The Ace Attorney series has been a welcome third party mainstay on the DS.  Players stepped in the shoes of the prominent defensive attorney Phoenix Wright in three games, while the fourth game put players in the head of Apollo Justice—a new defense attorney.  Now in its fifth entry, Capcom is turning the tables by playing the role of Miles Edgeworth, the prosecutor that has given Phoenix Wright all sorts of hell.

Those who follow the series are likely to be excited because of the fact that while Edgeworth definitely made things hard for Phoenix Wright, the man had a heart and is probably the most popular character in the series, next to Phoenix himself.  Also a first in the series, Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth also requires players to play from a third person perspective.  So instead of being the novel-type purely point-and-click game it was, players can actually control Edgeworth and have him examine crime scenes by pointing at peculiar places with Edgeworth nearby.

As lame as it may seem that Capcom intends to continue to push the idea of actually having the ability to walk in the game, it’s actually quite a nice touch.  Instead of having to see the same backgrounds over and over as you move from place to place, there’s actually some liveliness in the characters.  Capcom has always done an extremely good job with 2D animations over the years, and this new visual style definitely puts some much-needed life with the game’s visuals.

As far as gameplay goes, it holds its similarities to the other games but is also quite different.  Capcom’s demonstration build, which is actually available on both the Nintendo Channel and on flash at different websites, puts players straight into the action by diving into the first chapter.  Apparently, a murder occurred in the Prosecutor’s Office.  As Edgeworth, you can examine key areas and obtain evidence to help understand the story.  You also have the ability to talk to people in the room, unlike in the other games where there’d only be one person in every room or area.

When you come across serious suspects, they’ll often tell you things that are contradictory to the case on hand.  So similar to Phoenix Wright, you’ll come across cross-examinations, where it’s your job to point out contradictions with the evidence that you have.  Except now, when you listen to a testimony, you have to pursuit ideas, press at what they say, and then confront the contradictions.  Facts in the case can be taken note of and combined with different forms of logic.  It can be confusing at first because mistakes can be made (that’ll deplete your health bar), but the sense of accomplishment you get when successfully using the logic mode gives quite a good feeling.

Now that people have finally gotten a taste of what Miles Edgeworth has to offer, it’s hard to say that we’re not excited about this upcoming title.  If there’s any disappointment we’ve had so far, it’s the fact that we haven’t had an in-case court battle yet.  Capcom has yet to disappoint their fans with the Ace Attorney titles, and we certainly are hoping that Edgeworth isn’t the going to be the first.  Expect a review as the game is released in a couple weeks.

Related posts:

1. Review: Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (DS)
2. 2010: Our Most Anticipated Games
3. Preview: Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey (DS)
4. Preview: Final Fight Double Impact (Xbox 360, Playstation 3)
5. Preview: Fable III (Xbox 360)

About This Author: Danreb Victorio

This 21-year old Associate Editor at Gamer 2.0 covers the latest and greatest in handheld gaming as well as has an active voice with Gamer 2.0's reviews at SmashPad plog.

Share This Post: