It’s certainly taken its time, but the first gameplay trailer for Rockstar’s next big thing, L.A. Noire, has finally hit the interwebs.
And we have to say, it's looking quite shmick, especially for fans of the old-school hardboiled crime thriller.
Developed by local lads Team Bondi, the game drops you right into late-1940's Los Angeles as a detective, with a task of solving a series of murders. You get a fedora and a suitably snazzy suit and take it from there. Reported to be less about gunplay and insanity and more about actual investigation and problem-solving, L.A. Noire might be a bit of a departure from the usual Rockstar fare, but if the trailer is anything to go by, it's as much of an homage to the classic '40's detective story as Red Dead Redemption was to the western.
We're definitely impressed by the intense realism, the shadowy lighting, the costume design, the brilliantly jazzy soundtrack and the voice work (featuring Mad Men's Aaron Staton, among others) – and the fact that the trailer uses only in-game footage has us thinking that, at the very least this is going to be one very good-looking game.
Console gamers should keep an eye out for an expected release in the first half of 2011. Unfortunately there are no plans to bring the game to PC at this point ... but we're getting kinda used to hearing that.
Issue: 137 | June, 2012