James Noir's Hollywood Crimes presents a pulp-fiction mystery adventure, with stereoscopic graphics and a Tinsel-Town twist. Set in the early '60s, the layered narrative places players in a game within the game, in the role of a contestant on the "Puzzle Masters" television show. The stakes become deadly as the hero realizes there is an actual killer on the set, who is manipulating the game show's events from behind the scenes. Not only are people being killed, but the player's character is being framed for the murders.
Moving through the adventure, interacting with other characters and solving more than 140 puzzles, the hero soon realizes that the entire audience is in grave danger, and that he himself will be blamed for the crime. His only hope is to solve the twisted brainteasers left by the real killer, in order clear his own name. The game's puzzles are varied, with some based on familiar DS mechanics and others making use of the 3DS' 3D graphics. In addition, over 40 mini-games employ the handheld's accelerometer and other special features, expanding on the murder-mystery theme.
The game adjusts its level of difficulty according to the player's in-game choices and performance, to offer an engaging challenge at a range of skill levels. James Noir's Hollywood Crimes was developed at Ubisoft's prolific Montreal studio, and is one of the publisher's earliest releases for Nintendo 3DS.