Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Platform: Nintendo DS
Publisher: Capcom
Review Type: Touchy
Version: Retail
The Nintendo DS, with its dual screen layout and touch input, is an unconventional gaming machine. Emboldened by Nintendo's step out of the norm, publishers seem a bit more willing to do the same. And so lucky American audiences get some consultation time with Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. This adventure game puts the player in the shoes of the titular defense lawyer, a legal novice thrust into several high profile murder cases. As Phoenix, the player must investigate the crimes, collect evidence, interview suspects and witnesses and then plea his client's innocence in court.
The game is essentially a work of interactive fiction enhanced with animations, light point-and-click evidence gathering and optional voice input (objections may be shouted into the DS's microphone). Mainstream gamers, more accustomed to the freedom of RPGs and open world titles like Grand Theft Auto, may find Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney's gameplay a bit remedial. And they wouldn't be wrong. The game is a throwback to a time when gamers were satisfied to engage themselves in interactive yarns -- because that's all that computers could manage. It's true; Wright's options feel very limited when compared to other contemporary games. The player doesn't control Wright so much as point him in the right direction, as in a Choose Your Own Adventure book.
But that doesn't mean that the mysteries are simple to crack. A bit of thought is required to ask the right questions and present the proper evidence. Trial and error is discouraged by the judge, who will only tolerate so many dead-end lines of questioning.
Simplified gameplay and atypical setting make Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney a true "alternative" title. It's a quirky diversion with a "classic gaming" feel and little replay value. 'Core gamers would be wasting their money on a game like this. But they've already got a ton of games to play. This ones' for the rest of us.
Publisher: Capcom
Review Type: Touchy
Version: Retail
The Nintendo DS, with its dual screen layout and touch input, is an unconventional gaming machine. Emboldened by Nintendo's step out of the norm, publishers seem a bit more willing to do the same. And so lucky American audiences get some consultation time with Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. This adventure game puts the player in the shoes of the titular defense lawyer, a legal novice thrust into several high profile murder cases. As Phoenix, the player must investigate the crimes, collect evidence, interview suspects and witnesses and then plea his client's innocence in court.The game is essentially a work of interactive fiction enhanced with animations, light point-and-click evidence gathering and optional voice input (objections may be shouted into the DS's microphone). Mainstream gamers, more accustomed to the freedom of RPGs and open world titles like Grand Theft Auto, may find Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney's gameplay a bit remedial. And they wouldn't be wrong. The game is a throwback to a time when gamers were satisfied to engage themselves in interactive yarns -- because that's all that computers could manage. It's true; Wright's options feel very limited when compared to other contemporary games. The player doesn't control Wright so much as point him in the right direction, as in a Choose Your Own Adventure book.
But that doesn't mean that the mysteries are simple to crack. A bit of thought is required to ask the right questions and present the proper evidence. Trial and error is discouraged by the judge, who will only tolerate so many dead-end lines of questioning.
Simplified gameplay and atypical setting make Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney a true "alternative" title. It's a quirky diversion with a "classic gaming" feel and little replay value. 'Core gamers would be wasting their money on a game like this. But they've already got a ton of games to play. This ones' for the rest of us.
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