It is a good, engaging game, but with limited re-playability.
The plot is basically non-existent. You are on one of four detective desks (after a short bout as a simple copper) and you and your partner must drive around finding evidence and interviewing suspects. It makes sense, but there is no sense of story. It's more like an anthology, with many different short stories playing out. Admittedly, after a number of cases, there is an underlying link with all the cases that the cultured Cole Phelps solves. It gets a bit predictable. One interesting thing though is flashbacks to the war which Phelps took part in but refuses to discuss.
If you've played Red Dead Redemption, the graphics and controls will seem identical and but for the clothes and setting, you'd think you were playing the same game. Nonetheless, it was a winning format and the similarity does not detract from the games enjoyment.
The only really new feature is the interrogations with suspects and witnesses. You can, after hearing their piece, accuse them of lying if you have proof, doubt them, or trust them. The actors are great liars so I messed this up frequently, but there is a problem with the lying choice: Phelps can accuse them of lying about something you don't question.
But my main problem with the game is that when a case is solved, that's it. Sure, you can go back and make sure you find all the evidence and get all interrogations correct, but it won't come to anything. If you're a perfectionist, maybe you'll enjoy this. For me however, it seems like a waste of time.