The moment I glanced upon this title, my mind shouted "Objection!" My sheer confusion was compounded by a fair amount of curiosity and a morsel of pure delight as I looked upon it.

You may be confused at this point, so let me elaborate.

'Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney' is a line of attorney games where players are thrown into the middle of an anime-ish, court case drama. Having never played a game like this, the mere opportunity to try out a court case DS game was mouth-watering, even though there was a possibility of it falling short of my expectations (which were actually non-existent at the time).

Players take up the mantle of Phoenix Wright, a skilled attorney who has the utmost belief in his defendants' innocence. Not only that, but his slicked-up hair is nearly as cool as his crazy name.

As Phoenix Wright, you are responsible for defending your suspect by cross examining witnesses and utilising evidence, which you will collect as the story progresses. But most of the game is spent listening to the witnesses and trying to exploit discrepancies in their testimonies.

If you find that their testimony contradicts the evidence or knowledge you have, you can object and pull out said material, thereby disproving their statements. However, if you utilise evidence which does not have any backing or relevance, you will damage your court case. If you make too many of these mistakes, you will lose the court case and your defendant will be charged as being guilty.

The game is really immersive and often it feels as if you are playing your way through an anime. This is great for fans of the art style and just as cool for people who aren't as clued up.

The whole game is scripted out which adds to its story-driven appeal; however, this can be off-putting for gamers who crave more freedom. The difficulty in this is that players are required to provide the exact piece of evidence that has been scripted into the storyline in order to trigger the scripted statement that follows.

Most of the time though you will be able to work out the correct item after a good amount of scrutinising and thought. You may find yourself examining a photo to find a hole in a suspect's alibi or you may be called to point out a reason why a bloodied piece of clothing is actually a false duplicate.

This title is a story-driven, problem-solving game at heart and is really rewarding once you work it all out. The storyline itself is wonderfully intricate and truly worthy of a court drama. The music and sound effects create a great ambiance and builds the suspense and pressure of a true cross examination, while the character design is pretty cool, with much attention being put into creating deep, engrossing personalities.

Though a great deal of the action occurs in the court room, you will also have times where you'll have to move between various crime scenes or locations in order to gather evidence or chase up leads. If you uncover the correct leads, your knowledge of the case will increase and you may find yourself gaining new pieces of evidence. Phoenix Wright also gains a special ability which allows him to pry out information from the most stubborn suspects — these sequences play like mini court cases.

For anime lovers, this game hits the nail right on the head. There are tons of face faults, stereotypes, character quirks, flashbacks and plot turnarounds, which are complemented by perfectly typical anime characters and humour.

Whenever you disprove a statement it is nearly as if you are unleashing your special anime attack. The music kicks into a serious action mode as everyone from the judge to the opposition react in a manner fitting of the best anime. At the back of the manual, there is even a short manga (Japanese comic) extract.

Controls-wise, you can either navigate the game by using the DS stylus to tap the various options, or by using the buttons. Personally I found the buttons a bit easier, but the stylus worked really well too. You can even use the built-in mic to shout objections — once again, it is not crucial to the game but it is a nice touch.

You can also save at virtually any point of the story, which saves a huge amount of time if you find yourself blowing cases often.

This game is not for everyone — you'll either love it, or hate it. If you are looking for a diverse, open game, then this is probably not for you. However, for those who love engrossing storylines, problem solving and anime, this title will definitely bring you joy.

8/10

PressStart.co.za

Buy this game: DS

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