L.A. Noire – Nicholson Electroplating Trailer
Nicholson Electroplating DLC Case
Developer: Team Bondi
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Release date: June 21, 2011
Players: 1
Genre: Detective Thriller
Platforms: PlayStation®3 and Xbox 360
“Nicholson Electroplating” is a downloadable case from the Arson desk available for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. At 9.45 in the morning, a thunderous explosion rocks Los Angeles. City blocks are flattened and smoke and ash fill the air. Detectives Phelps and Biggs race to the site of the former Nicholson Electroplating plant to find a pile of unanswered questions. What caused the explosion? What were Nicholson’s employees working on? And where are chief chemist Dr Harold McLellan and his mysterious female assistant?
Like so many other storylines in L.A. Noire, “Nicholson Electroplating” is inspired by true-life events from 1947 Los Angeles and features unique, case-specific characters, locations, and trophies/achievements.
“Nicholson Electroplating” is available for download on June 21 for the standalone price of $6.95 PSN (AUS)/$7.90 (NZ)/ 320 MS Points, or free with purchase of the Rockstar Pass.
About the Rockstar Pass
The Rockstar Pass is a brand-new way to pre-order and purchase DLC for L.A. Noire. Available for a one-time purchase of $17.95 (AUS)/$21.25(NZ) (Playstation Network) / 960 MS points (Xbox LIVE), the Rockstar Pass enables gamers to download all announced and previously released DLC including cases, challenges, and costumes for a total savings of 40% versus purchasing each piece of content individually.
New L.A. Noire Screens from the “Nicholson Electroplating” Arson Case
In L.A. Noire, when a devastating explosion at the Nicholson Electroplating plant rocks downtown Los Angeles, Arson desk detectives Phelps and Biggs are called to the scene. Was this just a tragic accident, or is something more sinister at play?
Below are some new screens from the upcoming “Nicholson Electroplating” Arson case, available as downloadable content for L.A. Noire on June 21st via PlayStation Network ($3.99) and Xbox LIVE (320 MS Points). You can see these screens in full high definition at the newly launched L.A. Noire DLC page, and be sure to look for more details on “Nicholson Electroplating” and the “Reefer Madness” Vice case in the weeks ahead.
Phelps surveys the devastation from the Nicholson explosion.
Howard Hughes addresses the press about his revolutionary new aircraft, the “Hercules H-4”.
Phelps grills Fred Nicholson for all he knows at the site of the explosion.
Phelps and Biggs have an unexpected meeting with retired LAPD officer Vernon Mapes.
[NEW VIDEO] WITN BTS: Heroes video
Today, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment releases a new behind-the-scenes video, giving an in-depth look at the newly revealed characters from their upcoming video game, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North. Key members of the Snowblind Studios development team will guide fans through the tortuous walls of Fornost and the story of how Beleram joins the Fellowship of three on their quest to save the fate of Middle-earth.
In this video, the famous silver screen likeness of Elrond and Gandalf are seen, as are the characters of Radagast, the Brown Wizard -and Elrond’s twin sons, Elladan and Elrohir – known only from the pages of J.R.R. Tolkien literature. The recently introduced Great Eagle, Beleram, isalso seen breaking free of his goblin captors in the ruins of Fornost to join in the fight, his strength and skills a necessity against the legions of enemies ahead.
An alchemy of known and unknown, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North expands and compliments The Lord of the Rings canon, bringing an intense, action RPG co-op experience to players within the themes of fellowship and valour. Study the faces of Elrond and Gandalf, Elladan and Elrohir, Radagast and Beleram – heroes who will help the three along their journey.
The Real Crimes Behind L.A. Noire Cases: “The Nicholson Electroplating Disaster”
Our first L.A. Noire DLC case, “The Nicholson Electroplating Disaster” is coming June 21st to give all the intrepid detectives out there fiending to get back on the job another juicy case to crack – and this one’s a doozy.
The story is inspired by an incident that is quite unlike the relatively obscure crimes that inspired most of the other cases in the game, and was a major national headline back in 1947 Los Angeles.
Beyond just the name of the plant being changed in our fictionalized interactive version (changed from O’Connor to Nicholson, in a direct nod to – guess who) ours also adds a ton of intrigue, twists and turns far beyond what investigators discovered in the real case – which was much more straightforward, if shocking and embarrassing to the plant’s executives.
On the morning of February 20th, 1947 – the O’Connor Electro-Plating plant at 926 East Pico Boulevard in downtown Los Angeles erupted in a terrific explosion that rocked the city for miles around. The mushroom-shaped cloud that formed over the area led many to initially panic with the thought of a nuclear bomb having been dropped on L.A. News reports told of planes ten miles away that were said to have felt the shudder, and of neighboring buildings’ windows that shattered for blocks around. In all, 151 people were injured and 15 were killed – the casualties ranging from innocent pedestrians (including a twelve-year old boy riding his bicycle two blocks away who was struck by a stray pipe from the blast) to the very person inside who the police concluded was responsible for the disaster…
The man who would become the primary person of interest in this case was the plant’s chief chemist, Robert Magee.
Magee had attained his position by impressing plant executive, Robert O’Connor, during an interview with his weighty credentials (a bachelor of science degree from the University of Indiana, a master’s from the University of Pittsburgh, a Ph.D from M.I.T. as well as graduate credit from Caltech) and with his presentation of a remarkable new chemical compound he’d created – a special blend of perchloric acid that could plate aluminum to gleam like silver without the costly expense of a polishing and buffing process.
O’Connor was sold – Magee and his magical new metallurgic formula would be his secret weapon to revitalize the business and give them a clear edge on the competition.
That fateful February morning, however, Magee was practically evaporated along with his assistants in the blast.
And O’Connor truly learned that all that gleams is not gold.
Who was this Doctor Robert Magee, investigators wondered…
According to reports, they discovered that M.I.T. had no transcripts or record of him ever having attended the school…
Checks with the other schools returned similar results – the closest to validating his academic history was Caltech who said that he had taken a short night war training course there, but that was it.
According to the police investigation, it turned out Magee had never even graduated high school – having dropped out of Steubenville High School back in his native Ohio.
His knowledge of and knack for chemistry was all purely self-taught, and indeed had impressed even some of his genuinely accredited scientist peers at the plant – according to testimony gathered in the lengthy inquest that followed the disaster. But nevertheless, it was determined that this was clearly a case of tragic negligence, as the dangerous formula was ultimately mishandled by Magee and his team (a team which included a newly hired young assistant, Miss Alice Iba, who also had dubious academic qualifications according to detectives assigned to the case) – chalked up to the ineptitude of an unqualified chemist, and a critical lack of due diligence by the plant itself on a human resources level.
A vilified Robert O’Connor was sued by blast victims and would plead the fifth amendment during the official inquest on the explosion, responding in the affirmative to Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney S. Ernest Rolls question, “Do you mean to tell me that you refuse to testify on the grounds that the testimony might tend to incriminate you?”
When you play our forthcoming DLC case later this month, you’ll see for yourself how our version, as you can imagine, introduces a whole lot more intrigue, twists and turns to the story. Get that notebook ready…
In the meantime, check out some historical photos from the disaster which appear in the Los Angeles Fire Department Historical Society’s Flickr photostream slideshow below.
Also read Time Magazine’s original 1947 report “CALIFORNIA: The Amazing Brew”: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,854621-1,00.html
ALICE: MADNESS RETURNS DROPS PLAYERS INTO TERRIFYING, BEAUTIFUL WONDERLAND TODAY
SYDNEY, Australia – June 16, 2011 – Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) and Spicy Horse are proud to announce that the dark and deranged fantasy/adventure videogame Alice: Madness Returns™ is now available at retail stores in Australia and New Zealand on June 17th. Heralding the return of American McGee’s interpretation of the classic Alice in Wonderland fiction, Alice: Madness Returns delivers a sinister and beautifully twisted world for gamers to explore on the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PC.
A sequel to the original PC hit American McGee’s Alice™, the new title finds a grown-up Alice finally free from Rutledge Asylum for the Insane, but still grappling with the horror and survivor’s guilt of the tragic fire that killed her family 11 years earlier. Alice returns to Wonderland to uncover the truth about her past. But what was once a place of refuge has now been transformed into a sinister nightmare, and madness threatens to overcome both Alice and Wonderland. Alice: Madness Returns builds upon the distinct art style of the original game, but with new visuals, story and game design.
“Spicy Horse is proud to bring players back to the beautiful yet dark world we have created for Alice,” said American McGee, Spicy Horse Games Co-Founder and Senior Creative Director. “The team has gone to great lengths to make sure that both fans of the franchise and newcomers alike will find themselves eager to tumble down the rabbit hole again thanks to an immersive story and distinctive art style.”
With the purchase of Alice: Madness Returns, EA is offering a one-time-use Online Pass* registration code (for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360) that gives players access to the original cult-classic American McGee’s Alice, and a download for the original PC version for those who purchase a PC version of the game on EA Store.com. Fans of the franchise are also being treated to an assortment of downloadable content upon the game’s release, which include the following items:
DLC Weapons
- Pepper Grinder – Called the Octo-grinder, this weapon increases ammo limit and provides double the ammo
- Hobby Horse – The Knightmare restores gamers’ health with each hit
- Teapot Cannon – This weapon increases damage to enemies by 50 percent
- Vorpal Blade – This infamous weapon reduces damage from enemies by 50 percent
DLC Dresses
- Flesh Dress – The Fleshmaiden dress causes hysteria at any time
- Matt Hatter Dress – The Hattress causes a player to lose teeth instead of health
- Chess Dress – The Checkmate deals out double the damage for all weapons
- Rabbit Dress – The Late but Lucky Dress imbues a player’s health with the power of Shrinking Violets
- Cheshire Dress – The Cheshire Dress disables all Rose Drops from enemies
- Caterpillar Dress – The Caterpillar Dress keeps Shrink Sonar active
“”The fan reaction to the Alice franchise has been just phenomenal,” said Sinjin Bain, Vice President of EA Partners. “Since the original game was released in 2000, fans have been clamoring for the next installment to find out what Alice must overcome to discover the truth about her past. To reward our most passionate fan base, we’re thrilled to be able to offer them this wide assortment of downloadable content.”
Alice: Madness Returns is available now in Australia and New Zealand on June 17th for the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PC for RRP $109.99 (AUD) / $119.99 (NZD) Alice: Madness Returns is rated “MA 15+”
For more information on EA, please visit www.ea.com. For more information on Alice: Madness Returns visit http://AliceMadnessReturns.com.
- For Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, Alice: Madness Returns disc required in console to access American McGee’s Alice.
L.A. Noire “Nicholson Electroplating” DLC Case Trailer Coming Tomorrow
Noon tomorrow. Look for a brand new video – the L.A. Noire “Nicholson Electroplating” Arson DLC case trailer – to debut at www.rockstargames.com/lanoire and on the Rockstar site. This will be your first glimpse of this explosive new case in action.