L.A. Noire - Debut Trailer
Rockstar Games team up with Australia's own Team Bondi to create this beautifully animated master piece of a game titled L.A. Noire.
Props to go to my mate Jacob for hooking me up with this.
More after the jump.
You may be thinking... What? Another GTA clone? Maybe so, but this 1940s detective thriller looks like it could compete with the big boys, especially with a name like Rockstar attached to it.
I've only seen a few screenshots and the Debut Trailer (below) and I was blown away by how fluid the animation was and how well executed the facial animation and lip sync was. A new animation system was developed specifically for this title and it has paid off in a big way! Look out, uncanny valley!
There has been some bad press in the past for this game and its developer Team Bondi. Rumour has it that this game has been in development since 2003 and was originally being published by Sony and under a different title.
Regardless of rumours, check out the Debut Trailer, which reads more like a Hollywood blockbuster film than an actual game, and I'll let the art do all the talking. I hope you have a Kleenex handy.
L.A. Noire is set for release in the second quarter of 2011.
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Also, and maybe its just me, but the eyes and the head seem to be one continuous mesh? Either that or its heavy anti-aliasing, because I don't the discernible give-away edge where the eye should meet the eyelid, à la:
http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/981/981349/red-dead-redemption-20090508044341894.jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0m__44Ay7eA/TBJVDnAf9dI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/vtFhrqMfwY0/s1600/Screen+Shot+2.jpg
It really helps sell it. I just hope its not something done in post, just for this vid.
Although,a s great as the facial animation may be, it still seems like they can't get the hands right. It just lets the whole thing down.