411 Games Fact or Fiction 05.31.11: L.A. Noire, Modern Warfare 3, Minecraft and More

Posted by Adam Larck on 05.31.2011

Is the Modern Warfare 3 trailer reason enough to pick up the game? Will L.A. Noire get a sequel? Will Max Payne 3 become the new Duke Nukem Forever in terms of being vaporware? 411’s Todd Vote and Dan Watson debate these questions and more in this week’s 411 Fact or Fiction: Games!

Welcome back to another week of 411 Games Fact or Fiction. I'm Adam Larck, and I picked up Clash of Heroes for DS to kill time. Other than that, I've been trying to finish up L.A. Noire completely.

This week we have Todd Vote taking on Dan Watson. Let's see how these two will do. Time for banner!





1.) We will see a L.A. Noire sequel.

Todd Vote - Fact:L.A. Noire was a great jumping off point for a new franchise that is ripe with possibilities. Who's to say the premise has to stick with murder cases? You can offer just about any type of crime and it could add a new layer to an already good game. Hell, if the GTA franchise has shown us anything, we may not even see Cole Phelps back in a new game. (I haven't finished the campaign yet, so I don't even know how the first game will end.) Rockstar and Team Bondi have to be happy with the reaction to the game, and they are only going to get better.

Dan Watson - Fact: You will see a game that is similar but I don't think you will be the same main character. Rockstar likes to change characters and settings. I could see a New York type setting or a Chicago setting (especially with all the organized crime taking place in these two cities) but I don't think you will see a direct sequel. I don't think Rockstar has had very many games at all that are direct sequels.

Score: 1 for 1 - Considering how well the game's doing, I wouldn't be surprised to see a new game later down the line.



2.) Max Payne 3 will become the new Duke Nukem Forever.

Todd Vote - Fiction: I have no reason to believe Max will be stuck in development for 12 years. I bet we hear something about Max at E3. With L.A. Noire out to gamers, what is left for Rockstar to focus on in the immediate future? Max Payne. I hope we will get an announcement, and possible release date about the title.

Dan Watson - Fiction: I don't think we will see many more games that get shelved for long without being canceled first. Max Payne was a great series. I think there may be a decent market for it, but really look at the gaming industry, if you aren't a shooter, you aren't going to be picked up by tens of millions. I know some will disagree but really, Max Payne 3 will come out but after about three weeks of being out you won't hear about it. I could give you a 10 game list from big name games in the past three months that came out that are played less than Call of Duty Black Ops.

Score: 2 for 2 - The game keep getting pushed back, and now is barely talked about. I can see this game getting a LONG hiatus.

Tags: GameTrailers.com, Debut Trailer, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

3.) You'll pick up Modern Warfare 3 based on the gameplay trailer.

Todd Vote - Fiction: Dude, I haven't played but an hour of any Call of Duty game since the release of Mortal Kombat. I'll probably end up picking up the game, but it won't be based off of the gameplay trailer. Let's be honest, the trailer is offering nothing we haven't seen before. I'll be picking up the game, for the campaign story, to see how things end up from the first two games. Also, who knows, maybe come November some of my Call of Duty burn out will be gone and I'll enjoy the multiplayer again.

Dan Watson - Fact: That was an amazing trailer. I like the COD: Modern Warfare story arc right now and think it is awesome to have a situation where the same characters are continuing to appear. I was amazed when I saw how they were presenting this game. If the game is as good as the trailer, we are in for one great game.

Score: 2 for 3 - After the mess that was Modern Warfare 2, I'm not trusting Infinity Ward with much until I see that they can update a game.

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4.) Minecraft will be just as popular on an Android phone as it is on PC.

Dan Watson - Fiction: When I play on the Android, I play simple games. Games that I can put under my desk and play while I am at work. John Spartan would understand, why didn't you put him up against me this week? We want a real man's game. Give us Angry Birds or other simple mindless games. We don't want games like Minecraft.

Todd Vote - Fact: I don't see why not. I can see the folks who bought it on PC taking it with them on their Android phones. I would say if it gets half the attention Angry Birds gets they will have to call it a success right? Not having a PC, or an android phone, I can't really speak on the game itself, so I'm going off of everything I keep hearing and seeing about this game just about everywhere you turn.

Score: 2 for 4 - I'm not sure if it will be as addictive as on PC, but it will probably still sell well.



5.) Ghost Recon: Future Soldier really will be "Better with Kinect."

Dan Watson - Fact: Anytime a shooter can get the ability for me to be the guy running into battle, its going to be a better game. It really depends how it plays and how we get to interact with the game. From what I hear, Killzone 3 was pretty cool with Move. Let's hope this game can help Kinect get a real foothold in the market. It would be great if more companies started using the motion technology for more than just mini-games.

Todd Vote - Fiction: I think that Kinect functionality definitely has the potential to bring something new to the game. But it is hard to say if the game will actually be a better experience because of it. I think it will change it enough to make playing with Kinect worth trying, but I don't think it will exactly improve the experience any.

Score: 2 for 5 - I'm curious how a shooter will work with Kinect, but I honestly don't think it will be better.



6.) Sony will make up the $171 million lost in the PSN breach by the end of this year.

Dan Watson - Fiction: That is a lot of money. This breach really hurts my confidence in buying a cell phone that is run by Sony at this point. How do I know that my information is safe from hackers and that I won't have contacts or information stolen because of Sony's "oversights?" I think Sony will come close to making out even if you look at just the gaming side of things, if you count everything Sony makes, then ya they probably will make up that gap but if just gaming, no, no they won't.

Todd Vote - Fiction: It all depends on how soon they are able to get the PSN store back up and running, and how willing the gamers are to try and use the app anymore. I don't think I'd be as willing to put my credit card info back on PSN after everything that has happened. Besides that, the revenue that they will start to gain once things are back up and running will still only be projected revenue, and not additional revenue to make up for the $171 million that was lost.

Score: 3 for 6 - I don't see Sony making this back this year. I think they'll have to take the loss and move on.



Bonus Question.) L.A. Noire has lived up to the hype.

Dan Watson - Fact: Hell ya it did. Sure at times the game is a bit repetitive. I get it, but guess what, so is real life. Do you think cops just go around and every day is some new adventure? No, they talk to suspects who will lie and then have to figure out what is true and what is a lie. This game really stands out to me as being semi-realistic and very enjoyable. For those looking for a GTA police edition, don't look here (and you're an idiot if you thought that is what you were getting here). This is truly a master piece of a game that brings you deep into the story and allows you to control the story. This game is my early game of the first half of the year. I am sure 2nd half of the year will have our overall game of the year but this is truly amazing. Rockstar has put out two great franchises in two years that aren't GTA and that have played amazingly (L.A. Noire and Red Dead Revolver). Kudos to them for such a great job done.

Todd Vote - Fact: Being a bit leery about the game, I gave it a rental on Tuesday when it came out, only because I wasn't sure how the premise would play out. It's now on my purchase list. The game is quite an experience, and I have to agree that it did in fact live up to the hype.

Adam Larck - Fact: I picked this up after seeing the praise it was getting, and haven't been disappointed. The facial animations are good, that's true, but I also like the detective work. I often find myself doing a few parts of a case before tracking down new vehicles and doing a few street crimes. It's a good start to the summer season, and should keep entertained for a few more weeks at least.

The pair goes 3-for-6 this week, with a good lapse of right answers in the middle. What do you think? Agree or disagree with their answers? Let us know. See you in seven!