The best places to pre-order LA Noire for Xbox 360, PS3 based on bonuses and DLC @ Gaming Target

Written by GT Staff on March 02, 2011

News: LA Noire pre-orders at Amazon, Wal-Mart Best Buy, Target and GameStop add exclusive incentives, some better than others.

The release date for LA Noire isn't until May 17, but Rockstar Games wants you to commit to buying the crime drama game right now. It's throwing you a variety of incentive options as a "bride," appropriate for a publisher that is making a film noire-style video game.

For the most part, these pre-order bonuses consist of in-game DLC, from new suits to additional missions in the campaign mode. Since there are a total of five separate offers from retailers, we decided to list the best LA Noire pre-order bonuses to help you decide:

#1 Amazon.com

Amazon's LA Noire pre-order bonus comes with an in-game detective suit known as "The Broderick." These new, virtual threads boost your fist-fighting capabilities and resilience to damage. Since questioning suspects in LA Noire often means that you'll come to blows, improving your hand-to-hand fighting skills in this collard getup may help you make the collar.

Additionally, buying LA Noire via Amazon nets you a $10 credit toward a future purchase, so this is the primo deal in our opinion.

#2 Target
We almost always prefer tangible items to in-game wears. So, if you're like us, you'll dig the fact that Target department stores are giving away a T-shirt with every in-store LA Noire purchase the week that the game comes out. That means that this isn't exactly a pre-order bonus since you have to show up to claim the game and your prize. If you're not down with venturing outside, you can always opt for the T-shirt-less pre-order bonus of a $5 gift card. Basically, it comes down to: Do you want money or to add to your video game-themed wardrobe?

#3 Best Buy

Pre-ordering LA Noire from Best Buy gives you access to a suit too, but this one improves your aim with guns like rifles and pistols. So, if you think that assailants aren't going to be cooperative when dealing with your fists, this in-game DLC might suit you better.

#3 GameStop

GameStop (and EB Games if that still exists where you are) has two DLC missions as its pre-order incentives. Here are the details on the pair of exclusive missions:

The Naked City Vice Case
In this bonus case from L.A. Noire's Vice Desk, detective Cole Phelps investigates the supposed suicide of a stunning fashion model. Can you help Cole unravel the truth in a city blighted by drugs, corruption and greed, where the death of a beautiful woman is never as straightforward as it seems?

The Badge Pursuit Challenge
Hidden around L.A. Noire's beautiful recreation of 1947 Los Angeles are 20 police badges to find and collect. If you can find all 20 of these badges, the dapper Button Man suit will be unlocked which provides extra ammo for all weapons. Each badge also provides 5 additional XP which will help further unlock Intuition Points Ц special credits that can be used to give Phelps a key investigative insight when you need it most.

#5 Wal-Mart

Buying the game from Wal-Mart comes with one extra mission as opposed to two. However, the retail giant is being generous in offering the bonus online AND in stores right up to the day of the game's release date. So, if it's May 17 and you couldn't decide and missed some of the other bonuses, you can still reap this reward. Here's the description:

УA Slip of the TongueФ Traffic Case is a bonus case from the Traffic Desk in which a seemingly run of the mill car theft ends up sparking an explosive investigation into the largest auto fraud racket the city has ever seen. With the stolen cars piling up and questionable characters at every turn, can you help Cole Phelps crack the biggest case so far in his career?