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L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files
L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files for HTC Vive delivers seven of the original engrossing, self-contained cases from L.A. Noire rebuilt specifically for virtual reality, blending breathtaking action with true detective work to deliver an unprecedented interactive experience.
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L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files Reviews
Professional reviews from gaming critics
L.A. Noire: The VR Case File is a bold, inventive, and engaging VR title, marking the first tentative steps into the next step in VR gaming. You'll feel like a true 40's detective, and you'll love every second of it. Being able to drive around a realistic take on LA is just icing on the cake, but it's some pretty sweet icing.
My only real complaint about L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files is that I wish it was longer, and that it was available on more platforms. It’s not going to magically change your view on Noire as a whole if you already didn’t like how the original played out, but it makes an excellent case for VR conversions, and I see a bright future ahead of Rockstar if they can pull this off again.
Overall, L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files is far from a perfect game, but as a virtual reality title I found it to be an ambitious as well as a good first virtual reality title for Rockstar Games. Sure, the game has flaws, but I feel that Rockstar Games has set the bar high for not just facial animations in VR games but in AAA games as a whole and I hope that whatever AAA developer/publisher decides to bring their IPs into VR carefully examines this game. If you own an HTC Vive plus a high-end PC, this is a title you should consider adding to your VR library.
True detective.
Space will likely be the issue that prevents users from experiencing L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files, but while it isn’t a perfectly controlled VR experience, it’s impressive that we’re seeing a VR game that utilises Room Scale VR in ways that make sense. To actually be part of this crime drama, investigating crime scenes and apprehending criminals, was more enjoyable in VR. Here’s hoping the next time we see something like this, it’s a dedicated experience.
While selecting individual cases from the full game leaves the player with a disjointed and incomplete story, enough of the 1940's ambiance and the rough and tumble crime fighting of that era is included to offer up a compelling preview of what will hopefully become LA Noire 2: VR. There is some work to do on some of the mechanics, most notably the way in which weapons are handled, but this weakness is easily offset by the compelling, immersive world and some of the action sequences that occur in it.