Skip to main content

Rockstar: L.A. Noire coming to Xbox 360 and PS3 in May

Late last year Rockstar Games announced its next major title was going to be a cross between an action game and a detective movie set in a seedy 1940s-era Los Angeles, dubbed L.A. Noire. The studio released a trailer with in-game footage back in November, and now the company has come forward with official release dates for the game: May 17 in the United States, followed by a May 20 launch in Europe.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

L.A. Noire breaks new ground for us,” said Rockstar founder Sam Houser, in a statement. “Its intense blend of action and real detective work defies genre conventions to create a unique and captivating thriller.”

The title will launch for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and put players in the role of Cole Phelps, a war vet-turned-detective who makes a name for himself by solving some of Los Angeles’ most atrocious crimes and murders. The game will feature action as well as interrogation-based role play that will have players trying to read the unspoken emotions of characters to figure out what’s really going on—Rockstar and partner Team Bondi have utilized a series of 32 high-def cameras to capture motion data for actors faces and bring their facial expressions to the title in high detail. Rockstar says players will even be able to read the lips of in-game characters.

Pre-orders are available now for $59.99.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Editors' Recommendations

Geoff Duncan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
Volgarr the Viking 2 will take you back to your Ghosts ‘n Goblins days
A viking slashes a tree in Volgarr the Viking 2.

Developer Digital Eclipse is working on a surprising project: Volgarr the Viking 2. The 2D retro sequel will launch on August 6 for PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

The news is an out of left field reveal. The first Volgarr the Viking game released in 2013 and was made as an ode to 1080s classics like Ghosts 'n Goblins. Despite being a small release, it sold over 1 million copies over the past decade. As revealed during today's Guerrilla Collective stream, the series is coming back with a new sequel by Digital Eclipse, the team behind this year's Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story.

Read more
3 Days of Play PS Plus games to try this weekend (June 7-9)
Key art for Streets of Rage 4.

June 2024 is shaping up to be a pretty great month for PlayStation players. Not only are we coming off an entertaining State of Play showcase, but a new Days of Play initiative surrounding all the video game showcases this month is bringing a lot of new PS Plus additions with it. Many of those games hit PS Plus this week, and three in particular stand out to us.

For owners of Sony's oft-neglected PlayStation VR2, the first game is one of its rare exclusives that take full advantage of the headset's eye-tracking by seeing how often players blink. The next is a new PS Plus Essential game that's a revival of Sega's classic beat-'em-up series for the modern gaming era. Finally, the last title is an atmospheric and eerie fishing game that should entice fans of Lovecraftian horror.
Before Your Eyes

Read more
3 first-party Xbox Game Pass games to try this weekend (June 7-9)
Gears 5 Kait Hero Close Up

Microsoft will hold an Xbox Games Showcase and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Direct. this Sunday. These shows will provide a much better idea of what to expect from Xbox over the course of the next year or two. That's really needed right now, as Microsoft has struggled to keep online discussions around Xbox positive as it went multiplatform with some games, laid off thousands of developers, and outright shut down the developers of Hi-Fi Rush and Redfall. Based on leaks and my personal expectations for the showcase, there are three games you can play on Xbox Game Pass this weekend to prepare for the event.

The first is the latest first-person shooter in a long-running series by id Software that might be getting a medieval-set spinoff. After that, we have the fifth entry in a sci-fi Xbox series that still looks fantastic on Xbox Series X/S even though it came out in 2019. Finally, you can prepare for Avowed with the latest RPG from Obsidian Entertainment, a satirical sci-fi game where player choice is critical.
Doom Eternal

Read more