This game is not Noire
I have been playing this for about a week now and i am really not getting a noire vibe or feeling from this at all.
Does it get darker or am i missing something?
I am on the bloody stockings murder right now...
unfortunately the game hasn't the feeling and atmosphere of film noir...It has really nice graphics but its not dark at all and the gameplay is repetitive and very boring... I was so dissapointed when I finished it..
shareI completely agree.
Its about as noir as L.A. Confidential, which is to say not much. I think its a great game, but its more of an ode to that era than to the films that era produced.
shareI have not seen LA Confidential yet but i had a feeling that Rockstar took some elements from that and of course the Black Dahlia movie.
Indeed, both of which were based on books from James Ellroy's L.A. Quartet series, so that probably shows you the most important influence behind these games. I'd highly recommend seeing L.A. Confidential though. As I said, its not really noir, or neo-noir for that matter, but its still an incredibly enjoyable movie.
shareI was kind of hoping the Confidential movie was noir :(
shareDo you all even know what noir means when it pertains to film? Here, let me help you:
film noir
noun
a motion picture with an often grim urban setting, photographed in somber tones and permeated by a feeling of disillusionment, pessimism, and despair.
The key word in that definition is "often". Both LA Confidential and "LA Noire" are noir when it comes to the setting and overall tones.
"You know what a cautious fellow I am..."
No obviously i have no clue what niore means which is exactly why i said it wasn't noire .... yeah that makes a lot of *beep* sense.
did you ride the short bus or you just like being captain oblivious?
there is absolutely nothing Noire about this and since everyone agreed with me on this thread but you i must be right.
Of course when I point out your error, you have to get defensive and start with the insults. Those are signs of a small mind. So, I'll point out the definition again (since you don't seem to be grasping it...)
"grim urban setting, photographed in somber tones and permeated by a feeling of disillusionment, pessimism, and despair"
Both the film and the game take place in grim urban settings, and there are definite feelings of disillusionment, pessimism, and dispair.
Admittedly, neither are actually filmed or programmed in actual somber colored tones, but the overall thematic tones of both compensate for this.
You're entitled to your opinion, and the 3 other people that responded to this post might agree, but that doesn't make you "right".
Look at the reviews from these film critics, they ALL refer to LA Confidential as film noir:
http://www.flixist.com/review-l-a-confidential-198886.phtml
http://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/review/l-a-confidential/1421
http://www.cinema-crazed.com/h-q/laconfidentialdvd.htm
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/movies/1997/09/hush_hush_sweet_city .html
http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117329759?refcatid=31
http://www.grouchoreviews.com/reviews/3230
http://moviemet.com/review/la-confidential-blu-ray-review
I'm sure I could find more if I wanted to take the time, but I'd rather look at all the reveiws of "LA Noire" that compare it directly to LA Confidential and/or refer to it as noir:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2011/may/16/la-noire-ga me-review
http://www.totalgaming.co.uk/la-noire-review/
http://www.gamepeople.co.uk/tired_360_lanoire.htm
http://lggaming.wordpress.com/2011/05/12/oxm-uk-l-a-noire-review-sneak s-its-way-online/
http://www.stuff.tv/review/la-noire
Again, I could find more, but I think my point is made. Now, do you want to continue this dick swinging contest, or do you want to admit that you may, perhaps, be in the minority with your opinion?
"You know what a cautious fellow I am..."
Your so called definition is so far from the truth of this video game it's uncanny.
except for the disgusting violence towards the women the game was very lighthearted the was no thematic darkness or visual darkness.
None of the long standing tropes of Noire was ever employed in this game.
How can i be in the minority opinion if everyone else on this board seems to agree with me.
As far as video game reviews considering how many times i have heard of them getting paybacks from the video game companies i don't really trust them.
They can compare it to La confidential all they like since i haven't seen the movie yet but the people on this board even said that that movie wasn't all that Noire like.
there is no "dick swinging" involved tho i have to laugh at the homoerotic undertones that it implies.
Your so called definition is so far from the truth of this video game it's uncanny.Again, I'm not the only one that's saying this. Read the reviews.
except for the disgusting violence towards the women the game was very lighthearted the was no thematic darkness or visual darkness.
How can i be in the minority opinion if everyone else on this board seems to agree with me.Everyone else on the board??? You have two people on this thread that agreed with you. Get over yourself.
there is no "dick swinging" involved tho i have to laugh at the homoerotic undertones that it implies.So obviously, you're too young to know what the saying "dick swinging" means. Whatever...
"You know what a cautious fellow I am..." share
Yes whatever........
sharewow the guy you were debating sure was dumb
shareI'd agree with you that the film noir themes of sex, violence and cynical urban attitudes are utilized in L.A. Noir. My reservation about fully accepting this game as a true noir is it's lack of a visual style to match the mood, as you yourself pointed out. The low-key black and white presentation was essential to the original films, and I found myself slightly disappointed that L.A. Noire didn't incorporate more dramatic shadowy imagery. There was a teaser trailer years ago that showed a more desaturated L.A. with golden light and plenty darkness. I thought that would have been a brilliant course of action for the game, but unfortunately the final product was different.
Obviously L.A. Confidential and L.A. Noire are both influenced by the noirs of the 40s and 50s, and in many ways they succeed in emulating those films. That may be enough for you to call this game a noir, but I personally have a bit of harder time accepting it as such without that distinct visual experience. Ultimately, the noir genre is incredibly hard to define so it can't really be said that either one of us is wrong in this reading.
Agreed. L.A. Noire draws more from L.A. Confidential then it does from the classic noir films of the 40s and 50s. To me, the distinct visuals of the classic noir films framed the pessimistic stories and the brooding, cynical characters.
This isn't a knock against L.A. Noire, because its aim was quite ambitious (huge open-world, motion scan technology, and complex storyline, for instance). However, I found that Heavy Rain was a better example of a game modeled off of film noir.
I wish L.A. Noire drew more from movies like "Kiss Me Deadly", "Double Indemnity", "Kiss of Death", "This Gun for Hire", "The Lady from Shanghai", and "Touch of Evil". Those are some my favorite noir films, so I am biased. I know the game references a few of them, but it was a bit like a tease for me.
And, when Kelso turned out to work for an insurance company, I thought we would get a big twist on Elsa but it didn't happen. I also thought they missed out on a lot of noir inspired opportunities for Kelso's character.
The low-key black and white presentation was essential to the original films
No it wasn't. It was common to them (usually due to budget but often due to an artistic decision later as monochrome highlights shadows and has a sharper picture than the colour processes of the time) and what *I* and others tend to prefer when it comes to the genre but they don't define the genre (out of all major genres there seems to be only one that some people seem to think has to stick rigidly to style). 'Rope', 'Vertigo', 'House of Bamboo' and 'Bad Day At Black Rock' are generally accepted as being films noir and yet they are in colour.
Then you have "Modern Noir" or "Neo-Noir" which are a subtype of the genre made after the classic era (though some don't agree with making such a distinction in the same way most wouldn't for "Western" or "Science Fiction" hence no "Neo-Western" or "Neo-Science Fiction" for movies made in those genres after the 1950s). These films are usually (though not always) filmed in colour and are very much part of the genre regardless of any such "neo-" appellations (aka they are a subset and not a wholly different genre or style). share
The low-key black and white presentation was essential to the original films, and I found myself slightly disappointed that L.A. Noire didn't incorporate more dramatic shadowy imagery.
As others have pointed out that wasn't exactly true. They were black and white because that was cheaper, not for mood. Later on some directors did decided to use monochrome to set mood and to highlight shadows but you had films noir in colour anyway.
You can play this game in monochrome, so I believe, anyway.
Formerly KingAngantyr
share
Agreed, with lasvegasira, both La Confidential and La Noire and Noir no doubt about it. Period
sharea classical examples of film noir that arent set in the 20s 30s or 40s are blade runner and sin city. In both movies there is a narrative (original cut of blade runner had Harrison ford doing the narrative) and certain feel of disillusionment pessimism and despair, in blade runner in the end evolving into hope. Sin city focuses almost mining to the deepest depths of noir moods but has some wacky comic book feel to it (based on a comic book) which turns it around into overtly serious almost comical tones.
I'd add a couple of standard ingredients of a noir movie
-urban setting
-mystery duh
-usually a single person that performs the role of a detective or investigator
-more or less oficial "investigation"
-crime
-a woman, usually women are one of the most important characters next to the main character, quite often manipulative and hiding something, often being the "villain" or "sub-villain" (a good person entangled in a criminal activity- most of the Times those die like in chinatown). The woman most of the Times gets into a relationship with the main protagonist, but she doesnt have to sleep with him to do that.
-often somber tones
-disillusionment
-despair
-pessimism
http://thebest-of-times.blogspot.com/