L.A. Noire was one of the most memorable games to emerge on the Xbox 360 and PS3. Sure, it had its foibles, but playing as 1940’s hardball cop Cole Phelps was wonderful. Now, six years on from the original, Rockstar has teamed up with HTC Vive to bring its gritty crime noir to virtual reality.
It’s currently unclear exactly how L.A Noire: The VR Case Files will play out, but it should be noted that it’s not the full L.A. Noire rebuilt in VR. Instead, it focuses on seven of the original case files from L.A. Noire, rebuilt entirely for a virtual reality experience. Seeing as the original L.A. Noire revolved around drug busts, homicide cases and arson, don’t expect this to be a light and breezy VR experience.
The official announcement highlights how, thanks to room scale, players can interact by “grabbing, inspecting and manipulating” evidence, which sounds particularly grim when you remember some of the early murder investigation scenes. On a lighter note, you’ll also be able to “make notes or draw freehand”, as well as experience first-person driving in VR with in-car shoot-outs.
It’s not yet clear if we’ll get to shout angrily during interrogations when we think someone might not be telling the whole truth.
Alongside the announcement of L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files, Rockstar also announced it would be bringing the original L.A Noire to PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.
Switch will be getting the original game, along with all of the DLC and support for the Joy-Con’s gyroscopic controls via a new gesture-based input, HD rumble and a new over-the-shoulder camera angle. It also includes support for touch-screen controls for portable play.
The PS4 and Xbox One versions come with all additional downloadable content alongside a handful of technical enhancements like improved lighting and “cinematic” camera angles. Both versions of the game will also support PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, delivering 4K resolutions for both consoles with high-resolution textures to boot.
L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files along with L.A. Noire for PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch will release on 14 November 2017.
Disclaimer: Some pages on this site may include an affiliate link. This does not effect our editorial in any way.
