Capcom continues its Phoenix Wright courtroom drama with the recent release of Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth.
The addition of the third-person view helps with new ways to investigate crime scenes.
Investigations plays much like a point-and-click adventure game, with the player controller Edgeworth in a third-person view. The addition of the third-person view adds a new dynamic to the series, as players are actually shown when a character dramatically bursts into a room or kidnaps another character, instead of simply being told about the events in previous games. Much like the original games the player investigates crime scenes to find clues and evidence, and then uses what he or she finds to reveal holes in suspect’s testimonies. One new addition to the game is the “Logic” sequences, which Edgeworth uses to piece certain clues together on his every continuing quest to uncover the truth of each case.
One of the best additions is the amount of animation the characters have. This is especially apparent in the third-person view, as characters will run around a room or physically attack each other, adding to the drama of the game. Even returning characters seem to have their sprites updated for the new game, with added animations and more detail on animations from previous games. This is refreshing to see in an industry that rehashes elements so often.
The only bad part of the game is the lack of urgency to solve each case. In the previous games if the player fails in a trial, their client is found guilty of murder and is heavily implied to receive the death penalty. In Investigations, should the player fail the “truth” is lost forever and Edgeworth just writes about his failure in his journal. The suspected character still has a trial to attend that will determine his or her innocence or guilt.
Edgeworth's ability to use logic to piece together the truth adds a bit of critical thinking to the games.
Overall, Investigations is a great addition to the Phoenix Wright series. The addition of the third-person view adds much more to the already intense drama of the story, which is helped with the updated character animations. While the urgency of the previous titles isn’t as apparent here, the cases are still full of as many twists and turns one has come to expect from the series. For any fan of the Phoenix Wright series or any fan of point-and-click adventure titles, this is a great choice.
