would justmake Cole just get really
aggressive.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
So that was actually.
I'll provide what you weremissing there and then I'll also
, okay, go to my takeaway, whichis is cole a good guy?
Is he a good cop at all?
Uh, is he a no nonsense, likestay by the law kind of guy?
I don't know, because he he'slike unnecessarily aggressive I
(08:24):
I remember that about the game.
I now know it's just like sounwarranted, it's so so
unwarranted.
So I guess they changed it.
Truth, doubt and lie are nowgood cop, bad cop and accused.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
Accused that's what it was.
Yeah, accused.
You're like, well, you're a fatpiece of shit, you're going to
die alone, tell me the truth.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
I'd say personally good cop, bad cop accused.
I would like to play that wayand, honestly, now that I have
those in my brain because Ididn't know they made those
changes on the new version orthe updated version that's going
to help me.
It really is.
So I don't think truth, doubtor lie is very effective because
(09:06):
Cole gets so aggressive ondoubt.
That's obviously the meme.
The other thing is it's hard toreally know when to do truth or
lie, like you want to like getsomeone caught.
But sometimes what I noticedwith the game is you might not
know, you have the evidence, itmight not be very obvious, so it
(09:26):
like makes you really hesitantand then your two choices most
times are truth or doubt andthat's where you run into that
really delicate balance ofsometimes you'll just select
truth because you know Cole'sgoing to be a complete asshole
and you're like I don't, some ofthese people will not talk to
you anymore, like they'll justlike you're an I don't, and some
of these people will not talkto you anymore like they'll just
(09:47):
like you're an asshole, I'm nottalking to you, and it's kind
of a crazy dynamic againsomething that I love about the
mechanic of the game but inexecution, playing it in 2025.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
It is definitely a frustration point for me yeah, I
think I saw that of thedialogue.
The correct answer is doubt.
So you know they do lean onthat quite a bit, so, and you
can tell that the voice actorhad a lot of fun doing it as
well, as far as like kind ofgoing off the rails.
This is also a sidetrack area.
(10:18):
This is very heavily inspiredby a lot of obviously noir based
films, and I would like to addla confidential to our late to
the party list, so something Idefinitely would like to like
dive into in the future.
But yeah, the good cop, bad copaccused system is much better.
I would have liked to play that.
I'm it's.
It's nice that they added thatupdate in the remaster.
(10:40):
They also added all the dlc, soI don't know that I would,
after this episode, like Ireally don't have the desire to
go back and play it on likePlayStation or or on Xbox.
So, uh, you know, just gettingto dive into the game and
learning more about it has beena lot of fun, though.
But yeah, that is aninteresting question.
Like is Cole.
(11:01):
Like he is kind of like brandedas this do everything by the
book, but he's just soaggressive and when you learn
more about his backstory.
I'm not sure how far into hisbackstory you've gotten or that
you recalled.
You know he's gone through alot of shit, but still, like he,
I would like to do like afull-on doubt run.
You should just doubt everybodyon your next playthrough.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
Just get all that dialogue just get it out of the
way.
Well, I'll be right 45% of thetime, apparently.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
That's almost half, so it's almost a guarantee.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Something to consider .
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Well, what is your?
Those are our first takeaways.
I'll throw it back to you.
What's your second takeaway?
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Yeah.
So for my second takeaway, Ithink in playing this game, one
of the things that I don'tremember about this game is the
story, and I think when we talkabout some of the narrative
structure with this story, thisis where we kind of get into the
lower lows, where again a lotof stuff is like highs and lows
or just highs, and I think, whenit comes to the gameplay, you
(11:59):
know we'll get into that.
I'm sure at some point that'sgot a mixture.
The story, I think, is mainlyjust lows, not the detective
cases, though that's where thosekind of stick at a high, and I
think there is some realism inthat.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but Ithink there is some reality into
those cases, like real worldcases, like things that actually
(12:21):
happened that they pulled from,and it can get really dark, and
in those moments, you know youkind of appreciate what the game
is doing, unfortunately, due tothe times and the settings.
You know kind of appreciatewhat the game is doing,
unfortunately, due to the timesand the settings, you know
everybody really hates women andanybody of ethnicity, like
ethnic background, so it's uh,it's tough in that aspect too.
(12:41):
The story, though, at its corewhat it's trying to tell.
I guess is weird, phil, becauseI'm not all the way so I don't
remember every moment of it, butthe story is really wonky
between all the detective caseswhich each individually
introduce you to characters andsettings and scenarios that are
(13:03):
interesting.
But there's this like flashbackstory because he went to World
War II and you're reading thesenewspapers which also has like a
separate side story that Ithink does tie in to the main
story.
Potentially, phil I'm not surewhat you gathered from your
research you might be able togive some more input on the
overarching theme, but for me,just playing about eight hours
(13:27):
of it on stream, it was my leastfavorite part and all these
years later, before I evertouched the game again, the
story was the thing I forgotabout the most and I could kind
of tell why now.
So that's my second takeaway isdetective work and what you're
doing when you're on patroltraffic you go to um homicide
(13:47):
and then like arson, like thosethings are all really
interesting individually, but inthe grand scheme of things,
story-wise, this is not why Iwanted to play this game again
yeah, we're pretty much inlockstep here in terms of our
second takeaway, so we'll justblend them together here.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
so, yeah, to talk about what you first had
mentioned, a lot of, a lot ofresearch went into creating this
game.
You could tell they definitelywanted to make this like a love
letter to that era.
A lot of the in-game cases wereinspired by actual cases, a lot
of real life headlines.
Some of the things that theyactually got from newspapers
(14:22):
back in the day were actuallyjust too silly to fit the theme
of the game.
They went through a bunch ofnewspaper archives, sitting
sifting through like the losangeles times, they they spoke
with retired lapd officers,things like that nature.
So all of that really shinesthrough.
But I think, in terms of justmaking a cohesive narrative,
(14:44):
because they're trying to juggle, like you said, the backstory
and also the current day.
You know they also reference,like the Black Dahlia killer If
you're a true crime aficionado,the Black Dahlia, that's like
one of like it's like one of themain true crime stories that's
out there.
So they try to like branch itinto this alternate timeline of
(15:04):
if that continued to happen.
So I think they're justjuggling a lot and because the
project is so ambitious thatmaybe that's why it fell a
little short when it came to thestory.
Because, yeah, the final wholestory does go back into Cole's
days in the war and honestly,it's like it's not that
(15:25):
interesting, to be honest withyou, and because there are so
many horror stories from thatera, cole's isn't particularly
like harrowing, you know, andand also we've already touched
on it already like is he evenreally the most likable guy?
You know who's really likable?
Is his first partner, his firstpartner when he gets to traffic
(15:46):
, I think is probably hisstrongest partner out of all of
them, and but he's not our maincharacter, so that's that's a
problem.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
They're more shitty as we go on.
I think yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
And then that's that plays into the the corruption
story that they're playing.
And so you're dealing withcorruption and an up and coming
cop and he's got a tainted pastand you know there's serial
killers and all this going on.
And then there's serial killers, all and all this going on, and
and then there's the plot.
Have you gotten to the plotabout the shitty houses that are
being built like?
Have you gotten?
Speaker 1 (16:16):
to that point?
I don't know that part.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Yeah, so there's that , you know.
So there's just.
So they're juggling so much andthat is something that you
expect from a rock star game,but remember, they're just
they're publishing this game.
They're not developing,developing it.
So, like Team Bondi, I thinktheir only other, their big
notable game is, I think, thegetaway game, which is a good
game, but, like you know, it wasjust a lot to juggle,
(16:39):
especially again 2011.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
Yeah, it's really one of those things where I think
you know it's the age of thegame showing itself, but also
like it's just not as cohesiveas some of those bigger titles.
So while this game is like anunderrated gem, it is also kind
of understandable that it wasn'ta big market game, like it's
not a big game like a grandtheft auto or a red dev
(17:04):
redemption.
I can understand that a littlebit more now, having played it
after all these years.
But that was my uh, you knowsecond takeaway, phil.
What was uh?
Yours was also pretty much thesame, so why don't I throw it
back to you for the third, uhand final takeaway that you had?
Speaker 2 (17:21):
yeah, for the third, it's kind of both again, like we
already talked about.
It's like they're both highsand lows, positives and
negatives.
I do very much like that.
They like the detective stuff.
I think they nailed like someof our favorite parts about the
Arkham series is doing thedetective work like we.
I would play the hell out of adetective focused Batman game
where you do imagine doing likethis style of interrogation is
(17:44):
Batman.
I think that would be reallyreally interesting, except we
would just be like where arethey?
We just do that over and overagain.
Doubt, just doubt, doubt, doubton Batman over and over again.
So I really enjoyed that, likeI, in terms of investigating a
crime, because you could miss apiece of evidence and it
completely changes yourplaythrough or your gameplay and
(18:07):
it can be the differencebetween you solving and not
solving a case or getting abetter score when it all comes
down to it.
Unfortunately, with it being arock star game, even though it's
not like really encouraging youto explore, it's got a very
empty, open world, so just kindof tying that into gameplay as
well.
And even though, once again,not the focus I don't remember
(18:29):
the shooting being especiallyfine-tuned this game really
shines in terms of, again, thedetective work.
I think some of the chasesequences were pretty
interesting.
A lot of those and a lot of thecases are like, especially, I
think, once you get to HomicideEra correct me if I'm wrong are
really lengthy, and that's good.
These cases can sometimes takein real life obviously weeks,
(18:53):
months, years, so obviously youhave to condense that down in a
video game.
But it's fun that they actuallyagain are doing their due
diligence and making it seemlike you're investigating real
crimes and I think that's wherethe game really shines.
And unfortunately it ishampered by, quote-unquote, an
open world, even though thislike didn't need to be an open
world game.
Like the way the Mafia gamesare open world, like those don't
(19:13):
need to be open world either.
I would have been OK with uswith with LA Noire telling us
where to go and just having areally and it does have a really
pretty backdrop when it comesto LA, but you know, just a
little empty.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Yeah, it could have been a little bit more linear in
that aspect.
I will say I didn't drive verywell in this game.
I don't drive well, I think, ingeneral in games.
I really struggled in this one.
So I very much, because I wasalso just tired of having to
constantly ask I know it soundslike a great mechanic, but in
execution again, not in thisgame Asking your passenger side
(19:52):
who knows the directions, likehey, when take a left?
But you have to keep clicking xto initiate that discussion,
and then they're also talkingduring the drive as well, so you
have to find like when is theright time to interrupt.
And then you're crashing allover the place, like the amount
of city damages that I causedwas just a nightmare.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
so you're a liability here.
You're off the force yeah, so.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
So open world not great.
I also got to explore a littlebit of it on foot because on
twitch a patron of the show,briar, uh, redeemed channel
points where I couldn't drivefor five minutes.
So I just walked and ran intopeople, which was a little
entertaining, uh, but got oldvery, very quick.
And all that to say, I agreewith you, phil, on everything
(20:31):
you mentioned.
I could kind of reinforce whatyou were feeling from back then,
because the open world is veryempty.
You do get some stuff you canrun into and like it's like a
bank robbery you can stop or ashootout you can join, but
that's not enticing enough to goout there into the world,
unfortunately.
And then on top of that, thecombat is the weaker part of
(20:55):
Rockstar's library as far asI've been familiar with.
It's doable, it's okay, butyeah, the combat is not exactly
fine-tuned, it's justserviceable, which definitely is
an issue.
But even though there are somehighs and lows there, I think
one of the high highs and, phil,you talked about the 1940s vibe
(21:18):
and noir, obviously vibe ofthis game, the high for me is
the music and that is thatoriginal score and soundtrack
that was created.
This is a soundtrack that haswon awards, it's been remixed,
it's had a lot of notoriety andpopularity.
I would say it's how somepeople even learned of the game
(21:40):
and phil.
The music set the tone so muchthroughout the game, which is
exactly what they were trying todo.
They didn't want to make it amechanic of the game.
They really wanted it to setthe mood and I think they
definitely executed that.
At no time did I really feeldisengaged with the music.
It just always felt like areally positive part of the
(22:01):
experience of the game itself,and I think I had to mention it
here.
We can mention great music in alot of video games, but this
one's so crucial to the wholetheme and vibe that I think it
just has to be probably my lasttakeaway and it's probably the
most positive takeaway when wetalk about the high highs of
this game.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
Yeah, that's also a thing that, once again, it's
prevalent in like the mafiagames, like in modern GTA, like
I'll always find myself eitherturning off the radio or
flipping through the stationuntil I can find something
that's like not making my earsbleed.
But here, like, there's a lotof licensed music.
You know, like Louis Armstrongis in there and I never remember
(22:43):
like wanting to shut that off,which again, is why I'd like to
do a little bit more of a deepdive into some of these older
films that definitely inspiredLA Noire, so yeah, and also even
coming down to the sound design, like when you in an
interrogation and there's like alittle audio cue.
Like even that stuff is really,really nice and again, akin to
(23:03):
those movies from those style offilms.
So, yeah, I'm really glad thatyou pointed that out, because
the score is outstanding, thelicensed music is great and,
yeah, really it brings the gameto life in a way that again, its
streets unfortunately do not.
So, yeah, you know, I thinkthey were like on the cusp of
(23:24):
something very, very special andagain, it is groundbreaking
what they were able to pull off,but maybe a little bit better
writing, a little fine tuningwhen it comes to the gameplay
and we probably would have hadsomething that would be talked
about in the same vein as someof like the GTA fours, the Red
(23:45):
Deads, along those lines whenyou talk about Rockstar.
But unfortunately it's like,right there, I'm like I think
that B tier.
I think it's a really good game.
That could have been great.
So I want to kind of bring itback around to what I had
mentioned in the very beginningof the episode, eric is do you
see Rockstar taking another shotat something like this?
(24:06):
Again, they're just publishershere.
They're not developing thisgame, but like we know what red
dead and especially, of course,grand theft auto 6 being on the
horizon, like they had a, thatspy game that was supposed to
come out at one point thatrockstar was developing, that
just disappeared from the faceof the earth.
It was called agent and it'sjust gone now.
So like, do you ever foreseerockstar ever doing something
(24:30):
outside of the red dead or gtabox ever again?
Speaker 1 (24:34):
probably not.
I mean, I'm actually surprisedthey haven't made this more of a
game mechanic in anotherfranchise, like a grand theft
auto, like I could easily seethem just like throwing it in
there.
The facial recognition thing II don't think that's something
they're going back to the wellfor, and maybe that has to do
with the fact that this game gotdelayed so much and maybe that
(24:55):
had something to do with it, butI don't know that there's
really going to be an audiencethat's waiting for like an la
noir 2.
I think if they were going todo it, it would be a completely
brand new franchise or propertythat would have a similar
element or theme.
If this game could have alittle bit more substance in the
open world, like a grand theftauto, and a little bit more of a
(25:18):
cohesive story like a red devredemption.
With the elements it has,there's a masterpiece of a game
here, and playing this game in2025 pretty fun, pretty fun.
I'm not like dreading it, likeI'm not dreading to play this
game just for content or justfor the episode, like I had a
really good time with it.
Some of them are lengthy andsometimes it doesn't feel like
(25:40):
the consequences are fully there, like I always felt like when I
did really good, I felt goodabout myself, but when I did
shitty and I still managed tofinish the mission, I didn't
really love that aspect of it,which is why I think our main
point or takeaway is that thisgame could have been more linear
.
I think if it really had thebacking of Rockstar and its
(26:01):
technology and all of the IPthat it has, I think they could
take elements from a lot ofgames that they perfected and
they could make a really greatLA Noire sequel.
I just don't think from 2011 to2025, I just don't think
there's been an appetite for itand that's why we haven't seen
it and I keep bringing them up.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
But it's just kind of like in the same vein.
But, like I just think themafia games fill this role now
and even though obviously you'renot a detective, it does fill
in terms of like a period piece,like GTA is covering current
day, red Dead is covering theWild West and Mafia covers the
Mafia.
Because, as you were talkingabout an LA Noire 2, I was like,
(26:42):
oh yeah, think about how coolit would be if they did a
different era, like when Chicagowas like run by gangs.
I was like that's Mafia, that'salready Mafia.
So I mean, I guess it could bea little bit different doing it
from the perspective of adetective.
I think that could be veryinteresting.
But yeah, 15 years removed fromthe game, one remaster it
hasn't been remastered over andover again like a grand theft
(27:05):
auto.
So la noir is probably going tosit by itself, unfortunately,
but not a terrible game andsomething that I would consider
revisiting, like if I everreally really got into my
library.
But it's good to still talkabout it because it has seen a
little bit of a resurgence interms of like YouTube
(27:26):
documentaries Shout out to thosethat I watched getting prepared
for this episode, but yeah, Imean it was very well received
for its time.
Eric, we'll go over the scoresbefore we wrap up the episode.
The Metacritic score is at an89, which obviously is very,
very good.
Edge, eurogamer and Edge andEurogaming gave it an 8 out of
(27:48):
10.
Game Informer 8.75.
It's got a couple of perfectscores from like GamePro and the
Guardian seven five.
It's got a couple perfectscores from like game pro and
the guardian ign 8.5 out of 10.
So game spot 9 out of 10.
So yeah, very much wellreceived, and for good reason,
like you said.
As far as those because likeour negatives are just like,
they're not terrible, they'rejust like man I wish they.
(28:09):
If they had just done a littlebit more fine-tuned a couple
things, this could have been aclassic.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
So, yeah, still still a very good game and was and
reviewed very well as well yes,I, I definitely would say that's
the overarching theme is thatthis is a good game with flaws,
but I think those flaws have toreally do with its time period
of when it was developed andwhen it released.
So, you, you know, phil,there's a lot of reminiscing
(28:35):
going on for this particulargame.
But, you know, without goingover like the individual cases
and individual characters andreally going into that type of a
breakdown, which isn't what weset out to do here, I think
we've kind of summarizedeverything we wanted to for our
Reminisce episode of LA Noireand when this episode drops, the
day it drops, I'll definitelybe streaming this at least one
(28:56):
more time because it is a reallygood time to play.
So if this is a game that's onyour radar to play for the first
time, or you're just like usand you remember it fondly, I
would recommend checking it outin 2025.
I think there's definitelystill some fun to be had here.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
Do you want to talk about the ending before we end?
Do you remember the ending?
Speaker 1 (29:17):
I think he dies right .
Yes, yes.
Speaker 2 (29:19):
Okay, he does die and he very later on in the game.
Again, this ties all back tohis World War II days, like a
guy that he had served withkidnaps a woman.
And then they get into thesewers and then, like you play
like the last hour or two of thegame, not as somebody else, and
I just remember being like whatwe spent all this time with
(29:42):
Cole and he does sacrificehimself.
But, yeah, again, story stuffthat just like you could have
done better, just just missed alittle bit.
But yeah, you get swept away inthe in the Los Angeles sewers.
Not a great way to go.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
And maybe I mean, was it a final, like a finality
death, or was it like open-ended, because you never know?
Speaker 2 (30:04):
I don't know.
They had a funeral for him.
I think the body was in thecasket.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
Did they show?
Speaker 2 (30:09):
it.
That's the thing.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
No, it was not open casket.
Okay, well, I'm saying now itcould be a witness protection
living a whole new life.
You know, they could again,they could make it happen if
they really wanted to.
But yeah, cold felts willreturn I.
I remember the sewer stuff atthe end and like the chase, but
yeah, I don't really againremember much memorable about
the story, that that that wouldhave served a real purpose or
like given me a lot of emotionalimpact.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
So let's also be honest at one point.
A lot of these white peoplelook the same in the 40s.
Listen which one, uh, which oneof these, which one of my
partners is that there's theskinny one and the fat one.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
I'm not.
You're not lying.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
But yeah, but that's LA Noire.
Folks, have you played thisgame recently?
Would you play it again andwould you like to see this type
of game, or even an LA Noire 2,in the future?
We'd love to hear from you.
So make sure you click the link.
Tree link Boy.
I'm going to tell you guys I'msick, no-transcript.
(31:39):
Those are very helpful for thelifeblood of the show and we
thank you so much.
But if you find yourselfwanting to get a little bit more
from the podcast, maybe gettingepisodes early and even having
a hand in the content that werelease, Eric will let you know
a little bit about that Beforewe get out of here.
I'm going to lay down.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
If all of that sounds amazing and you have way more
energy than Phil, bring that onover to our Patreon, where
patrons of the show Briar T3Kato, vintage Macaroni, corey from
the World Is my Burrito and NickCasparo, the author of the
Vidularium series are supportingus monthly on that platform in
exchange for behind the scenesand early access to episodes
(32:19):
like this one.
The month of october iscurrently planned to be patreon
month, and it's the second onewe've done this year where our
patrons of the show will be ableto select games and other forms
of media, like movies and shows, to recommend, and we're to
cover them here on the podcast.
But if that's not somethingyou're interested in or you're
not in a position to do so, allthe free stuff that Phil
(32:42):
mentioned really helps quite abit.
With all that being said, thatis the end of our episode and
Phil needs a nap, so pleaseremember that we release new
episodes every Wednesday.
I'm Mr Eric Almighty, it's Philthe Filipino, and all you gotta
do is wait for it.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
This is the Wait For it Podcast.
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