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Thursday 6 March, 2008
ENTRY #2
GAMEPLAY: After finishing the first case (which actually took longer than I thought), I moved on to the second case right away. I was introduced to another case involving some guy and a noodle cart. Hooray. Oh, and he died on it. So being the good attorney that I am, I had to investigate the matter.
The investigation part of Apollo Justice is exactly like that of Phoenix Wright. The scene moves from the top screen to the bottom screen, and the player uses a crosshair (via touch screen or d-pad) to investigate clues that might be helpful. It was one of the first investigation parts of the scene, so the search wasn't too difficult. After a certain number of clues were found, the game took me back to the court room.
I pressed witnesses, I presented evidence to contradictory testimonies, patted myself on the back, and went back into investigation mode after the judge decided that he couldn't announce a verdict until ALL the clues were decisive. I stopped there because I realized it was eleven at night and this is due in an hour. So I really look forward to the rest of the game.
DESIGN: I am actually surprised that this game reach the popularity that it did. Not many gamers that I know would like to sit down and play a heavily story-driven game. Usually the heavy amount of text is a turn-off for people. I personally love it.
The game has two basic modes of design. The first one is in the courtroom. Players must use the ability "press" to get essential information from testimonies and find holes in their stories. And once the player finds a testimony that contradicts certain evidence, he/she must present the evidence correctly or else a penalty is given. Though it may sound a little difficult, going through testimonies and finding contradictions isn't too bad. Players are given the ability to reread certain parts of a testimony if they miss what was said.
The second mode is the investigation mode I mentioned earlier. In this mode, players must talk to different people (given by the "Talk" option) and gather information in different locations. Afterwards, there is an "Examine" option where people can look around the current location and potentially find different clues essential to the case. When there are no clues left in one place, players must move to the other places (with, of course, the "Move" option). At certain times, the player will be required to "Present" certain items to characters so that they 1) get a reaction out of them necessary to move on or 2) get more information on the presented item. It feels a little tedious at times and can get frustrating when you don't know what to do. But one feels a great deal of reward when he/she finally figures it out on their own.
But these two modes alone couldn't hold a game. It would get boring quite easily. That's why it's a good thing that this game has a good story and lovable characters. While not as good as the Phoenix Wright series in terms of character development, Apollo Justice does the series justice (pun intended?). Each character has their own personality and look that it never gets boring. Some you will learn to love, and others you will simply HATE because of how annoying their appearance and personality are. Just like in real life!
And like any good game out there, this game has memorable music. As a matter of fact, I kind of want the soundtrack, but I don't have money. The tunes I speak of occur in the actual courtroom when Apollo thinks of a great comeback against the prosecution. It almost sounds like Megaman music (which is probably why I like it so much).
Overall, this game is a great addition to the series. Any fan of the Wright series will feel right at home here. The characters aren't as well-developed, but I'm sure that will come in later sequels, which I HIGHLY look forward to. I recommend this to anyone who loves story-driven games (and sorry RPG fans, you won't be given the option of killing monsters and getting EXP/MONEY for it).
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