Law & Order: Legacies Reviewed

Written by Mark Del Rio Tuesday, 21 February 2012 06:00

Law & Order: Legacies is a new casual adventure game based on the ever long-running television series.  I was initially hesitant to review this game due to my lack of interest in the TV show. That was until I found out who the game was created by. Telltale Games, developer of multiple PC adventure hits such as Sam & Max, and Back to the Future: The Game is the genius behind this game. I knew I had to play it.

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?

Law & Order: Legacies is a 7 episode game series. The first 4 episodes are available for purchase right now (and that’s what this review is based on). It steals bits from different eras of the television series’ 20+ year history. In one episode you may be playing a case from today with the current TV cast. In another you may be playing a case from the 1990’s with the show’s former cast. Each episode is self-contained and can be played out of order (though that’s not recommended since they do loosely connect to each other).

HOW DOES IT PLAY?

Each episode of Law & Order: Legacies is played out in two parts. Just like the television series, the first part is related to the investigation of a murder. In this portion of the game you spend your time questioning witnesses (via branching dialogue paths) and searching crime scenes (via “seek-and-find” mini-games). In the second part of the game you take the role of the prosecution and attempt to prove that the defendant deserves the maximum penalty.

On paper this doesn’t sound appealing but in-game it’s surprisingly fun. Each episode is divided into many “scenes” (like any television show) that take place in a single location at a time. If you’ve successfully completed a scene, you move on to the next one. If you fail a scene you have to restart it (don’t worry, they’re short).

PART 1: THE INVESTIGATION - During the investigation phase your goal is to gather information as to whom the murderer is and what the motive was. As in classic adventure games, you will interview witness and suspects from a dialogue tree. Some of the questions on the tree are irrelevant however and will get you nowhere. Asking the right questions and following up on them correctly will net you bonuses – you are scored on your performance as a detective at the end of each scene.

This was my favorite part of the game because it forced you to be on your toes at all times. At certain points in between questioning, the game would pause and a prompt would force you to make an important judgment call such as – “Do you believe he’s telling the truth? Yes or No.” Whatever your call, you also had to show (from another dialogue tree) how you reached that decision based upon previous testimony. Make too many wrong calls and your investigation is over. I have to say, I felt like I was a real detective during those scenes.

Another part of your investigation involves searching the scene of the crime for evidence. A pop-up menu gives you a list of objects to find. You then use the mouse to draw a circle around any object on the scene to examine it. To keep these segments from divulging into a series of random “click-fests,” the game limits the number of guesses you can make. Circle the wrong thing and you lose a turn. Lose all turns and you have to restart the scene from the beginning. Fortunately, these segments were kept to a minimum (typically one or two per episode). They were fairly easy and not as fun as the questioning phase.

PART 2: THE TRIAL - After you’ve made an arrest, the game shifts to the second part – the trial. During this phase of Law & Order: Legacies your goal is to sway the jury in your favor. This part of the game is very text heavy and more difficult. You get the opportunity to bring in witness to the stand and cross examine them. Like before you choose questions from a dialogue tree. There are also more options available here to make your case.

Along with choosing what questions to ask and whether or not to believe them, you are also given the option to shout, “Objection!” when the defense says something you don’t like. The game pauses and another dialogue menu pops up giving you various forms of objection – “leading,” “No Expert Knowledge,” “Badgering,” etc... Choose the wrong one and the jury starts to sway against you (a meter at the top of the screen monitors your effectiveness). A tutorial at the beginning of the first episode gives you an idea as to what each objection refers to, but an in-game “cheat sheet” would have been better.

I found the trial portion of the game a little difficult at times. Maybe it’s because I have “No Expert Knowledge” of the legal system (or the television series). I would often times ask the wrong question or select the wrong objection. Also, the trial phase of the game requires you to do your homework. During the dialogue selection screens you can browse through a transcript of the entire game up to that point. This is very useful for catching contradictory testimony.

Based upon the line of questions you successfully ask/answer throughout the game you can achieve multiple “outcomes.” Notice that I did not say “endings.” Whatever you do in-game the story remains the same. The only thing that changes is the fate of the accused. Have weak detective skills or poor courtroom finesse? Your murderer might walk scott-free. Each episode only lasts about an hour and you can replay them to achieve different outcomes for fun. I couldn’t stop laughing once when I purposely asked the wrong questions repeatedly. My partner sunk her head into her hands and muttered, “ugh, why did he ask that?”

WHAT’S IT LOOK LIKE? WHAT’S IT SOUND LIKE?

Law & Order: Legacies has a semi-cell shaded look. It’s not the look that I would have expected for this kind of material. Telltale Games took a chance going in this direction with the style. I like it and I think it works well.

Most of the “scenes” in the game are composed of a static background and several 3-dimensional characters. It isn’t going to make your graphics card break a sweat. Whether you’re playing it on the PC or the iPhone, it looks great.

Unfortunately the original television show’s cast was unable to voice their in-game characters. The replacement cast is fine and after a while of playing you get comfortable with them.

Music is kept to a minimum and mostly absent during cutscenes. It comes on during the dialogue selection trees. During the trial you get a soft, yet moody undertone that makes you feel like you’re “on the spot.” It’s great and suits the gameplay perfectly.

SHOULD YOU BUY IT?

YES! You’ve always wanted to know what it feels like to stand up in court and shout, “Objection!”

FINAL THOUGHTS

I was not expecting much from Law & Order: Legacies. It’s a casual game based on a television show whose primary audience is in the 35-year-old and up category. That is a recipe for disaster. Fortunately, the geniuses at Telltale Games created a fun little puzzler that does justice to both the television series and adventure gaming in general. Whether you’re a fan of the show or not you’re going to enjoy the game. Law & Order: Legacies is just good gaming and with a low price of $19.99 for 7 full episodes, you have no reason to pass. Buy it now!

Law & Order: Legacies is available on PC, Mac, iPad, and iPhone. It can be purchased directly from Telltale Games at: http://www.telltalegames.com/lawandorder

or from Steam at: http://store.steampowered.com/app/205330/?snr=1_7_suggest__13