In case you haven’t heard, Rockstar Games (in conjunction with Team Bondi), not content with teaching the world how thrilling grand theft auto can be or what a wild western video game should look and feel like, have turned their attention to the Golden Age of Hollywood, which has certainly caused some excitement here at SFL!

Violent crime thriller L.A. Noire promises an authentic interactive experience as you play beat cop Cole Phelps who progresses up the ranks by searching for clues, chasing down suspects and of course carrying out some gripping interrogations during the post-war boom in Hollywood's drug-fuelled, murder riddled, corrupt city.

Using groundbreaking new ‘MotionScan’ animation technology that captures every nuance of an actor's facial performance in breathtaking detail, L.A. Noire is meticulously researched and inspired by every brilliant detective film you’ve ever seen (Chinatown, The Naked City etc). Cleverly, it also draws upon famous real life crimes like the Black Dahlia murder as inspiration including in some instances, re-imagined outcomes to real world cases that remain unsolved to this day.

Accompanied by a seriously tasty jazz soundtrack, it’s not all grisly serial killer crimes you’ll be working on. There are a total of five crime desks that you’ll get to tackle including Patrol, Traffic and Vice, but all will require you to be sharp, keep cool and use your wits/observation skills.

Rockstar Games describe the game further: “From investigating crime scenes with a keen detective’s eye, to tense interrogations where you’ll have to pick up on nuances of what the suspect may (or may not) be telling you, to action-packed pursuit on foot, in car – plus fights and shootouts. We really wanted the game to make you feel like you are actually a detective, working criminal cases and making decisions about how you solve crimes and to build out a variety of gameplay moments and experiences to that effect. In every case, there is only one real truth about what happened - it’s up to your skill as a detective to discover it.”

With 40 unique achievements/trophies to collect, this game isn’t going to just be talked about because of the storyline or setting. For the first time ever, it was acknowledged and honoured as an official selection at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival, in testimony to the incredible crossover between filmmaking and interactive entertainment. Certainly many of you will instantly recognise Aaron Staton (Ken Cosgrove from the TV series Mad Men) as Cole Phelps because thanks to the MotionScan technology, never before has a game offered such realistic, graphically detailed and rich performances and aesthetics. The subtlety in body language, facial expressions with the accuracy of how the characters behave and move when they drive, shoot, eat, drink and even smoke is mesmerising. Emotionally, it raises the dramatic narrative of video games to a whole new level. Combining this with beautifully rendered environments and astonishingly intricate realism of the performers means players are in for a fully immersive, thrilling treat – think of it like a gritty pulp fiction film you can actually play!

Rockstar Games never do anything by half (there are over 400 characters and 100+ vehicles in the game whilst the script is a whopping 2000+ pages long) and we’re already convinced that this game will be 100% brilliant. The impact it will have on the future of gaming is sure to be immense so dust of your Raymond Chandler mac and head to tinsel town at the end of the month.

Developed by Team Bondi in conjunction with Rockstar Games, L.A. Noire arrives for PlayStation3 and Xbox360 on May 20th.