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L.A. Noire tests ESRB Limits

Dark Drakan

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Feb 6, 2006
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la-noire.jpg
After the BBFC passed it for certification with no cuts being made and gave it an 18 rating the ESRB have rated it too and there is no surprise that it has been given an M for Mature rating. They posted some information and details about certain things they saw in the game that caused them to rate it the way they did and they are as follows.
Some spoilers are in the write up so beware if you dont want anything spoiled...
ESRB said:
This is an 'open-world' action-adventure game in which players assume the role of Cole Phelps, a rookie detective on a mission to stop a deranged serial killer. Set in late 1940s Los Angeles, the game allows players to advance through various 'desks' at a police department (i.e., Patrol, Traffic Squad, Homicide, Vice, Arson) by interviewing witnesses and suspects, searching crime scenes for clues, and apprehending criminals.
ESRB said:
Players use pistols, rifles, machine guns, and flamethrowers to engage in firefights with various enemies. These shootouts are highlighted by realistic gunfire, cries of pain, and blood spurts that stain injured characters and the surrounding environment. Cut-scenes also depict instances of violence, including a character being beaten with a crowbar (off screen) - large spurts of blood are depicted in the foreground.

During the course of the game, players may come across crime scenes in which badly beaten or mutilated corpses are subject to investigation; players are able to examine victims' bodies close-up, surveying various bruises and bloody cuts for evidence - a few female corpses are depicted fully nude with fleeting images of pubic hair.

Investigations sometimes pertain to sexual assault crimes, and details are often conveyed in clinical terms through dialogue or on-screen text (e.g., 'He's some kind of sex fiend,' 'Woman's briefs torn at seams, forcibly removed,' and 'Head trauma . . . external bruising to genitals.'). In one cut-scene, there is an implication that a character is engaged in a sexual relationship with a teenager (e.g., 'You take love where you can find it as you get older, Jack'/That has nothing to do with love . . .'). Some sequences allow players to collect/manipulate drug-related evidence such as marijuana packets, morphine syringes, or amphetamine pills; in one cut-scene, a doctor can be seen injecting a character with morphine. Language such as 'f**k,' 'sh*t,' 'c*nt,' 'n**ger,' and 'sp*c' can be heard in the dialogue.
 
That guy in the screenshot looks stoned out of his mind.

Search warrant perhaps and book him...? The fact he cant aim the gun at our face might be a hint too.

'M' is for Magnificent. High expectations for this game.

Im really hoping it ends up as good as its looking. Might tempt more developers into taking some risks with their games instead of minor updates year to year. Everything ive heard sounds brilliant so far and i preordered it some time ago.

Only little gripe some playtesters have had so far during early previews is the game handholding them through investigations. Not sure if thats because they only played early cases and they act as a tutorial or its based around game difficulty. As while they were investigating the crime scenes they had music in the background that kept playing until they found all the clues and an audio clue when they approached something worth investigating. Missing a clue would extend the playtime of the game as you have to backtrack or track down another suspect and i dont imagine it would last the 20 hours they claim if every case held your hand like this so im guessing its one of the reasons i put above.