Screenshots :.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
DS
Matt
27-04-2007
"One of the countless amusing characters"
"Argh!!!"
"Phoenix after a dodgy curry."
Hands up those who remember the golden days of Lucas Arts point-and-click adventures. Monkey Island? Sam and Max? Day Of The Tentacle? All of the aforementioned filled up countless hours of mine and thousands of others’ childhoods with their simple-looking adventuring, yet sadly the onset of the third dimension in video gaming bought the genre to somewhat of a premature death. Thankfully the appearance of the Nintendo DS has made these games somewhat of a more probable prospect these days, and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney capably shows off just how much the classic two-dimensional point-and-click genre still has to offer.
Basically a DS-optimised port of the popular Japanese Game Boy series Gyakuten Saiban, Ace Attorney puts you in the polished shoes of rookie lawyer Phoenix Wright. The game certainly doesn’t hang about with getting you into the swing of things and immediately you’re pitched straight into your first court case. From here the game gently introduces you to the ins and outs of the task ahead of you and prepares you for a series of intriguing cases which will get your brain working as much as your stylus hand.
Consisting of five separate cases (although the first is pretty much a glorified tutorial), the game breaks each case into a number of days. On each given day there are two distinct parts: investigative work at the crime scenes, and courtroom interrogation. The former part sees you out in the field collecting evidence, statements and generally keeping tabs on what’s going on. Although you can’t do anything untoward in these sections which will hamper your performance in the courtroom portion of the game, a keen eye and a trained memory will allow you to link things you’ve picked up and heard to statements later.
It’s during these segments that the real strength of the game is uncovered: its strong narrative and character portrayal. Although you never delve too deeply into Phoenix’s past or history, you soon begin to form a kind of understanding with him. Likewise, you’ll feel empathy and interest in his closest assistant Maya, and chuckle at the rather strange conversations they occasionally have with each other. Out and about you’ll encounter a whole range of strange and unique characters who will help and hinder you to varying degrees, and who’ll mostly all stick in your memory long after the judge’s hammer has been lowered on your final case.
Talking of which, the courtroom action itself is reasonably tense and very rewarding. The main structure of this sees you cross-examining a witness’s statement – usually about six or 7 lines of text – to see if you can spot anomalies between them and a piece of evidence or perhaps an earlier statement. Sifting through your inventory of evidence and remembering previous comments here proves handy, although there is no time limit you are set to so you can take as long as you wish in examining each line of text. Sometimes things just won’t click and you will struggle around for an answer to your troubles, but each puzzle is always logical and there are no times in which you are expected to pull the proverbial rabbit from a hat in order to progress.
The game works as a standard point-and-click, although it does give you the option of using the inbuilt microphone to yell ‘OBJECTION!’ as soon as you spot something that doesn’t quite add up with someone’s statement. Thankfully this is entirely up to you and can be also performed by touching a button on screen, as although it is initially strangely satisfying to yell loudly into your lovely little handheld it soon becomes a little boring as well as rather embarrassing, especially on crowded buses or down the pub. Not that I tried these things you understand; they’re just two completely random scenarios I definitely thought up. Nope, you won’t catch me doing those kinds of things.
All in all, Ace Attorney is a wonderful game. It might not be terribly varied and is certainly a very linear experience, but it does what it set out to do very well and provides a memorable, enjoyable handheld experience which will keep you intrigued throughout. With a sequel preparing to step into the witness box later this year there could be no better time to stroll into Mr Wright’s office and make yourself at home.
Basically a DS-optimised port of the popular Japanese Game Boy series Gyakuten Saiban, Ace Attorney puts you in the polished shoes of rookie lawyer Phoenix Wright. The game certainly doesn’t hang about with getting you into the swing of things and immediately you’re pitched straight into your first court case. From here the game gently introduces you to the ins and outs of the task ahead of you and prepares you for a series of intriguing cases which will get your brain working as much as your stylus hand.
Consisting of five separate cases (although the first is pretty much a glorified tutorial), the game breaks each case into a number of days. On each given day there are two distinct parts: investigative work at the crime scenes, and courtroom interrogation. The former part sees you out in the field collecting evidence, statements and generally keeping tabs on what’s going on. Although you can’t do anything untoward in these sections which will hamper your performance in the courtroom portion of the game, a keen eye and a trained memory will allow you to link things you’ve picked up and heard to statements later.
It’s during these segments that the real strength of the game is uncovered: its strong narrative and character portrayal. Although you never delve too deeply into Phoenix’s past or history, you soon begin to form a kind of understanding with him. Likewise, you’ll feel empathy and interest in his closest assistant Maya, and chuckle at the rather strange conversations they occasionally have with each other. Out and about you’ll encounter a whole range of strange and unique characters who will help and hinder you to varying degrees, and who’ll mostly all stick in your memory long after the judge’s hammer has been lowered on your final case.
Talking of which, the courtroom action itself is reasonably tense and very rewarding. The main structure of this sees you cross-examining a witness’s statement – usually about six or 7 lines of text – to see if you can spot anomalies between them and a piece of evidence or perhaps an earlier statement. Sifting through your inventory of evidence and remembering previous comments here proves handy, although there is no time limit you are set to so you can take as long as you wish in examining each line of text. Sometimes things just won’t click and you will struggle around for an answer to your troubles, but each puzzle is always logical and there are no times in which you are expected to pull the proverbial rabbit from a hat in order to progress.
The game works as a standard point-and-click, although it does give you the option of using the inbuilt microphone to yell ‘OBJECTION!’ as soon as you spot something that doesn’t quite add up with someone’s statement. Thankfully this is entirely up to you and can be also performed by touching a button on screen, as although it is initially strangely satisfying to yell loudly into your lovely little handheld it soon becomes a little boring as well as rather embarrassing, especially on crowded buses or down the pub. Not that I tried these things you understand; they’re just two completely random scenarios I definitely thought up. Nope, you won’t catch me doing those kinds of things.
All in all, Ace Attorney is a wonderful game. It might not be terribly varied and is certainly a very linear experience, but it does what it set out to do very well and provides a memorable, enjoyable handheld experience which will keep you intrigued throughout. With a sequel preparing to step into the witness box later this year there could be no better time to stroll into Mr Wright’s office and make yourself at home.
8/10
