Cut-scenes galore: L.A. Noire more passive than aggressive?

by Steven Mostyn - Apr 13 2011, 04:32

If you thought the cut-scenes in Metal Gear Solid 4 were a grind, just wait until you clap eyes on the amount of passive content Rockstar has squeezed into upcoming thriller L.A. Noire.

While the Team Bondi-developed game is currently enjoying plenty of positive word of mouth ahead of release, largely due to fantastic MotionScan animation and lifelike characters, it would appear the in-game action is tempered by five hours and 12 minutes of non-playable narrative.

That’s according to L.A. Noire’s game description on the official website of the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), which assesses and rates all visual entertainment content heading for UK retailers.

Beyond the five hours of cut-scenes, the game also includes a further three hours and 25 minutes of, what the BBFC vaguely refers to as, “supplementary gameplay footage”.

The write-up also doles out an adult age rating of ‘18’ for L.A. Noire and notes that its content showcases plenty of “strong language, strong violence, sex references and nudity”. Well, this is a Rockstar production, after all.

The game itself is set in the 1950s and exudes buckets of authentic period atmosphere as the player (a young police detective) embarks on a multi-layered investigation into a series of brutal murders.

It’s worth noting that the BBFC’s certification of L.A. Noire comes without Rockstar having to complete any enforced content editing—a process some of its previous games (particularly the controversial Manhunt series) have been subjected to.  

L.A. Noire is expected to arrive on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in May.

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