While Harvey Birdman captures the same great humor that was in the show, gameplay leaves a lot to desire for....
In Harvey Bird Attorney at Law you follow five trails of Harvey Birdman at work and on the go. Good enough plot, lets get on with the review!
Gameplay:
Harvey Birdman is said to play like Phoenix Wright, I would not know, because I have not played a Phoenix Wright game. However capcom published the game, so It would make some sense if it did. Anywhoo
Harvey Birdman feels like a DVD extra rather than a full fledged game. You pretty much click on some things, collecting evidence and other things that might be useful for the trial, using the wiimote, watch animated cinimatic and then click and collect more things.
Then after you collect enough things, you go into court and either prosecute or Defend. In court, someone is called up to the stand, they make a testimony and then you examine it and find holes in it to win your case.
The gameplay works, it might not be that exciting at times but it is effective, I mean what else are they going to do fir a Court based game. The best part of the game play is talking to these unique and familiar characters and going to some entertaining locations and just sort of seeing all the little things that have been put in the game. For example, there are many references to Capcom games in here and it is always entertaining to stumble upon these and see the comment made when examining them.
However, there really isnt much of a game part of this game though. It feels like the wide majority, more than half, is spent watching cinimatics and while thats great for those looking for an entertaining way to return to the Bridman, those looking for a game will feel cheated.
Graphics:
Harvey Birdman is all animated all the time. It pretty much looks like the show, however in a lower resolution. It pretty much looks like what the show would of looked like if it was made in Macromedia flash. To compare it to some other animated games, it looks like a step bellow Warioware Smooth moves. Characters can sometimes look blocky and their animations arent always as fluid as they are in the show. Even with the flaws in the graphics, its still looks great, and it works a lot better than it would of if they had transitioned this to 3D.
Sound:
The game performs execllently in the sound department. All voice actors from the show make their return to the game to present of all their funny and hilarious jokes. The sound effects are also taken pretty much straight out of the show. Sound effects and voices for characters that werent in the show make a seemless entry. The game also features all the swift and great music from the show, including the opening.
Value:
Harvey Bird man is an extremely short and fairly easy game.There are only 5 trials, each taking around 30-45 minutes to complete, so your looking at a game thats only around 4 hours long, and after you complete it, there is no real need to replay it unless you are one that enjoys watching episodes of shows over and over again because thats what the game pretty much is, 5 interactive episodes of the show.
The game is still $40, making it hard recommend for even Birdman fans. If you enjoy the show, go out an rent it, otherwise why are you even considering this?
Conclusion:
Harvey Birdman Attorney at law is pretty much just a couple interactive episodes of the show (all new of course). While it captures the humor from the show, even fans of the series wont be able to get past its short length and high price tag. If your looking for a real court game, go get Phoenix Wright, I hear its great.