Once upon a time, there was a wonderful game called The Secret Of Monkey Island, by Lucas Arts. It was a charming adventure of witty pirates, snappy dialogue, and an inventory of silly items. Beginning a wave of puzzle adventure games like it, the genre gained a cult following until… everything ground to a halt. Lucas Arts moved to games that boasted more action, and it seemed like the genre had died. Until the Nintendo DS arrived on the scene. It’s touch screen was perfect for point ‘n’ click-style gameplay, and with some very good games to back it up, it’s seems that the puzzle adventure is back, and here to stay.
If you own a DS you’ve probably played a few by now – especially the quirky Ace Attourney games from Capcom. A strange take on murder mystery stories, you play as the Defence attourney Phoenix Wright (and for one game, his successor, Apollo Justice) as you save your defendant by breaking down testimonies, showing evidence, and yelling “OBJECTION!” into the microphone. While the games didn’t have incredibly flashy graphics or high-octane gameplay, they made up for it with great writing and very likeable characters. However, after four games, both the fans and the Developers themselves felt things were getting a little stale. Enter stage: Ace Attourney Investigations; this time focusing on Phoenix’s long-time rival, Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth, while the witness interrogation and evidence slinging remains, being able to run around the crime scene we’re investigating, and a new ‘Logic’ clue deduction system do makes the proceedings different from the previous installments, but a feeling of it being just a little too similar to the previous games threatens to make things stale.
This extends to the plot and characters, too. Ace Attourney Investigations is filled with cameos and references from the previous four games, and although it gives the game some continuity; it’s obvious that a lot of the game is pitched to existing fans, rather than being a gateway to new ones. Even Edgeworth himself doesn’t get very far before running in to old aquaintences, but his withering and sarcastic banter should be fun for everyone.
It’s a solid entry to the series, and although it might exist solely for the fans (and after 4 other games, the might find things a bit easy), that’s all the more incentive for those who haven’t experienced the series to track down the earlier games – you won’t be disappointed.