YOU'RE LYING, I KNOW IT!

L.A. Noire's remaster just released on each new console, but some people might not own them. Maybe they also just really like the adventures of Cole Phelps and want their platform of choice to reflect that. If you somehow fall into either of those categories, take a gander at these "lovely" beasts.

Rockstar is holding a cont?est where each week, a new console will be up for grabs. You can enter into the drawing for an Xbox One X from now until December 7th, a PS4 Pro between Dece??mber 8th and the 14th, a Nintendo Switch between December 15th and the 21st and a nice micro-PC from December 22nd to the 28th. You just need a "Rockstar Social Club" account and you're good to enter. My only beef happens to be that hideous color scheme.

That being said, Nintendo should definitely release som?e black joy-con. That front si?de looks really slick.

The L.A. Noire Custom Con?soles Giveaway Series: Enter Now to Win the Xbox One X [Rockstar Social Club]

The post Rockstar is holding a contest for s?ome pretty hideous L.A. Noire them?ed consoles appeared first on Destructoid.

YOU'RE LYING, I KNOW IT!

Team Bondi's L.A. Noire had a ver?y troubled history before its launch in 2011. Numerous delays and completely unacceptable working conditions led to Rockstar Games stepping in to publish the titl?e. Even before that, though, came some subtle script changes that inevitably ruined the end product.

If you aren't up on the history of the title, the original premise for L.A. Noire was that you were playing a cop that doubted everyone. As such, the original three prompts were "Coax," "Force" and "Accuse," and all dialogue was recorded with that in mind. Later, these prompts changed into "Truth," "Do?ubt" and "Lie," but everything else remained the same. It had the side effect of turning Cole into a psychopath when selecting "Doubt," which has spawned a bunch of memes based on his angry demeanor.

For the remastered release of the game (as Eurogamer points out), it looks like Rockstar is tweaking those button prompts to better reflect the performances. I'm not sure if "Good Cop" and "Bad Cop" accurately reflect "Coax" and "Force," but "Accuse" is c??ertainly more in line with the original intention for the game. It also would make more sense for Cole suddenly going Hulk on that rape victim in case nine.

You can get a quick look at the change in this Switch trailer,? though it barely?????????????????????????? shows the tweak.

This may not be enough for most players, but at least Cole's erratic behavior won't seem?? out of the ordinary anymore. Now you can scream at those innocent victims and understand Cole is ju?st an ass.

LA Noire remaster changes those infamous i??nterrogation button prompts [Eurogamer]

The post L.A. Noire’s remaster changes button prompts to make Cole less psycho appeared first on Destructoid.

Now we wait for Bully

As everyone patiently waits for Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar is bringing something to tide us over with enhanced ports of L.A. Noire to modern consoles. All ??versions release on November 14, 2017 and will include all the DLC pr??eviously released.

PS4 and Xbox One versions will run natively at 1080p (Xbox One X and PS4 Pro run at 4K) with "enhanced lighting and clouds, new cinematic camera angles, high resolution textures and more." The Switch version will not see such graphical enhancements, but will receive support in the form of HD rumble, contextual touch screen cont??rols, "wide and over-the-shoulder camera? angles," and "gyroscopic, gesture-based controls" via the Joy-Con.

L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files&nbs?p;rebuilds seven (out of 21) cases in virtual reality for HTC Vive. I'm not sure why only seven but with improved visuals on an already impressive looking game why not try it out in VR?

L.A. Noire delivered on the story front and made every aspect of the game feel cinematic (I loved just walking up and down the stairs and trying on different suits), but outside of the main story there really isn't much to do gameplay-wise. Even so, if you haven't played it yet it's definitely worth a playthrough, although sometimes you may not like how Cole answers certain prompts.

The post L.A. Noire coming to PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and? HTC Vive this Nov?ember appeared first on Destructoid.

Smacking folk around in Shanghai

Leaked footage of Team Bondi's Whore of the Orient recently surfaced on VideoGamer.com, courtesy of a "trusted source." The gameplay video reveals some awkward fighting, some brisk running, and a lot of? hiding behind boxes. 

Whore of the Orient, described by Team Bondi founder Brendan McNamara as "one of the great untold stories of the 20th century," was first announced way back through the mists of time, or November 2011, to be more specific. This was after the bankrupt developer was picked up by Kennedy Miller Mitchell, a production company from Sydney. The new IP was dropped by publisher Warner Bros. last?? year, but before it was ditched, rumors pointed to a 2015 release.&n??bsp;

No publisher has been attached to the struggling title, though KMM are believed to still be looking for one. Despite the bad press, bankruptcy, loss of a publisher, and the recent alleged lay-offs, the Australian government awarded the project $200,000 from the New South Wales' Interactive Media Fund.

Whore of the Orient is being developed for next-gen consoles and PC, bu??t of course no release ??date has been set. 

Whore of the Orient leaked gameplay footage revealed [VideoGamer.com]

The post First footage of Team Bondi’s Whore of the Orient appears appeared first on Destructoid.

Whore of the Orient, Team Bondi's anticipated follow-up to L.A. Noire, will be published on next-gen consoles and PC by Warner Bros. Interactive Ent??ertainment.

Set in 1930's Shangai, during a time of political unrest, Whore of the Orient will mine a similar gritty, noir style but in a far different location and context. Last year, Team Bondi head Brendan McNamara said the game will based on "one of the gr??eatest untold stories of the twentieth century??."

Here's a description from the updated site:

The most corrupt and decadent city on? the planet, where anything can be had or done for the right price. Plaything of Western powers who greedily exploit the Chinese masses. Boiling pot of Chinese nationalism, with the Kuomintang ruthlessly trying to suppress Communism and the labour movement. Home to the International Police Force, a group of Western cops hopelessly trying to keep the lid on and keep the peace.

Given McNamara's track record, it's safe to assume this will be an open-world game of some nature. Whether it will mimic L.A. Noire's structure and approa?ch is something we don't know yet, though I imagine there are many who wouldn't mind that being the case.

[TeamBondi.com via Eurogamer]

The post L.A. Noire developer’s follow-up is slated for next-gen appeared first on Destructoid.

_{Check out the first part of the feature, here!}

The last few years have been an interesting time for the adventure game genre. After a decade of disappointment, fans finally started to see more and more titles appear and most importantly, become successes. Big changes in the industry, such as the rise of digital distribution and the popularity of episodic content created a more favorable environment to craft these games in. More oppo??rtunities for indie developers started to appear as well.

In this, the second part of the feature, I'll be taking a look at what impact these changes have had on the developers and their games as well as what we might be able to expect in the future (hoverboards, hoverboards, hoverboards.) Providing us with words of wisdom are: Al Lowe, creator of Leisure Suit Larry; Dan Connors, CEO of Telltale Games; Dave Gilbert, creator of the Blackwell series and founder of developer/publisher, Wadjet Eye Games; and Josh Nuernberger, creator of Gemini Rue.

I was something of a late adopter when it came to digital distribution. I clung to my boxes and physical media for as long as the world let me. Everybody has a price, though. It turned out that my price was the complete Space Quest collection on Steam. Imagine my surprise when I noticed that it was far from the only example of a classic adventure game on the platform, indeed, ther??e were plenty of new ones as well. Steam already had a massive user base and it offered a great space for promotion. 

Telltale Games is no stranger to digital distribution; its games can be found on all manner of digital platforms, including those of the console variety. CEO Dan Connors explained, "Digital distribution allows independent publishers to reach the customers witho?ut taking on the costs associated with building and marketing a ?retail title." Telltale sells directly to their customers via their own site, as well. "We're going to be relaunching that soon, because we've learned a ton and we're really going to start making that a big part of our mission again, to get a community there and get people excited and offering them things they can't get in other places. It's a way you can test experiences, try new things, message however you want, position product however you want, provide information on products, and let people participate."

Along with Steam, indie bundles have been a massive boon to smaller adventure game developers. The first three titles in the Blackwell series and Gemini Rue were both featured in indie bundles, last year. Those games were the work of Dave Gilbert and Josh Nuernberger, respectively. Dave told me, "It was like launching the games all over again. I think more people have played Blackwell in the [week since it featured on the bundle] than they have in the last five years. My inbox and forums have exploded since the Indie Royale launch, and the association also gave Blackwell the final push it needed for Steam to accept it. We?’ve been trying to get the series on Steam for two years but they always said no. So we’re very grateful for that."

One of the largest problems for adventure game developers in the years?? since the golden age of the genre was publishers' lack of faith in the products. When they were willing to invest in such a game, it was lazily marketed and rarely got the support it needed. With promotion and direct access to players, developers have been able to show that there??'s a healthy audience out there, which will hopefully lead to more publishers investing in these types of titles.

Better tools? have also made it easier for small developers to make a finished product. Adventure game studio (AGS) is a free development kit inspired by Sierra's interface for its adventure titles and it's been used to create a vast number of games, including many commercial ones. Most of Wadjet Eye's catalog used AGS. "The creation of third-party tools like AGS enable idiots like me to make these games, so more of them are being made every day." Although AGS games frequently favor a retro aesthetic, that's a design choice rather than limitations imposed by the software. Dave explained, "It’s a big misconception that AGS can only handle low-res games. It can actually go as high as you want, just most people prefer not to. So the decision to use AGS has nothing to do with aesthetic choice, but it has everything to do with money and time. Right out of the box, it has everything you need ??to make a point-and-click adventure game. Not having the experience or knowledge to make an engine of my own, it was the most logical choice."

Dave's own games have a distinctly retro look and thematically they are similar to the much-beloved Gabriel Knight series. Playing the Blackwell series instantly transported me back in time to the days when Sierra were still blowing my mind with new adventures. It's a wonderful feeling. "Blackwell is very much me trying to do Gabriel Knight. The story of Joe Gould and Joseph Mitchell was my? Jensenian attempt at merging real-life historical people with supernatural events."

As Al Lowe reminded me, these smaller te?ams using AGS are a lot like the teams that developed adventure games in the '80s and early '90s. "I think that's great because it brings back the small team concept of one or two people working closely together on a project and actually putting their own personalities into it. I think that so much of what we see that's wrong with games today, that there is no key personality that comes through."

While cost is obviously a concern, I do think that there's a tendency for adventure game fans and developers to be incredibly nostalgic and thus gravitate more towards retro design. I'm guilty of this, myself. My love of the genre classics means that I'm immediately more interested in titles which are inspired by those particular art styles or certain mechanics. In Telltale's case, Dan defends nostalgia, believing that older franchises still have much to offer. "Well I think that for us, with having Sam & Max as our flagship, we looked at the content as being so rich and relevant in the modern day... [It] needed to be brought up now. Having Sam & Max in 200??4, and 2010 and all the times we've been able to use them as characters ... I mean they're just great characters and it's a great franchise. So for us introducing that cont??ent to a new audience was a huge thing."

Expanding into new markets such as consoles and handhelds has also increased the userbase. Adventure games used to be pretty much a PC only affair, with the occasional shoddy console port. While PC is still the focal platform, titles like Phoenix Wright, Ghost Trick, and 999 made the DS a must for lovers of strange adventures and interactive stories. PSN and XBLA have also seen their share of adventure ports, most of Telltale's games can be found there, for instance. Fans of the genre can even get their adventure on with their phone or tablet. Machinarium on iOS is fantastic and might be even better than it was on PC, thanks to it becoming a more tactile experi?ence.

Dan seemed to be willing to embrace new platforms and technology. "It can bring more imagination to how you interact with the characters in the world and how you experience the story." He acknowledges the risk of doing that when it comes to traditionalist fans, though. "It moves away from traditional stuff and is a bit risky. So you have to be pure adventure game or you're in this vanguard story game type of plac?e."

When I recall playing most of my favorite adventure games, I remember pouring countless hours into them. Getting stuck on a puzzle meant that I was going to be doing a lot of trial-and-error experimentation, exploring loads of areas, doing a lot of pixel hunting and then finally leaving the computer to go and contemplate it elsewhere?? -- maybe in a dojo or on top of a mountain. Failing that, I'd pester my friends.

Now there's a strong temptation to just go online and find a walkthrough, even if you've only just been stuck for a couple of minutes. It can ruin the pacing of the game and rob the player of their satisfaction at being able to think of a solution. In an effort to keep gamers immersed, or at the very least to stop them alt-tabing every time they get stumped, many modern adventures contain an in ?game hint system or simply less taxing puzzles. This can certainly frustrate? old fashioned players, like myself, but one cannot deny it has lowered the bar for entry and possibly increased the genre's fanbase.

Dave doesn't think this is really anything new, however. "You often hear that gamers are less patient these days. I’m not sure if that's true. Back in the '80s, I would spend several months playing the latest Infocom game and never think of ordering the hint book unless I was desperate. But then I got the game Enchanter, which mysteriously shipped with the hint book. I finished that game in less than a week. If I got stuck for maybe ten minutes I'd reach? for the hint book, because it was so accessible. The only thing that has changed since those days is that we all have instant access to that hint book via Google. There's no reason to force hard puzzles on people, because everyone can solve them. So the trend has moved away from difficult puzzles and more towards making the experience of playing an adventure game more enjoyable. It's a very hard balance to strike."

The importance of story in adventure games cannot be overstated. It's what drives the exploration forward and it's the motivation for completing the puzzles. One of the positive aspects on these titles not relying merely on head-scratchers is that there's even more effort put into the narrative. Josh Nuernberger's Gemini Rue contains one of my favorite stories in the genre of late. It's a tale of loss and identity set in a bleak neo??-noir future. Even though it's an understated adventure built using AGS, it's gained a lot of attention and you'd be crazy for n??ot checking it out. 

Josh advocates the importance of telling the story through gameplay. "What I'd really like to see is games that make the?se complex stories your experience in the game -- e.g. you are hunted by a mysterious oppressor, or you must face your alternate personality in physical form. Many games today are unfortunately sequences of simplified gameplay strung together by cut-scenes that provide context for your actions (see many first or third-person-shooters). Great games tell stories through their gameplay -- you understand the world and the story by the way you interact with them as a player."

Gemini Rue also has several action sequences: cover-based gun fights. "Although in adventure games you can't always go the route of totally removing all cut-scenes, you can at least integrate other aspects of gameplay so ?they don't just turn into quick time events. I knew when incorporating combat I wanted it to be meaningful and to work on its own as a mechanic. The ultimate goal is to give players a u??nique experience and a quick time event doesn't really capture a gunfight in the same way that a developed combat system does." I personally think that the integration of interesting mechanics is something the adventure genre desperately needed to continue expanding its audience and I think we're starting to see a lot more of that.

A great example of a game that does this is Double Fine's Stacking. It was built around the delightful premise of controlling a matryoshka doll and jumping inside larger ones to gain their abilities and overcome puzzles and obstacles. It was incredibly inventive and its unique gameplay mechanic really made it stand out. Double Fine seems to have had more success with the downloadable market than it did with Psychonauts or Brutal Legend. Their use of Kickstarter to fund ??their latest project seems to have paid off, as well, with fans almost throwing money at the company. It will be interesting to see the long-term impact of Kickstarter on independent developers as more start to use it to secure funding.

Along with shorter downloadable titles like Stacking, episodic adventures have become increasingly common in recent years. It has always struck me as a perfect fit for the genre. Most classic adventure games can be completed rather quickly if you know the solutions to the puzzles. The games' lengths were augmented by the challenge of solving the puzzles yourself. It also meant that each episode could fund the next one, making it financially more viable. It's far from an automatic route to success, however, according to Dave Gilbert. The Blackwell series has been going since 2006 and contains four games, but not all episodic series are so fortunate. "The mo??st obvious thing that can go wrong is that the game flops. What then? Do you forge on ah?ead and finish the series, knowing that the first one didn’t do well? If you do, then you run a much greater risk of the sequel doing just as badly. If you don’t, then you lose a lot of faith and goodwill and that is hard to get back."

Episodic games require a big investment from players as well as developers. Dave continues: "The main problem with episodic games is that isn’t a lot of faith in the format yet. Only Telltale has managed to pull it off successfully and gained the trust of the consumers. While opinions on their games vary, nobody doubts they will finish what they start. By this point, the gaming public probably has a bit more faith in my ability to deliver than most, but I still get a lot of emails from people saying they don't want to get invested in Blackwell not knowing if it will e??ver be finished. I can totally understand that."

It's not just independent developers and publishers working to bring adventure games to a new audience, though. Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain, an interactive thriller that reminded me a lot of FMV titles from the '90s, made some big waves a couple of years ago. While it enjoyed both commercial and critical success, it also got criticized for being more movie than videogame. Our own Jim Sterling is far from a fan. However, its success may lead more publishers to take risks on g??ames with such a strong focus on story.

The now-defunct Team Bondi made quite the impression last year with their investigative adventure (and driving simulator,) L.A. Noire. It made an even bigger impression with its implosion, some might say. The game itself, if not the treatment of the people that worked on it, still deserves praise, however. Before the ge?nre started to have problems, it was ahead of the curve when it came to animation, so it's good to see so much effort being put into making believable game worlds and characters again. If you'd asked me, back in 2005, if I ever thought big studios would be designi??ng AAA adventure games again, I would have laughed. Now it doesn't seem nearly as absurd.

I'm not going to be dramatic and suggest that we're seeing an adventure game renaissance. I wish I could, but it's simply not true. We're definitely seeing it making something of a comeback, though. The??re's a lot more faith in them, both from publishers and players and that's gone a long way to start bringing them back into the mainstream. The fact that the market is growing at all is a massive step forward and looking back j?ust five or six years, we can see how far the genre has come. There are a lot of talented developers out there bringing us more and more experiences to enjoy. It might not be a renaissance yet, but that doesn't mean it won't happen.

The post The grand adventure: Making a comeback appeared first on Destructoid.

The years-long L.A. Noire saga had a sad ending last year, but fans of the game may yet have a reason for optimism. In the latest edition of its "Asked & Answered" series, a Q&A with fans, Rockstar Games responded to a question about L.A. Noire with a glimmer of hope.

The publisher nixed the thought of any additional content being released for L.A. Noire, but hinted that the w?orld may not have seen the last of the detective simulator:

... don't count out the possibility of a new game in the L.A. Noire franchise in the future. We simply have not decided anything. We're all very pleased with how that game turned out and are considering what the future may hold for L.A. Noire as a ser?ies. We don't always rush to make sequels, but that does not mean we won't get to them eventually -- see Max and Red Dead for evidence of that -- we have so many games we want to make and the issue is always one of bandwidth and timing.

Indeed, there was a six-year gap between Red Dead Revolver and Red Dead Redemption, and by the time Max Payne 3 launches in May, eight and a half years will have passed since the release of its immediate predecessor. Team Bondi may not exist anymore, but Rockstar does own the L.A. Noire IP.

If we do ever see another L.A. Noire game, its existence will have defied the odds once again. While the long-in-development title launched to critical acclaim last May, its makers -- the Sydney-based studio Team Bondi -- became embroiled in an embarrassing cavalcade of post-release controversies. These included reports of missing credits for scores of employees; allegations by former employees of being overworked and not compensated properly; rumors of an irreparably soured relationship with publisher Rockstar Games; and ultimately, a sale of assets and IP before going into administration (the Australian equivalent of bankruptcy) with over AUD 1.4 million of collective debt to staff and creditors.

That said, L.A. Noire was one of my top ten games of 2011, and I'll gladly wait ??half a decade or more if Rockstar can make a sequel that turns out as well as the original. What about y?ou?

Asked & Answered: Max Payne 3 and More... [Rockstar Games]

The post Rockstar: ‘Don’t count out’ another L.A. Noire game appeared first on Destructoid.

Team Bondi creative staff are among a slew of other creditors owed big amounts of money following the destruction of the L.A. Noire studio. Over forty peo??ple ??are owed more than $1.4 million (Australian) in collective debt.

Developers in production, gameplay, design and programming -- as well as one intern -- are owed amounts ranging from $1,600 to $99,000. Even the vilified former boss of Bondi, B?rendan McNamara, is due $102,000. Oh, and since the company's getting liquidated, there's a good chance nobody will get even a decent fraction of what they're owed.

We hear of studios closing after a failed gam??e, but this goes to show that even a studio with a major worldwide hit can fall apart if handled badly. So, let ??that be a lesson to you!

Team Bondi staff amongst creditors owed ?more than ?$1.4m [GI.biz]

The post Team Bondi staff, oth?ers owed more than ?AUD 1.4 million appeared first on Destructoid.

It's official folks -- the studio behind one of the biggest games of 2011 has officially begun the process of dying. You usually hear of a studio closing after they release a flop, but it would seem that not even L.A. Noire could stop this Australian developer going down.

Documents were filed with the Australian Securities And Invest??ments Commission, notifying that a liquidator has been appointed and that the studio's administration resigned??. Another document has been filed, titled, "Special Resolution to Wind Up Company."

Team Bondi came under fire earlier this year due to accusations of excessive crunch time and poor working conditions. It also allegedly excluded certain developers from L.A. Noire's credits, refusing to acknowledge anybody who got fed up and quit before? the game was finished. 

L.A. Noire Dev Team Bondi To Officially Shutter [Gamasutra]

The post Team Bondi officially closing its doors appeared first on Destructoid.

Good evening, Destuctikids! As it's a Friday, we shot today's Destructoid Show? in front of a LIVE internet audience. In case you missed it, here it is.

Today, in addition to giving away some Assassin's Creed Revelations beta codes, we also covered some hard-hitting news. By "hard-hitting," I of course mean "video game related." First, the Dead Island comic book that was given away at Comic-Con is now available online. It looks like Team Bondi, the Australian studio behind L.A. Noire, isshutting its doors. We also talk about chainswords and devastation in Warhammer 40K: Space Marine. If you're too much of a sissy for Serious Sam 3: BFE, Croteam's got a support line just for you. Next, the folks at Bethesda the possibility of an Elder Scrolls MMORPG, as well as their approach to bugs in Skyrim.

Destructoid editors Hamza Aziz and Nick Chester are in Los Angeles right now for the Call of Duty: XP event, so we talked about some of the news coming from that. Details surface on the pricing of CoD: Elite, as well as its integration with Facebook Connect. There are also new weapons and new modes. There's a full news recap HERE.

This Monday's episode will be an all-Dead Island review special. That'll go live on our YouTube channel the minute the embargo's up, at 12:01 AM. So be sure you're subscribed. We're also giving away five more Assassin's Creed Revelations PS3 beta codes over the course of the weekend. If you haven't already, follow us on Twitter.

The post Th?e DTOID Show: ??Serious Sam, Skyrim Bugs, and CoD: XP appeared first on Destructoid.

The Sydney-based developer of L.A. Noire hasn't had the best of times since its 1940s-era crime epic was released in May. Despite strong sales and positive reviews, Team Bondi's troubles extended to employees' lack of proper game credit and apparently sub-par working conditions. The L.A. Noire intellectual property, along with all the assets, was then sold to Sydney firm Kennedy Miller Mitchell.

However, today seems to be the final nail in the coffin as the studio has been placed into administration, which essentially means that it can no longer pay of??f debts and that an external company can take control of the studio. This basically spells the end for Team Bondi. According the SmartCompany report, the offices of Team Bondi have been closed, and there are no employees available to handle media commitments. By all accounts, this is the last chapter in a very strange story for the studio that produced only one game, albeit a highly successful one, in seven years.

Team Bondi goes into administration [GameSpot Australia]

The post Team Bondi closes its doors ??and enters administration appeared first on Destructoid.

Following allegations of unfair working conditions and rumors of bankruptcy, it's been reported that L.A. Noire developer Team Bondi has sold its assets and intellectual property to KMM, with Bondi employees given the choice of taking a job with the company or enjoyin??g a severance package. 

There's no offi??cial announcement yet, but all the gossip conspires to paint Team Bondi as a studio that's all but finished. 

It's astounding how a studio can go from creating one of the most critically and commercially new IPs of the year to th??is. Fickle, fickle business. 

Team Bondi 'sells off assets and IP' [Develop]

The post Team Bondi assets and IP reportedly sold to KMM appeared first on Destructoid.

After the Team Bondi scandal first came up in June, and continued to be a thing through July, the future of the studio became unclear. With all the bad press surrounding the team, doubt of their survival became an issue as even their former producer, Rockstar, was rumored to be distancing themselves from the developers. Now, according to another ??rumor, KMM is stepping in to fill the v??oid left by Rockstar, potentially saving what is left of the studio from bankruptcy.

If this new rumor is to be believed, the remnants of the Team Bondi studio (including Brendan McNamara) may find a new home within Sydney-based KMM. Unfortunately for some employees of KMM animation shop Dr. D, the team currently finishing up Happy Feet 2, this possible agreement would mean bad news. Some of the former Team Bondi employees who left?? the studio because of McNamara and harsh working conditions found a ??home at Dr. D. If this turns out to be more than just scuttlebutt, I already feel bad for those former Bondi employees.

Rumour: Team Bondi to be absorbed into George Miller's KMM studio in Sydne??y [Kotaku via Joystiq]
Bankruptcy rumors circle Team Bondi [Develop]

The post Team Bondi not done yet appeared first on Destructoid.

Epic Games president Mike Capps has commented on the ongoing "Did Team Bondi act like a gigantic cock?" debate by adding his own thoughts when it comes to giving staff the credit they deserve. He thinks it's "really f*cking cheap?" to give simple credit where it's due, and a common courtesy.

"I think credit is really important, and it's really f***ing cheap -- pardon my French," Capps said. "It doesn't cost you a thing to have a guy in the credits who worked for you for three years and had to move to Seattle because his mom got sick six?? months before the product shipped. Or e??ven just say, he worked hard on this game but didn't finish it."

Team Bondi stands accused of overworking its staff and revoking their names from the L.A. Noire credits if they chose to quit the company. Michael Pachter believes developers should expect to be overworked, while Splash Damage added that crunch period shouldn't be taken for granted.

Epic Pres On LA?? Noire Credits Situation: Credits Are 'Really F***ing Cheap' [Industry Gamers]

The post Epic thinks crediting staff doesn’t cost a thing appeared first on Destructoid.

Industry analyst Michael "Slippery Bullet" Pachter has weighed in on the "crunch period" debate reignited by recent Team Bondi controversies??. According to Pacther, working long hours is an o?bligation, and anybody who dislikes it needs to get out.

"The LA Noire project was disrupted, and there were several false promises of finishing the game, and poor Brendan McNamara -- who is probably going to be ‘rich Brenda?n McNamara' -- was put in the position to get his team to crunch and get it d?one more than once,”  he said. "I don’t know anybody in game development who calls it a 9-5 job. I’ve never heard a developer say 'I don’t work overtime and I don’t work weekends.' If you’re getting into the industry -- if you’re going to be a developer - you know you’re going to work plenty of hours.

"I think that all the complaints about Team Bondi are premature.  If your complaint is you worked overtime and didn’t get paid for it, find another profession, cause I don’t think you’re getting overtime pay anywhere. And if your complaint is that you’re just underpaid in general, then why don’t we wait and see what bonuses are pa??id out."

While Pachter agrees that excessive crunch periods are a bad thing, his comments have caused quite a stir among those who believe that Team Bondi was unreasonable. Pachter is right when he argues that crunch development can be unavoidable, but what happened with Bondi seemed excessive and disrespectful. There are ways of getting more work from your employees -- overworking them for more than a year and removing anybody who quits from the game's credits isn't a good way.

Pachter To O?verworked Devs: 'Find Another Profession' [Industry Gamers]

The post Pachter: Overworked devs need to find another job appeared first on Destructoid.

L.A. Noire lead programmer Dave Heironymus has addressed the controversy surrounding his studio's working conditions, firmly taking the side of his employers. Addressing the former staff members who have accused Team Bondi of awful working conditions, Heironymous paints the situation as an orchestrated effort to "destroy" the ??company.

"What is the motivation behind these attacks on Team Bondi? If the motivation were to see improvement in the working conditions at Team Bondi, then I'm all for it," he wrote. "All of the management and staff at T?eam Bondi w??ant to improve our processes so we can make even better games in a decent timeframe, without burning people out along the way.

"However, some of these comments in recent st??ories seem to go beyond that. Some ex-employees who left the company years ago want to see Team Bondi destroyed. They want to see 35 game developers out of a job. That seems ??to me to be a less laudable motivation."

While he does not deny the incredibly long working hours, Heironymous claims that workers were generously rewarded and that management worked just as hard as anybody else. Nevetheless, he did say that "crunch" d??????????????????????????evelopment was not a good way to work, and has promised that Bondi will "learn from its mistakes."

Team Bondi: My Side Of The Story [Gamasutra]

The post Team Bondi: Ex-staff members want to ‘destroy’ studio appeared first on Destructoid.

The recently released "Reefer Madness" downloadable content for L.A. Noire may not be the las??t we see of detective Cole Phelps.

"The game isn't complete yet," Rockstar told Kotaku when asked if there was more to come.

"Reefer Madness" was the fourth case released post-release. Doesn?'t this Phelps guy get a break? Rockstar's comment can be interpreted in a few ways. Could we see more cases along the lines of what we've alr?eady been given? Or does Rockstar and Team Bondi have bigger plans in store?

What kind of c??ontent would you like to see added?

L.A. Noire 'Isn't Complete Yet', Rockstar Says [Kotaku]

The post More L.A. Noire content on the way, ‘game isn’t complete’ appeared first on Destructoid.

Another add-on case for L.A. Noire, another quick trailer involving fleeing suspects,? yelling, and accusing people of hi??ding something.

This one is called "Reefer Madness," appropriately enough. It's a Vice case, so you'll have to put up with more of that jerkface Roy Earle. It'll be up on PlayStation Network ($3.99) and Xbox Live (320 Microsoft Points) on July 12. Those with the Rockstar Pass?? will get it for free, as per usual.

The post L.A. Noire gets ‘Reefer Madness’ next week, trailer now appeared first on Destructoid.

According to supposedly leaked emails, Rockstar will not work with Team Bondi again, despite the success of L.A. Noire, due to "disdain" for the Australian? developer. 

"It's pretty well reported now that the working conditions were bad," said an unnamed sour?ce who had worked with Team?? Bondi. "What hasn't been discussed yet (from what I've seen) is the relationship between Team Bondi and Rockstar.

"I've heard a lot about Rockstar's disdain for Team Bondi, and it has been made quite clear that they will not publish Team Bondi's next game. Team Bondi are trying to find another publisher for their next title, but the relationship with Rockstar has been badly damaged -- Brendan treats L.A. Noire like a success due to his vision but I think Rockstar are the ones who saved the project. They continued to sink money into L.A. Noire, and their marketing was fantastic. Without their continued suppo?rt, Team Bondi would have?? gone under several years ago."

Team Bondi boss Brendan McNamara seems to lie at the heart of the conflict, labeled by ex-workers as a "bully with no talent." His ethics have come under fire since a number of former developers accused the studio of mistreatment. It seems that, despite being attached to one of the most critically acclaimed games of the year, Team Bondi?? is facing a?? huge wave of bad publicity that it might not recover from.

The emails behind the whistle blowing?? at Team Bo??ndi [GI.biz]

The post Rumor: Rockstar has ‘disdain’ for Team Bondi appeared first on Destructoid.

[Jim's Note: Nick wrote this better]

L.A. Noire developer Team ??Bondi has been accused of a year-long crunch period that led to a number of developers leaving the company -- at the cost of their credit for whatever work they put into the game. Over 130 former staff members are seeking recognition, with one member detailing the harsh working cond?itions that led to his departure.

According to the anonymous developer, his sanity "depended" on him quitting Team Bondi. While workers were warned that they would be left off the credits, ?the "inflexible and virtually praise-free" work conditions were too much. The crunch period -- that pre-Gold time where developers work very long hours to finish a product -- lasted over a year, during which time people had to sacrifice their weekends and stay late to get things done. 

While the workers fight to have their names associated with the blockbuster title, they have set up lanoirecredits.com, a website that reveals the "tr??ue" credits for the?? game. 

Stories like these are why I don't think I'd like to "jump ship" into development like so many other games writers. It seems like a pretty brutal industry, and I'm very grateful to be on the consumer side of things. I hope those who slogged away at L.A. Noire get their full dues, anyway.

Blockbuster L.A. Noire faces credits crisis [Sydney Herald]

The post L.A. Noire missing 1??30 staff credits, deve?lopers upset appeared first on Destructoid.

L.A. Noire's Rockstar Pass has launched on Xbox Live today, gi?ving customers access to a range of downloadable content. The extra stuff starts to??day, and is expected to continue for several months to come. 

For 800 Moon Bucks or $10.00, fans can access all DLC as it becomes available, with no further charges. Today, you can get your hands on the Badge Pursuit challenge and the Sharpshooter/Broderick outfit, as well as two cases that were originally pre-order bonuses -- Naked City and A Slip of the Tongue. 

Further updates include the Nicholson Electroplating case on June 21 and Reefer Madness case on July 12. All DLC can be purchased without the pass, with challenges costing $2.00, outfits costing?? $1.00 and? cases costing $4.00.

The post L.A. Noire Rockstar Pass, pre-order DLC launches appeared first on Destructoid.

L.A. Noire has sold 58% of its British copies on Xbox 360, as opposed to 42% on PS3, according to Chart Track. Although the sales figures are quite even -- moreso than Brink's 69% landslide -- it would seem that the addition of extra content on the PS3 version was not enough to give L.A. Noire an edge. 

One would think that with a single Blu-ray disc compared to the Xbox 360's three, and the extra content, the numbers would at least be reve??rsed in the PS3's favor. Apparently not. 

Batman: Arkham Asylum's exclusive Joker levels gave the PS3 version a sales boost over the 360, but apparently that didn't work out in this case. The obvious issue here is that The Joker needs to come to L.A. Noire. Make it so, Team Bondi!

The post 58% of L.A. Noire sales on Xbox 360, 42% on PS3 appeared first on Destructoid.

Team Bondi's L.A. Noire has, quite unsurprisingly, bro?ken a sales record to become the fastest selling new prop??erty in British history. In addition, it's become the 15th fastest selling game on Xbox 360 and the 11th fastest on PS3. 

So far, its sales have matched those of Rockstar's last major release, Red Dead Redemption. Chart-Track, as usual, refus?ed to release solid sales data, only giving us these lovely little comparisons. 

Did anybody think this game would flop?

LA Noire Sets New UK Chart Record [Edge]

The post L.A. Noire becomes fastest selling new IP in UK appeared first on Destructoid.

[Every Friday, Destructoid will pose topical a question to the community. Answer it if you want!]

We've got a pretty easy question this week -- L.A. Noire, yay or nay? The game released in North America this Tuesday, and in Britain today. Many of you have had your hands on it, so what d?o ?you reckon? 

You all know what I thought if you've read the Destructoid review. I called it "a testament to the possibility of bringing dark, adult, mature games to the mainstream market," and stated that it's "guaranteed to be a classic for years to come." My words ??are echoed by nearly every other reviewer out there. 

So, do you agree with the reviews, or would you more agree with Far Cry 2's creative director, who called it shallow and uninspired? Do you think L.A. Noire is excellent, or trite? Thrilling or boring? Are you impressed or creeped ou?t by the facial animation? 

This is the question of the week. Answer it!

The post The Question: So what do you think of L.A. Noire? appeared first on Destructoid.

According to developer Team Bondi, the superior female brain finds L.A. Noire a very rewarding experience. Moreso than Duke Nukem Forever? Crazy talk!

"We think it appeals to a really broad church," said director Brendan McNamara, "and one of the phenomenons we've seen a lot w??hen we watch people play the game is?? that they'll play it, or their wife or their girlfriend will play it, and two or three people will play it together like they're watching TV.

"Three people can be entertained playing the same game and tha??t's a bit of a phenomenon. So far it's been very appealing to women too, which is great. I think women are pretty good at reading whether people are lying or not."

I'd say L.A. Noire certainly has a wider appeal than some of the more violent titles out there, and I think it does a terrific job of providing something ??for everybody. As a matter of anecdotal evidence, I can confirm that my wife tried to Bogart my time with the review copy. She's obsessed with the damn thing!

L.A. Noire is 'very appealing' to women, says dev [CVG]

The post Team Bondi: L.A. Noire is very appealing to women appeared first on Destructoid.

Far Cry 2's creative director, Clint Hocking, has slammed L.A. Noire six ways to Sunday, tearing the game apart as a piece of kitsch entertainment, and declaring that it has nothing to say for itself. Man, and sometimes I feel unprofessional when I rag on my industry peers.

"1hr in. Moriarty was right re games as kit??sch," He said, referencing a GDC talk. "Derivative, uninspired, narcissistic. Nothing original to say, & said badly. #LANoire"

Pretty damn vicious, but while I thoroughly disagree, I'll respect the man's right to an opinion. The only problem with?? the criticism is that Hocking's own contribution to the game industry was glitchy, poorly paced, creatively contradictory nonsense. #FarCry2 #DoucheyStrawmanEvenIfItsTrue.

@ClickNothing [Twitter]

The post Far Cry 2 dev: L.A. Noire derivative, uninspiring appeared first on Destructoid.

Rockstar and Sony have issues a joint statement regarding the issue of L.A. Noire and overheating PS3 systems. Yesteday, Rockstar blamed PS3 Firmware 3.61. Today, Sony blamed L.A. Noire. Now? both companies have said it's neither Firmware 3.61 OR L.A. Noire. 

"We have received a very small number of customer support quest?ions about PS3’s overheating or shutting down while playing L.A. Noire," said the compa?nies. "At this time, Rockstar Games and Sony can confirm that neither L.A. Noire or firmware update 3.61 are causing the PS3 hardware to overheat.   We are both committed to working hard to find solutions to this and any issues that may arise."

Links have been provided for both Rockstar support and Sony support. Nothing furthe??r was said over Sony's claim that "other systems" had also overheated (which was basically a statement that Xbox 360s were suffering problems too).

New ga??mes often bring with them coincidental stories of overheating consoles, but this one certainly seems to be a little more serious than that. Hopefully none of you guys have had to deal with it!

The post Rockstar & Sony: L.A. Noire NOT causing PS3s to overheat appeared first on Destructoid.

Rockstar has revealed that the first downloadable mission for L.A. Noire,?? the Nicholson Electroplating Arson Case, is scheduled to launch on June 21. 

The content was first outed by Best Buy, when codes for the case were offered during L.A. Noire's midnight launch. Team Bondi has also stated ??that whol??e new crime desks -- specifically for fraud and burglary -- could wend their digital way to you in future. 

I'll be picking this up without question. ??Anyb??ody else?

The post L.A. Noire gets new DLC June 21 appeared first on Destructoid.

[Update: Both companies claim this is a coincidence. We're staying on top of this story.]

Yesterday, Rockstar had suggested that PS3 Firmware 3.61 was causing L.A. Noire to cook people's systems. Now it's become apparent that Xbox 360 consoles are also suffering from overheating issues due to the Team Bondi game?, while Sony emphatically denies any respo??nsibility. 

"As with the release of any System Update, we will invariably see a very small number of users whose console has failed following updating their console, which is an unfortunate coincidence" said Sony. "Rockstar have now updated their FAQ on the matter, have admitted that it is a fault with their latest title L.A. Noire and have offered a work around. It should also be noted that the issue with thi?s title is not PS3 specific and is also affecting other consoles."

The good news is that something bad has happened and Sony is totally? off the hook. The bad news is that at least twice as many gamers now run the risk of frustration. That's not really a "win" situation for the consumers. 

Rockstar s??hould hopefully be able to patch the issue. We're still waiting on our comment.

Report: LA Noire To Blame For Console??s Overheating [Edge]

The post L.A. Noire overheats Xbox 360s as ??well as PS??3s (Update) appeared first on Destructoid.