L.A. Noire blurs the line between film and video game in this new trailer

By Ryan Fleming April 7, 2011

It is one of the oldest questions in the video game industry—can a game tell a truly immersive story in the same way that a movie can? Sure, there have been plenty of titles with a cinematic slant, but the nagging question of whether or not a game can actually be used as a medium to deliver a riveting story with real emotions remains. It is an old argument, and one that many gamers have strong opinions on, but for the majority of people, it is a gray area at best. But judging by the clips released for the upcoming L.A. Noire, that question may be put to rest for good.

Set in 1947 Los Angeles, LA. Noire is a detective story that uses the noire theme to its full effect. You play as L.A.P.D. Detective Phelps, as he journeys through the underworld of Los Angeles in pursuit of a killer. Along the way you come across a new influx of drugs on the streets, gambling, prostitution and all the vices you might expect. Corruption and lies are all part of the job, and the open sandbox style game which allows you to roam the streets of LA will offer multiple side stories.

Looking at the trailer, it really is no surprise that L.A. Noire is the first video game to ever be chosen as part of the Tribeca film festival. As you can see in the trailer below, the graphics are solid, but the real emphasis is on the facial animations that make the characters not just come to life, but to tell a story through the way they look and move. In theory it is something many games have tried, but few have truly succeeded at, especially not to this scale.

As with the previous trailer, this trailer is filmed using all in-game graphics. Check out the pre-order trailers as well, which advertise the two DLCs that you can obtain by buying your copy at certain retailers.

Look for L.A. Noire on PS3 and Xbox 360 on May 17, 2011.

[Warning: The following trailer may not be suitable for all ages]

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…

Gaming

Is Manor Lords multiplayer or co-op?

A medieval market in Manor Lords.

You can easily lose hours designing your village and appeasing your citizens in Manor Lords all by yourself. There are so many different avenues to achieve victory, but the only competition or help you can normally find is in the form of NPCs. Other factions around the map can be helpful or harmful depending on how you play, but what if you wanted to team up with a friend to combine resources, or perhaps compete to see who can crush the other first? Many strategy and city builders thrive on multiplayer components, but does Manor Lords offer those same modes? Make sure you know the answer before making your purchase if that's your intention.
Is there multiplayer or co-op in Manor Lords?
To cut to the chase, the answer is no. Manor Lords is a purely single-player experience through and through. There are no cooperative or competitive modes in the game at all, so there's no way to interact with anyone else either on PC or console. This game was just released out of early access, and there is plenty of content on the way, however, we regret to inform you that multiplayer is not in the plans for the time being.

One developer took to the Steam forums to release an FAQ on the game. One question specifically asked if there is any multiplayer or cooperative gameplay in the game. The response said that "he focus is on a refined single-player experience, with no multiplayer or cooperative modes planned at the moment."

Gaming

All console commands and cheats for Fallout: New Vegas

The courier holding a gun with a welcome sign in the background in Fallout: New Vegas key art.

From the moment you begin your adventure in Fallout: New Vegas, you've already cheated death. Your first playthrough of the game should be done as the developers intended, though maybe with a couple of mods to make the experience a little smoother, but nothing that breaks the game. That said, it's been over a decade since the game came out, so odds are you've already played through the intended way at least once. This is when you can have some fun tinkering with the game and play using console commands and cheats if you're on the PC version of the game. There are a ton of commands you can input to manipulate your character, the world, objects, and more. Here's a full rundown of all the cheats there are and how to activate them.
How to enter console commands
Opening up the command console to type in your cheats is just a single keystroke away. While in the game (not paused), hit the ~ key located below your escape key. This will remove your HUD and bring up the prompt to type in any of the below cheats.
All Fallout: New Vegas console commands and cheats

Because there are so many console commands, we're going to break them down into general categories to make it easier for you to find what you're looking for based on what you want to do.
Faction and reputation cheats
addreputation <form id> <variable> <amount> -- Increases your reputation with a faction.

Gaming

How to get a gun in Another Crab’s Treasure

Kril has a gun

Another Crab's Treasure no doubt looks like a kid-friendly game, but hiding beneath its charming and cute exterior is a challenging soulslike experience that can test the mettle of genre veterans. Those who either can't or don't want to engage with such intense difficulty throughout this underwater adventure can make great use of a variety of assists. Among these is a rather shocking, but hilarious option that can completely negate nearly all of the game's challenge while providing some laughs along the way. Here's how to get a gun in Another Crab's Treasure.
How to get a gun
To give yourself a gun in Another Crab's Treasure, head over to the Settings menu. Navigate to Assist Mode at the bottom of the menu, then scroll to the bottom once more to a setting called Give Kril a Gun. Toggle this on, then back out and resume your game to find that Kril now has a massive pistol on his back in place of a shell.

This new gun on your back provides you with more than just a funny visual, though -- it actually allows you to shoot and kill any enemy in a single hit, nearly eliminating all of the challenge from the game. Additionally, if you're after trophies or achievements, the first time you shoot a crab with the gun will also unlock "This Kills the Crab."