The only down-side to a multi-disc game is that it could require a lot of disc-swapping. You don't want to play, say, the two-disc Mass Effect 2 and want to keep changing discs. Not to worry, Barrera said. "Since the game is built around the concept of progressing through individual cases from desk to desk, players on Xbox will find disc-swapping is hassle-free. In fact, players will only need to swap discs twice at natural breaks between cases without interrupting the flow of the game."

I've seen several of the game's cases, each of which is presented as a discrete episode, though players can diverge and tinker with some side-missions. Rockstar and Team Bondi people who worked together on the game have likened L.A. Noire to a couple of seasons of a TV show. And it turns out they made some episodes they didn't have disc space for. "Throughout development, we created lots of great cases, the bulk of which were central to the main story of Cole Phelps and his rise through the ranks of the LAPD, alongside other cases that felt more like strong stand-alone episodes," Barrera said. "This gave us a powerful main story, and left us with quality extra content that we wanted to put out as DLC, that would slot seamlessly into the existing game."