Ah, Birdman. Possibly one of the worst superheroes ever, now working as a somewhat less terrible lawyer. Still not good, still reliant quite often on dumb luck and Avenger as he ever was.
So, how’s the first video game (that I can recall, at least) featuring our winged failure? Well, it’s about like everything he does. It’s a half-hearted effort that has moments of genius, and plenty of “eh.” In reality, the game could have been five episodes of the show to begin with, and it often feels they shoehorned it into the Ace Attorney framework. Phoenix Wright he ain’t, but he tries.
The whole thing is a little clunkier, and the humor is different (though up to the standards of the show certainly). The animation is slightly below show quality, which isn’t high to begin with. The vast majority of the visual elements are recycled, but it wouldn’t be true to source otherwise. And to keep things just as true to the show, the voice actors have all returned (with the exception of Colbert, who’s stand-in does a pretty good job anyway).
A definite upside is that the major points are all done in FMV. Dialog, events, character interactions. There’s text to be read while examining areas and going back over testimony, but having the majority of the game animated and a lot acted, it adds a ton to the authenticity.
The investigations and court cases are funny, certainly, but weak. While it works in televised humor, the somewhat non-sequitur presentations of evidence require some real leaps of logic. And sometimes an eye to spot tiny, almost invisible items in the game to advance. While it’s hilarious when it happens, getting there, well, frustrating. Add to the fact that pressing most statements only gets a canned response of the “No, no need for that” variety, and it feels like the wrong kind of low budget, and the content is very, very limited.
It took me about 5 hours to play through the game, with two very short chases, and three longer ones. None of any real difficulty, and none I put too much effort into. For those who blast through Ace Attorney games (if you’ve already beaten Apollo Justice, for example), this one will take all of two hours. Slower players won’t get more than eight. A lot funny, not a lot of content.
Harvey Birdman:Attorney at Law gets 2.5 out of 5 canes. At $40, it’s too expensive for a budget game, which it clearly is. If it hits XBLA or drops to 20 dollars, it’s a good laugh, but you’d be better to spend your money on the DVDs of the show. Damn fine rental, though.
