L.A. Noire sends Take-Two shares skyrocketing

Shares in publisher Take-two closed at $17.10 yesterday, a rise of $1.23, or 7.75 per cent over the previous day's total.

That rise, which saw a 32-month peak of $17.50 earlier in the day, is attributed largely to the critical success of crime thriller L.A. Noire, which achieved a Metacritic score of 91 and 92 per cent on Xbox 360 and PS3 after its review embargo expired on Monday evening.

Whilst the game is yet to be available at retail, the share price bump reflects market confidence in the marketability of the title, which is something of an experiment for the publisher.

Moving away from a focus on action and shooting, L.A. Noire instead uses highly accurate facial mapping techniques and dialogue to spin a tale of post-war L.A.'s seedy criminal underbelly.

The $17.50 price tag is the highest for the company shares since September 2008, when they touched $27 after EA staged a series of unsuccessful takeover bids for Take-Two, who were in financial turmoil at the time.

Since then, then publisher's fortunes have improved considerably, with Metacritic naming it best publisher in February for consistent performance.

Read a full critical consensus of L.A. Noire elsewhere on GamesIndustry.biz, now.