Noir definitely has the humour and the script, but uninvolving gameplay that's more of a chore than a pleasure to play.
Mortality Bytes, for example, was a stellar game. Mixing parodies with black humour, it remained true to the essence of Pratchett's novels and point-and-click adventure. The result was an entertaining and challenging game; Noir has conflicting pros and cons that fail to match up to greatness of that game. Enjoyment will depend on how well you receive Terry Pratchett, and whether you don't mind good old gameplay taking a backseat to an impressive script.
You take the role of private investigator Lewton, who was sacked from his job in the Watch after accepting a bribe. After going it alone, he soon lands a case from the mysterious and beautiful Carlotta, who requires assistance in search of her missing husband. Lewton accepts, but at the same time several murders have taken place in Ankh Morpork, that inevitably intertwine with his investigation.
Arguably the plot of Noir is the strongest aspect to the game, since it's the most concentrated. Expect heaps of dialogue featuring first-rate sarcasm and random humour, with various investigations overlapsing each other to the most confusing effect. Lewton will become embroiled in many murders and mysteries, that are, if anything, exquisitely calculated.
A problem I find with the plot is the excessive dialogue; usually the great one liners are compiled among twenty during the long conversations. Following this is repetitive characterisation. Though different in circumstance, five minutes into conversation and they all pretty much run from the same sarcastic tone.
The gameplay focuses more on dialogue, too. Rather than use obscure items and inventory logic to solve his investigations, Lewton will unravel the mystery mostly by conversation, which, it seems, are the real puzzles themselves. Interaction with items and surroundings are quite low. Talking to characters to gain topic of conversation lead to acquiring clues. In a unique twist, these clues can be combined with locale surroundings or item, cueing revelations in the mystery. It's a somewhat different, and very clever, approach than most adventure games, but it doesn't quite make for exciting play.
The worst thing about the gameplay is that Ankh Morpork is basically just a backdrop for all of the dialogue going on. There's no real interaction with this weird world, other than to traverse it to meet more weird characters to shed light on the case Lewton is investigating. Having said that, mediocre gameplay and all, Noir's narrative does have the humour to make this worthwhile, especially for die-hard fans of Pratchett.
One listen to Lewton's voice and you just know it's a send up of retro-Hollywood. His voice is deep and oozes sarcasm, though not in a projectile way. To gamers, Lewton is mocking the characters but in Noir, that's really how someone like he would sound. This effect, matched with the other voice acting of the characters, helps capture the sense of humour Terry Pratchett is famous for. Musically, you have compositions of slow moody jazz, which heightens the feel of... well, Noir.
Lewton's character looks shabby, even if it is a stereotypical garb; he lacks the visual character Rincewind had. The same can be said for the rest of the characters - the 3D models lack expressive detail than Mortality Byte's comic-colour look did. The locales are static backdrops with some weather effects, which is fine if the lighting wasn't so poor. Sometimes it's rather hard to make out where and what things are, and given Lewton's drab colours, you may find yourself thinking where the hell he is at times.
When I first purchased and reviewed Noir, I was ignorant and rather stupid. Those with a highly developed sense of humour will definitely resonate with this game; as aforementioned, Pratchett fans will be delighted with the result. I'm somewhere inbetween positive and negative on this one. Broken Sword, Monkey Island and Grim Fandango especially were fine examples of great writing and fun gaming in the point-and-click genre. Noir definitely has the humour and the script, but uninvolving gameplay that's more of a chore than a pleasure to play.