L.A. Noire: Complete Detective's Guide

How to investigate crime scenes, read interrogations, earn five-star ratings on every case, and clean up the collectibles and achievements in the PC Complete Edition of L.A. Noire.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the Steam Complete Edition (PC release 8 November 2011, no content updates since). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

• Every case can be replayed. The Cases menu lets you replay any finished case for a better rating, so nothing in the story is permanently missable. Play naturally the first time.
• Search scenes slowly. When you're near something you can inspect, you get a short musical chime and (on a controller) a vibration. When the investigation music fades out, you've found every clue in that location.
• Read the face, then check the notebook. Before choosing a response in an interview, look at the suspect's eyes, mouth and posture, and look at what you already have in your notebook. Evidence that directly contradicts a statement is your cue to accuse.
• Only accuse when you can prove it. An accusation needs a specific piece of evidence. If you think someone is lying but can't prove it, pick the doubt/pressure option instead.
• Save Intuition points for interviews. You earn Intuition as you rank up. In an interview, one point removes a wrong answer or shows you what the community picked most often. On a scene it can reveal every clue. Interviews are where it helps most.
• Drive carefully during cases. Crashes and property damage are tallied as penalties and hurt your case rating. You can also let your partner drive; it's safe, but you skip the drive and any street crimes that pop up on the way.
• Answer street crimes over the radio. These optional side cases give XP, which means faster Intuition points. Anything you miss can be done later in the desk's Free Roam mode.
• Failed an action sequence a few times? You can skip most chases and shootouts after repeated failures and it doesn't lock you out of anything, though an unskipped run looks cleaner if you're chasing five stars.

How the Game Is Structured

You play Cole Phelps, a decorated Marine veteran working his way up through the LAPD in 1947. The story is split across five desks, each with its own partner and its own kind of case:

Desk | Partner | What the cases are like

Patrol | Ralph Dunn | Short tutorial-style cases that teach shooting, chasing and basic searching

Traffic | Stefan Bekowsky | Hit-and-runs, vehicle crimes, insurance scams

Homicide | Rusty Galloway | A string of murders that echo the Black Dahlia case; long, interview-heavy investigations

Vice | Roy Earle | Drugs, rackets, and the morphine thread that drives the main conspiracy

Arson | Herschel Biggs | House fires tied to the Suburban Redevelopment Fund and the finale

Some story sections also put you in the shoes of Jack Kelso, an insurance claims investigator and Phelps's old Marine rival. Flashbacks to Phelps's time on Okinawa play between cases and fill in the backstory.

DLC cases in the Complete Edition

The Steam version is the Complete Edition, so it includes the five cases that were originally sold as DLC. They slot into their desks on their own:

• The Consul's Car (Traffic; originally a PlayStation 3 exclusive)
• A Slip of the Tongue (Traffic; car-theft case)
• The Naked City (Vice; inspired by the 1948 film)
• Reefer Madness (Vice)
• Nicholson Electroplating (Arson; based on the 1947 O'Connor Plating Works explosion)

These are full-length cases and among the best-written in the game. Don't skip them. Nicholson Electroplating especially is a highlight of the Arson desk.

The Investigation Loop

Most cases follow the same rhythm:

• Crime scene: walk the area, inspect objects, and rotate them to find details like engravings, labels and bloodstains. Some items are inspection puzzles: a torn note to piece together or a mechanism to line up.
• Notebook: clues, people of interest, locations and questions are all logged automatically. New locations show up as places you can drive to.
• Interviews: the core of the game. Every question you get right makes the suspect give up more; get it wrong and that line is closed for good in this playthrough.
• Action: foot chases, car chases, tails and shootouts.
• Charge the suspect: in some cases (especially Homicide) you pick who to charge, and the case rating reflects the evidence you gathered.

Scene-search tips

• Walk the edges of the area. Clues love to sit near walls, in bushes, and on the far side of cars.
• Pick up and rotate every object. A lot of the useful detail is on the back or bottom.
• Irrelevant items are real objects too. Put them down, don't read into them.
• Don't leave a scene while the investigation music is still playing unless you're stuck. Going back later is possible, but coming back specially to finish a scene wastes time.
• A useful habit: when you arrive somewhere new, walk straight to the obvious "body/victim/car" focus first, then sweep outward in a loop.

Interrogations Explained

The Steam Complete Edition uses the original labels Truth, Doubt and Lie. (The 2017 remaster on consoles renamed them Good Cop, Bad Cop and Accuse. The logic is the same, and older guides use one set or the other.)

Option | When to use it | What happens if you're wrong

Truth (Good Cop) | Relaxed face, steady eye contact, and their story matches your notebook | You miss information that pressure would have shaken loose

Doubt (Bad Cop) | They look shifty, but you have no evidence that disproves them | Can put off a cooperative witness

Lie (Accuse) | You have a specific item in the notebook that contradicts them | You must pick the evidence; the wrong item fails the question

Reading faces

The motion-captured faces are the whole point of the game, but they don't match real-life tells perfectly. What works in practice:

• Looking away, eyes darting, lip-biting, nervous swallowing, or a long pause after the question usually means they're hiding something.
• Steady eye contact and a relaxed, natural answer usually means truth.
• Over-the-top indignation ("How dare you!") often means doubt is right, but check your evidence first.
• Most important: the notebook beats the face. If you have a clue that directly contradicts what they said, accuse no matter how calm they look.

Using evidence correctly

When you accuse, pick the item that proves that specific statement wrong, not just something that looks bad for them. If a suspect says they weren't at a place, the evidence has to put them there. Think "what disproves this sentence?"

Intuition points

Use | Effect | Best moment

Remove an answer | Takes one wrong option off the board | A tough question with lots at stake

Ask the community | Shows how other players answered | When you're split between two options

Reveal clues (scene) | Shows all remaining clues at a location | Big scenes where you've hit a wall

The achievement The Hunch asks you to use four Intuition points in one interview session and get every question right, so bank a few before a long interview.

Case Ratings and Ranking Up

Each case ends with a five-star rating. It takes into account:

• Clues found at every scene
• Questions answered correctly
• Damage and penalties (crashes into property and civilians, reckless driving)
• Performance in action sequences

Finishing cases and street crimes gives XP, which raises your Rank (the achievement The Brass is for reaching max rank). Every rank-up gives you Intuition and unlocks rewards like extra vehicle and collectible map locations.

How to five-star consistently

• Find every clue (listen for the music ending).
• Get the interviews right. Replaying a case with the right answers in mind is fine.
• Drive like a sensible 1940s detective, or let your partner drive.
• Don't hit bystanders in shootouts.

Shamus To The Stars needs every story case at five stars. The Third Degree needs every interview in one story case answered correctly.

Collectibles and Side Content

Collectible | Count | Notes

Street crimes | Several per desk | Radio dispatch calls. Each desk has its own, and you can finish them in that desk's Free Roam. Johnny On The Spot (20) and The Long Arm Of The Law (all)

Gold film reels | 50 | Hidden around the city. Hollywoodland achievement

Landmarks | Dozens | Real 1940s L.A. landmarks. Drive past them. Star Map achievement

Vehicles | 95 | Includes hidden vehicles tucked away in garages. Auto Enthusiast (5), Auto Collector (40) and Auto Fanatic (every vehicle)

Newspapers | About a dozen | Found at story-case locations; they fill in the side plot running behind the cases

Collecting is much easier after the story. Free Roam has no case pressure, and rank-ups reveal more locations.

Achievements to watch

These are the ones worth thinking about in advance (from the Steam achievement list):

• The Moose: follow Candy Edwards without using cover or incognito, except when starting or picking up the tail.
• The Shadow: tail a suspect in a single case without being spotted.
• Keep A Lid On: finish a brawl without losing your hat as an LAPD Detective or Investigator.
• Not So Hasty: stop a fleeing suspect with a warning shot as an LAPD Detective.
• Traffic Stop: disable a suspect vehicle with help from your partner.
• Lead Foot: keep the needle above 80 mph for more than ten seconds.
• Miles On The Clock: drive more than 194.7 miles.
• Public Menace: rack up $47,000 in penalties in a single story case. Do this on a replay, not your five-star run.
• Roscoe And Friends: kill at least one bad guy with every gun. You'll need to swap to enemy weapons in shootouts.
• Wooden Overcoats (30 headshots) and Dead Men Are Heavier (100 kills) come naturally.
• The City Of The Angels: 100% completion.
• DLC achievements: Eight Million Stories (The Naked City), The Printer's Devil (A Slip of the Tongue), The Big Unfriendly (Nicholson Electroplating), Every Herb Bearing Seed (Reefer Madness).

Action Sequences

• Foot chases: stick to the suspect's line. You get Asphalt Jungle for chasing one down and tackling them. When you're close, a warning shot can end some chases (Not So Hasty).
• Car chases: stay close and let your partner shoot, or ram the car. Watch the penalty counter.
• Tailing: hang back, use cover and the crowd, and stop when the suspect turns around. The awareness meter tells you how close you are to being spotted.
• Shootouts: it's a cover shooter. Health regenerates in cover. Headshots end fights quickly.
• Brawls: block, then counter. Fights are short and forgiving.

PC Tips (Complete Edition)

• Frame rate: the PC version is locked to 30 fps. Community workarounds to raise it circulate on the Steam forums, but the game's physics and timing are tied to frame rate, and players report broken sequences at higher frame rates. If you experiment, keep a way to switch back to 30 fps for any sequence that misbehaves.
• Controller: the game was designed around a gamepad, and interviews and driving both feel more natural on one. Keyboard and mouse work fine for shootouts.
• Rockstar services: like other Rockstar PC titles on Steam, it runs through Rockstar's account and launcher services. If it won't start, make sure the Rockstar launcher is installed and signed in, then verify the Steam files.
• Reviews were generally favorable (83 on Metacritic), though some critics called it a bare-bones PC port. Expect a 2011-era game rather than a remaster. The 2017 remaster and the VR Case Files (seven cases) are separate releases.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Accusing on a hunch. Without proof, an accusation is almost always the wrong call. Doubt is the safe "I don't believe you".
• Leaving scenes before the music stops. Missing one key clue can take away an interview option later.
• Picking evidence that's related but not contradictory. The evidence has to disprove the exact claim.
• Driving yourself everywhere at full speed on a five-star run. Crashes pile up penalties quickly.
• Spending Intuition on easy scenes. Keep it for long, branching interviews.
• Treating it like GTA. Shooting outside of scripted fights isn't possible, and the city is for investigating, not chaos.
• Worrying about missables. Cases are replayable, and street crimes can be done in Free Roam. Relax on the first playthrough.

Advanced Tips

• Check the notebook's Questions list before starting an interview. It shows what topics are coming, so you can think about the evidence for each one.
• Replay interviews for the "correct branch" achievements. Use your first playthrough to learn the answers, then replay with the right ones.
• Homicide charges: the "right" suspect in several Homicide cases isn't obvious. Your rating depends on the evidence, so consider which suspect your clues actually support.
• Do the street crimes as they come up during Traffic and Vice. You get the XP (and Intuition) sooner, and that pays off in the tough late-game interviews.
• Free Roam per desk: each desk has a Free Roam mode on the Cases menu. It's the most efficient place for collectibles and leftover street crimes.
• Hidden vehicles hide in garages and tucked-away lots, and rank-up rewards help point you to them. Leave them for the post-game.

FAQ

Is L.A. Noire open world? Sort of. The 1947 Los Angeles map is large and drivable, but the game is a linear set of cases with optional street crimes and collectibles. It's a detective game first.

What's the difference between Truth/Doubt/Lie and Good Cop/Bad Cop/Accuse? Just the labels. The 2017 remaster renamed them to fit the dialogue better. The Steam Complete Edition uses the original Truth/Doubt/Lie.

Does "ask the community" still work? It pulls answer statistics through Rockstar's online services, so it only works when you're signed in and online. Removing a wrong answer and revealing scene clues work regardless.

Can I fail a case? You can't "lose" a case. Wrong answers close off information and lower your rating, but the story keeps going. Replay the case from the Cases menu to improve.

Does the Steam version include the DLC? Yes. The Complete Edition bundles the DLC cases (The Naked City, A Slip of the Tongue, Nicholson Electroplating, Reefer Madness, The Consul's Car).

How long is L.A. Noire? The story with the DLC cases runs well over 20 hours for most players. Going for 100% with collectibles and all five-star ratings adds a lot more.

Can I play at 60 fps? Not officially. The PC version is capped at 30 fps and its physics are tied to frame rate. Unofficial tweaks exist, but they can break chases and scripted sequences, so playing at 30 fps is the safe option.

Is there a New Game Plus? No. Replaying individual cases from the Cases menu does the same job.

Sources

• L.A. Noire on Wikipedia
• L.A. Noire Steam store page
• L.A. Noire Steam global achievements
• Rockstar Games: L.A. Noire
• Steam guide: all evidence, newspapers, film reels and landmarks
• Steam guide: all 95 vehicle locations