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Review: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (DS)

It wasn’t long ago that the videogame world had never even heard of an attorney simulation game, at least in the US market, but it hasn’t taken Capcom’s little series long to catch on and become a popular series on the Nintendo DS. Filled with all the intrigue of a mystery novel come to life, the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney games did well initially in Japan, where they appeared on the GameBoy Advance, before making their way to the US market via the DS.

The previous three games, Ace Attorney, Justice for All and Trials and Tribulations, all featured Phoenix Wright as the series’ main protagonist; Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney introduces an all-new protagonist and Phoenix Wright appears as a defendant accused of murder in the opening case of the new game.

Graphically, the game hasn’t changed much from its GBA origins. About the only improvements in the way the game looks is a mildly richer color palette and some smoother-looking textures; other than that, the signature art style of the series is largely unchanged. While the game looks fine by DS standards, however, it doesn’t look quite as nice as the Harvey Birdman attorney sim Capcom recently released on Sony’s PSP platform.

While the opening sequence that places rookie attorney Apollo Justice on the defense for Phoenix Wright is a shocker, the biggest changes to the series come in how one interacts with the game. Like the notorious fifth case on the first Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney game, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney was built specifically for the Nintendo DS platform, rather than being ported up from GBA. As such, all the exciting investigative tools so enjoyed in that fifth case are now present and accounted for in all four cases that comprise the Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney game.

That means the game takes full advantage of the DS’ microphone and touchscreen; you can once again rotate items via touchscreen to uncover concealed clues, or use the microphone to shout “Objection!” during the course of a trial. AJ:AA also features several new features.

One is the perceive system, which helps Apollo pinpoint nervous body language that helps him identify when a witness is being deceptive. A crime recreation mode is also introduced for the first time, and is utilized to help pinpoint new evidence. With all these new DeWalt tools in his arsenal, one might think it would be a snap for Apollo Justice (and gamers) to solve the four cases in front of them. However, it’s not quite so easy and gamers will need all these tools to get to the truth of the matter, since the Capcom scribes behind this game are quite good at plot twists, rabbit trails and big reveals, to keep things interesting.

As before, each case grows increasingly challenging, making solving the final case a significant achievement. More of an interactive novel than a true videogame, Apollo Justice may feature a brand new main character, but everything DS fans enjoyed about earlier Phoenix Wright games has returned – in spades.

The release of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney catches the US market up with the Japanese market. The future looks bright for the series, however. It is well-known that Capcom announced the fifth game in the series about a year ago, in May 2007; that game is expected to release next fall. Also, in February 2008, a spinoff title featuring life on the prosecution’s side of the courtroom, featuring Miles Edgeworth and Dick Gumshoe, was announced as under development by Capcom, so with at least two more games on the way, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney is definitely a new beginning not a final swan song, for games of this genre.

Review: Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (PS3)

Although Lost Planet: Extreme Condition is published by Capcom, playing through the game brought an old SquareSoft game to mind; specifically, Xenogears of PSone fame. Just as in Xenogears, you begin Lost Planet as an amnesiac young man who remembers little of his past, but knows how to pilot giant mechs. Of course, there are many differences. Xenogears was a PSone title by Square that delivered turn-based RPG epic storytelling that, today, would seem awfully dated; Lost Planet is a PS3 title (originally Xbox 360) that is anything but turn-based, delivering all-out shooter action in full HD quality visuals.

Yes, Lost Planet: Extreme Condition is a game that’s over a year old on the Xbox 360 and can be obtained for about $10 less than the full retail of the discounted PS3 version (roughly speaking, about $30 on 360 these days, compared to $40 on PS3). So are there reasons to buy this version? Sure there are.

First, the PS3 version is more like a director’s cut, offering all 16 of the downloadable multiplayer maps that Xbox Live users had to shell out points to obtain; additionally, players can unlock two new characters that can be used in both single and multiplayer mode, as PS3 exclusive characters; namely, Frank West of Dead Rising and Megaman. There are others as well, although those may be more familiar to veterans of the Xbox 360 version of the game.

The story is essentially unchanged; you are Wayne, part of a group of snow pirates who are trying to run the planet E.D.N. III of a savage, bug-like alien race known as the Akrid. Wayne’s dad was killed by one such Akrid, named Green Eyes, and shortly after that, Wayne was injured, lost his memory and rescued by the snow pirates. As one of his only memories remaining is the memory of how to pilot the giant mechs that are particularly effective at ridding the planet of Akrid, Wayne soon becomes key to the battle against the Akrid.

One problem; the Akrid carry this glowing orange goop in their bodies that turns out to be a great energy source, so total annihilation of the monsters may not be the ultimate goal, here; harvesting their goop is apparently a great way to deliver low-cost energy to the galaxy, so… well… you can imagine where things might get dark from that point on.

E.D.N. III is, by the way, an ice planet full of blizzards and howling winds, about as far removed from a Royal Caribbean atmosphere as carrots are removed from bicycle shorts. In other words, it’s a very atmospheric game that delivers action-based horror and chills in the same spirit as horror classic The Thing, only louder and with a lot more action and shooting and explosions. And it definitely delivers that sense of being on a lonely, nearly lifeless frozen planet, kind of like a trip to Lambeau Field.

If you like shooters, Lost Planet: Extreme Condition’s not a bad choice. The story segments are nowhere near as extended as a more RPG-style shooter title like last November’s Mass Effect, and there’s far more action at a far faster pace. Gamers who appreciate a shoot first, ask questions later approach to their gaming will find a friendly experience in Lost Planet: Extreme Condition.

The single-player campaign mode is initially the heart of the experience. Lasting a decent amount of time for an action-adventure shooter title (12 to 20 hours, depending on how you play), Lost Planet has a terrific storyline with plenty of surprises and a shocking end that still has the Xbox community buzzing a year later. This is one of Capcom’s better but less-heralded efforts of the past couple years, so it makes a welcome addition to the growing PS3 library.

Yet what gives the game lasting appeal is the online mode, in which you can team up with, or fight against, up to 16 players at a time; and since this game is now on the PlayStation Network instead of Xbox Live, you don’t need a Gold subscription to play online; on PSN, the online gaming is free, a nice bonus for those PS3 gamers late to the Lost Planet party.

The game looks sharp in both standard definition and in HD; however, this is where the port-over exposes some of the game’s shortcomings. Little was done to take advantage of the uniqueness of the PS3 platform; those playing with the SixAxis controller are offered no motion-sensitivity, which makes the loss of force feedback even more noticeable; although the DualShock 3 will be released soon, there’s no word yet on whether Capcom will support the new controller, once released, with a patch adding force feedback back into the game.

Furthermore, even though the game is now on Blu-Ray disc on the PS3 format, Capcom did not take advantage of the extra space to offer the game in full, true 1080p HD resolution. Sure, you need a HUGE HDTV in order to appreciate the 1080p difference, but gamers who have that sort of set-up will be annoyed that the game looks no better on PS3 than it did on the Xbox 360, thanks to the lack of 1080p support.

Still these are details, not deal-breakers. Designed by members of the teams that brought such Capcom classics as Onimusha and Devil May Cry to life, Lost Planet: Extreme Condition is an incredibly fun title that excels at kick-butt boss battles and levels featuring the Akrid. Levels featuring evil snow pirates are less engaging due to flawed enemy AI, but the AI on the Akrid and bosses are much better. The only disappointment is that most Akrid opponents all have the same weakness; shoot them in the orange glowy part of their body and they are easily dispatched, even though getting clear shots in on that part is not always easy; it’s just disappointing that it’s variations on the same strategy for nearly all the Akrid opponents.

That said, in the balance of things, Lost Planet: Extreme Condition is a fun game; there’s absolutely no reason to buy the game again if you already own it on Xbox 360 and also happen to own a PS3. However, if you only own a PS3 and missed out on this action-horror classic, this is one game that’s not quite as spendy as most new PS3 titles, yet delivers the goods.

Review: Harvey Birdman – Attorney At Law (PS2 and PSP)

Anyone who has a bulk cable package that includes the Cartoon Network, and knows what the words Adult Swim really mean, will be familiar with Harvey Birdman, the TV series. An Alex Toth/Space Ghost-inspired character, Birdman is a former superhero turned attorney, and through this character Capcom supplies the PS2 and Sony’s PSP with their answer to the popular Phoenix Wright games hosted on the Nintendo DS.

Like the Phoenix Wright games, you play an attorney, gathering evidence, interviewing folks and then trying to present a winning case when the trial commences. Capcom should know their stuff, too, since they make both Phoenix Wright and Harvey Birdman. You’ll find similar pacing, a similar process of getting so many times to choose the wrong argument before you lose your case, and the same story of general game flow.

That said, the two games bear little resemblance to one another in actual execution. On the one hand, while the Phoenix Wright games are extremely retro in their look, the cases you are given to solve are long, involved and challenging, but fully entertaining. By contrast, Harvey Birdman looks great on PS2 and on PSP, with smooth animation that makes it look like you’re watching an episode of the TV show, but the cases are far simpler, less complex and shorter, although still fairly entertaining.

Of course, while Phoenix Wright is a solid mix of drama and light comedy, Birdman is pure comedy with a satiristic bent. Most of the five cases included in the game may seem vaguely familiar, usually because so many elements are send-ups of certain elements of current pop culture. The humor is largely pun-oriented, with a hint of naughtiness thrown in, just like the Adult Swim toon.

Although it’s nice to have an attorney sim on a Sony platform – especially to help ease the wait between new Phoenix Wright titles – Harvey Birdman Attorney At Law is nowhere near as satisfying as one might hope. With shorter, less challenging cases, it’s a good thing this isn’t a full-priced title, or one could come away from the experience feeling perhaps a bit cheated. As it stands, Harvey Birdman performs relatively the same on both PSP and PS2, but seems a better fit to the PSP library, personally. It’s a tidy snack until the next Phoenix Wright game comes out, but don’t expect it to be a full meal.