"The Perceive system leaves something to be desired and ultimately there are no truly brilliant cases"

The Ace Attorney series is a series of games where you play as both a lawyer and a detective as you defend your client against the odds within great storylines. The game is split into two sections; a lawyer in the courtroom and a detective in the world outside the courtroom.

First of all I will explain how the detective work functions. You can move from place to place by selecting the “move” option with there normally being about ten locations in a case. These various locations consist of a still picture of the location which is either one or two screens big. Using the “examine” button you can inspect the location by tapping objects you would like to inspect. Any objects that you get interesting information for will be recorded in your “case evidence” section, however it is recommended that you check out and remember all objects in the area as sometimes your trial sections will make you remember tiny details and think outside the box. Often you will meet people in areas you arrive at. You can choose to question them on various subjects which will give you plenty of valuable information. Sometimes presenting evidence to them will result in new lines of questioning becoming available. If you encounter Ema Skye she will let you use her scientific equipment to analyse evidence via the touchscreen – though this is simple it is quite fun and is a nice break from searching rooms and questioning people.

The Psylocke section that were prominent in investigations in the 2nd and 3rd Ace Attorney games are missing from all but the last case. This is irritating as the Psylocke sections made you pay more attention to what people were saying and made you tie information together long before the trial even started. They also allowed you to have gameplay similar to the trial even when the trial wasn't happening which meant that the investigation sections got less repetitive.

The lawyer section works rather differently from the detective section. You'll be presented with a witness who will testify on various subjects such as what they were doing at the time of the murder. You then have a chance to cross-examine them. During the cross-examination you can “Press” them on various things they said. If you find something in their testimony that contradicts something you know then you can “Present Evidence” against them.

The replacement for the Psylocke sections is the Perceive system. This occurs in trials when you are looking at the witnesses' testimony. Occasionally a little symbol of a bracelet will light up on the bottom screen and when it does you can zoom in on the witness and watch various parts of their body whilst they repeat their testimony slowly. If you can see any changes whilst they're speaking such as them twitching their hand during a certain bit of their testimony then you can question them on why they're nervous, come up with your own reason for why they might be nervous and ultimately force the truth out of them. This is not brilliantly implemented as it goes at such a slow pace that to make them repeat their testimony over and over so that you can look over their entire body on each 3 or 4 word phrase takes a long time and ultimately grows tedious and can even be frustrating.

No doubt this game sounds very boring to many of you out there, but let me assure you, it isn't. The storylines are very well written, finding contradictions can be challenging, and to keep the game interesting there is A LOT of very eccentric humour.

This game features four cases. The tutorial case is quite well done and will have repercussions later on – however it is worth remembering that this case is very simple and obviously can't compare to the tutorial in Trials and Tribulations. The second case is far too random for my liking and has some pretty boring characters. It is also very easy, though it is definitely not bad. The third case has some fantastic characters in it as well as a few great plot twists, however you'll figure out the killer only an hour or so in, one particular flashback is repeated more times than many people may be able to stomach and the defendant is quite obviously unable to have done what they're accusing him of. The fourth case is very unique to say the least. There are a few great plot twists, it ties in nicely to previous cases and ultimately leaves you quite content, however its uniqueness is ultimately its downfall as the case does feel somewhat disjointed.

The music is very well done and really helps set the mood and keep the game flowing though the music is not quite as impressive as the past 3 games. The graphics are a reasonable improvement over the first 3 games with better animations, cleaner backgrounds and higher quality sprites and even some good 3D sequences.

Storylines;
First Case = 7.5/10
Second Case = 6.5/10
Third Case = 8/10
Fourth Case = 8.5/10
Graphics/Sound &c. = 9.5/10
Overall = 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/04/08

Game Release: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (US, 02/19/08)