Marlon Hopgood

A curious object found at a crime scene leads Detective Phelps to The Silver Screen Prop Store.

Marlon Hopgood, proprietor of one of LA's leading prop houses.

Will Hopgood tell Phelps and Bekowsky what they want to know?

Screens: Cole Phelps

Detective Cole Phelps takes a breather as night falls on Los Angeles.

Cole debates the merits of a homicide case with the Captain in a downtown diner.

Phelps shouts a warning as he and partner Roy Earle enter a crime scene.

Phelps accepts his assignment in the briefing room at HQ.

In this city, everyone has something to hide. The question is: what are they hiding, and why?

Phelps and his partner head to the scene of another crime.

Gun at the ready, Phelps tracks a suspect.

Press Previews from GamesRadar, Game Informer, IGN, G4TV and More

A police photographer records the grisly evidence while Detective Phelps looks on.

"Every now and then in gaming, a concept comes along that makes you totally reconsider your preconceptions of gameplay within specific genres and settings. It doesn't happen very often mind you... But then, once in a blue moon, there's a flash in the pan; a videogame that reinvigorates your fascination and faith in the medium.  LA Noire is one of these games." - TVG

"In L.A. Noire, you play the seemingly incorruptible Cole Phelps, a beacon of integrity in a police department mired in scandals.  But that's not the only departure from Rockstar's traditional formula.  Not only are you a good guy out after the bad guys, the city itself is not your playground.  Though L.A. Noire is an open-world game (explore L.A. if you like, see the sights, admire the pedestrians), there aren't mini-games to be played or side quests to complete or pigeons to shoot.  L.A. Noire is a far more linear game, that puts an emphasis on the journey, moreso than the destination, and one where the narrative and the characters take a central role, with far fewer distractions.  It's different, but that's what makes it look so promising." - IGN

A meticulously detailed 1947 Los Angeles is the backdrop for L.A. Noire's dark story, with incredible attention invested in recreating the scene of each crime.

"The core component of L.A. Noire is the city itself, a staggeringly beautiful recreation of late-40’s Los Angeles, brimming with the small, historical details that ultimately make any open world believable.  Whether it’s trolley wires criss-crossing above the street; vintage cars speeding by at a brisk 30MPH; or the classic advertisements for real-life products that litter the billboards and buildings, there is a genuine sense of place in L.A. Noire... All of that, however, simply sets the stage for a series of crimes – many of which have been modeled after, or are, in fact, entirely based upon, real-life cases – ranging from brutal murders and blackmail mysteries to horrifying assault investigations." - G4TV

L.A. Noire is the story of Cole Phelps and his rise - with each successfully completed case - from beat cop up through the ranks of the LAPD.

"This game might feature some of Rockstar’s grittiest content ever.  However, before you accuse them of being shock merchants, consider the fact that every case in the game is actually pulled from the newspapers of 1940's Los Angeles.  This stuff really happened; it’s just been adapted and slightly altered for the game (most of the time this involved writing endings for unsolved cases).  In addition, we got a few hints of the game’s larger, overarching plots, which seem to center around Phelps’ struggles to combat the internal corruption that plagued the LAPD during this time in history.  At one point, Phelps has an interaction with a vice cop that suggests the lines between cop and criminal in L.A. are very blurry indeed." - Game Informer

"Our little hobby [videogaming] is one that's been able to stick realistic faces onto static character models for some time now, but it has struggled mightily with showing them talk and express emotions in a way that really reflects the actors providing the voices.  But apparently nobody told Rockstar that because the publisher's upcoming 1940's detective-thriller L.A. Noire uses some ambitious new image-capture technology that puts a stark focus on those sort of subtle, nuanced facial expressions to not only drive the game's story, but also the gameplay itself." - Gamespot

Set in the Golden Age of Hollywood, 1947 L.A. was also among the most violent and corrupt years in the city's history.

"For L.A. Noire to be an accurate detective-sim it needed the facial expressions to be spot on and this ground-breaking technology is perfect for doing just that ... This includes thousands of words of dialogue, hours of motion capture and of course time in the studio with the MotionScan.  The result will be the benchmark for all games that follow." - Gamesradar

Crime Desk: Homicide

As Detective Cole Phelps, you'll rise through the ranks of the LAPD, along the way facing cases across a range of department crime desks. One of the most brutal and harrowing will of course be that of Homicide.

Los Angeles is being terrorized with a series of horrific murders perpetrated on young women. Is this the work of a lone killer or sick copycats? As these cases get reported, it will be up to you to bring the killer or killers to justice.

"The Silk Stocking Murder" is just one of many crimes you'll face while working the Homicide desk.

     

From "The Red Lipstick Murder". An eagle’s eye for detail. The smallest and most insignificant seeming item could be the entire key to the case. 

Another unfortunate victim.  Phelps examines the corpse for telling signs of trauma.

A rogue’s gallery of suspects. Only the most savvy and unrelenting interrogation will yield who’s hiding a truth amongst men such as this.

A psychopathic killer leaves a message on the victim.

Another victim falls prey in a string of brutal killings around Los Angeles.

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Crime Scenes, Lineups & More

Here are some screens showing a glimpse of investigating crime scenes, examining lineups of suspects and other gritty detective work you'll experience in next spring's crime thriller.

1947 was one of the most violent years in the history of Los Angeles, with an unprecedented number of assaults, robberies and murders. Phelps inspects the body of a victim for clues.

Onlookers gather at a family’s tragedy. You'll need to analyze crime scenes like this one in detail and interview witnesses in order to figure out what happened.

Sizing up the suspects. Each successfully solved case propels Phelps higher up the ladder of the LAPD.

As a detective, Phelps’ gun is a weapon of last resort. But Los Angeles is a dangerous place, and a successful detective makes enemies quickly.

The Art of Interrogation

There's plenty of car chases and shootouts in L.A. Noire, but it's how the game creates gameplay out of human interactions that makes it truly groundbreaking. Observing a suspect, analyzing their behavior and knowing when to believe or doubt them - or when to confront them with the evidence you've collected - is the real test of your skill as a detective. Asking the wrong questions could cost you precious time or clues, and falsely accusing a suspect could cause them to clam up completely, depriving you of a precious source of information. MotionScan is the technology that makes this gameplay possible, but it's up to you to make the most of every opportunity.

Is this the face of a man with nothing to hide?

Phelps confronts a suspect with the evidence against him.

Phelps questions a witness at the scene of a crime – questioning can take place at crime scenes, residences and places of business whenever you’re active on a case.

As his skeptical partner looks on, Phelps attempts to extract an alibi from a suspect in a hideous crime.