Tips and Tricks - L.A. Noire

As with most Rockstar games, L.A. Noire offers you some leeway to play it the way you like and make the experience your own. There's clearly not enough opportunity to play the villain to satisfy GrrlGotGame, so set your own expectations accordingly - though it is possible to blow away many bad guys and even chuck a few of them off rooftops if that's your bag. White hat types will find much more to love, if they can stomach the graphic violence and rough storyline.

Regardless of your play style, the first thing you should do is sign up for the Rockstar Social Club. Yeah, it's a marketing gimmick to get your email address but it offers a nice screen for comparing stats with your friends and, more importantly, it unlocks the Chicago Lightning suit. Some of the outfits in the games act like powerups, and this one improves your aim with certain weapons.

Here are a few more things you should know:

• If you're playing the Xbox 360 version: You'll need nearly 20GB to install all three discs - though it's optional and doing so won't prevent you from having to swap the discs as you progress in the game.
• The PS3 version only has one disc but still requires about 1.5GB hard drive space.
• Customize gameplay in the Options menu. You can choose whether the music cuts out when you've found all clues at a scene or if your controller vibrates when you're close to a potential clue. You can even choose black-and-white mode if you prefer your noir to look more White Heat than L.A. Confidential.
• Knock out the street crime missions as you go. New crimes are unlocked with new desks and cases. If you miss some, they'll be available by accessing the free roam "The Streets of L.A." mode on the Cases menu under the desk that you've completed (Xbox 360 gamers may have to swap discs). In free roam, completed street crimes are grayed out but you'll still trigger them if you drive past. Each case also only appear during certain times - so if one you were heading to vanishes suddenly, that's why.
• Action sequences are the closest this game comes to resembling Grand Theft Auto. If you fail, try to at least learn your suspect's pattern, then rinse and repeat until you catch your quarry.
• During interrogations, only call someone on a lie if you have evidence. Otherwise, choose truth or, if you suspect something but don't have a clue to back it up, select doubt. Don't overuse doubt - it can shut some witnesses down so they won't talk to you.
• You can let your partner drive to save time. Unless there's some dialogue required en route, you'll skip right to the destination even if you've never visited it before. Though if you're an achievement or trophy hound, you'll want to do most of the driving so you can find landmarks, film cans, bonus vehicles and more.
• To get credit for a vehicle and add it to your collection, you simply need to climb into it for a second. Take advantage of parking lots with lots of cars, and keep an eye out for garages and exotic vehicles driving around town. You're free to commandeer a citizen's vehicle at any time for any reason, though remember only police cars have sirens and a radio.