Repurposing LA Noire

LA Noire on Nintendo Switch

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“ LA Noire looks nice and clean on Nintendo’s newest console when running at 1080p in docked mode.

LA Noire for Switch 10 IMAGES

LA Noire: The VR Case Files

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“ It’s a great fit for VR – especially when you can literally get face-to-face with suspects that you’re questioning.

LA Noire VR Case Files 7 IMAGES

“ You can release the grip on the Vive wand to un-ball your hands and actually slap the perp.

LA Noire looks nice and clean on Nintendo’s newest console when running at 1080p in docked mode. It’s got every piece of content ever released for the detective thriller, and it’s (mostly) slower pace make it a great fit for an on-the-go game in handheld mode. It’s aged reasonably well; the motion-captured facial animations that LA Noire hung its hat on in 2011 have held up best. The rest of the game world shows some last-gen cracks, but nothing I'd knock it for. The most obvious issue was the object pop-in on the horizon when you’re speeding down the streets during driving sections.The same can’t quite be said of the touchscreen controls, at least in my brief demo. When you’re investigating a crime scene, you can touch the Switch’s screen to click on items, drag the camera around, or exit the investigation. The former two work just fine, but exiting a close-up examination – done by tapping the screen with two fingers close together – continually gave me trouble. At least there’s always the B button.But these Switch-specific extras are just that: extras. They’re optional and take nothing away from the fact that LA Noire remains an engaging, unique game – even six years later. It should be an excellent addition to the Switch library ( bring an SD card , however), and one that hopefully portends future Rockstar releases on the console.I was very excited to see how LA Noire would translate to VR, and The VR Case Files largely didn’t disappoint, starting with the fedora brim you can see at the top of your field of first-person view. Movement, meanwhile, is handled in one of three different ways, none of which gave me the slightest hint of motion sickness: you can teleport, aim a cursor and click the Vive wand’s touchpad, or “walk” around by swaying your arms back and forth. I chased a suspect down by running after him, and I have to say it was quite fun!Once you’re in the game – there’s no narrative thread linking the seven cases pulled from the full 2011 release – you are quite literally in the game. You can move around a crime scene, crouch down to examine a body, reach your hand out to roll it over or open a jacket lapel, etc. It’s a great fit for VR – especially when you can literally get face-to-face with suspects that you’re questioning.Two other areas stand out: driving and fighting. Being behind the wheel of your squad car is quite cool: you squeeze the Vive wand grips to grab onto the steering wheel, and use the triggers for gas and brake. I didn’t feel ill at all, but my brain was tricked into thinking I was actually moving. As for fighting, throwing punches is simply awesome. You can block, sure, but the real fun is landing hooks, jabs, and especially uppercuts. And in true 1940’s machismo fashion, you can release the grip on the Vive wand to un-ball your hands and actually slap the perp. It does less damage and is wholly unnecessary but nevertheless hilarious.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s Executive Editor of Previews and Xbox Guru-in-Chief. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan , catch him on Unlocked , and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.