Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law (video game)

Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law
North American Wii version boxart
Developer(s)	High Voltage Software
Publisher(s)	Capcom
Series	Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2, PSP, Wii
Release	NA: January 8, 2008
Genre(s)	Visual novel, Interactive movie
Mode(s)	Single-player

Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law is a video game developed for the Wii,^[1] PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable by High Voltage Software, and released on January 8, 2008.^[2] It was published by Capcom and is based on the Adult Swim cartoon of the same name with collaboration of the show's writers and voice actors.^[3][4]

Gameplay

The game is played like the Ace Attorney Capcom court-themed series, but with the Harvey Birdman type of humor and feel. The game also include cameos of Capcom characters within the 5 cases.^[3] A trailer for the game shown at the 2007 E3 Convention confirmed that the game included the mechanics of cross-examination and evidence lists from the Ace Attorney series, as well as cameos by many Street Fighter characters. Thanks to the show's simple flash process, the game was able to closely mimic the show's animation.

Plot

• The Burning Question – The first segment deals with Peter Potamus being accused of burning down half of Harvey Birdman's house.
• The Cleaning Crew – Magilla Gorilla and Secret Squirrel are accused of robbing Harvey Birdman's office.
• From Glamour to Slamour – Yakky Doodle's latest name change lands him in jail when the Nailgun name makes the authorities think that he's the criminal of the same name. Harvey comes to Yakky's defense, but winds up being jailed himself after it is discovered that his license has expired.
• Personal Piracy – Peanut is suspected of copying music controlled by the RIAA without permission.
• Two Birds, One Throne – During Phil's absence, Blue Falcon is put in charge who tricks Birdman into hiring prosecutors for his own "embezzling" trial.

Cast

• Gary Cole – Harvey Birdman, Hiram Mightor
• Chris Edgerly – Peter Potamus
• Thomas Allen – Peanut
• Paget Brewster – Birdgirl
• John Michael Higgins – Mentok the Mindtaker
• Maurice LaMarche – Azul Falcone, Stan Freezoid, Inch High Private Eye, Magilla Gorilla, Dum Dum
• Neil Ross – Vulturo
• Bill Farmer – Secret Squirrel
• Steven Blum – Yakky Doodle
• Peter MacNicol – X the Eliminator
• Debi Mae West – Gigi
• Lewis Black – Elliott The Deadly Duplicator
• Stephen Stanton – Phil Ken Sebben
• Crispin Freeman – Myron Reducto

Reception

Reception

Review scores Publication Score PS2 PSP Wii Adventure Gamers N/A N/A [5] EGM 5.83/10[6] N/A 5.83/10[6] Eurogamer N/A 5/10[7] N/A Game Informer N/A N/A 6/10[8] GamePro N/A 3.75/5[9] N/A Game Revolution D−[10] D−[10] D−[10] GameSpot 6.5/10[11] 6.5/10[11] 6.5/10[11] GameSpy [12] N/A [13] GameTrailers 6.5/10[14] N/A 6.5/10[14] GameZone 7.1/10[15] N/A 7.5/10[16] IGN 7.4/10[17] 7.4/10[17] 7/10[4] Nintendo Life N/A N/A [18] Nintendo Power N/A N/A 6.5/10[19] PSM [20] N/A N/A The A.V. Club C−[21] N/A N/A The New York Times (unfavorable)[22] (unfavorable)[22] (unfavorable)[22] Aggregate score Metacritic 63/100[23] 62/100[24] 60/100[25]

The game received "mixed" reviews on all platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.^[23][24][25]

Maxim gave the game a score of three stars out of five and said that it was "actually funny, and unlike The Simpsons Game, it's actually fun to play. Game play is lifted straight out of Capcom's own Phoenix Wright series. [...] It's short enough that you can finish it in a couple of nights, but all the show's characters are in effect... along with their respective voice actors. Finally, the game's budget price (around $30) means there's no need to shout, "I object!" when the game store clerk rings you up."^[26] However, The A.V. Club gave the PlayStation 2 version a C−, calling it "A decent rental, but not a wise investment."^[21] The New York Times gave the game an unfavorable review, stating that the game design was "just plain bad".^[22]

See also

• Ace Attorney

References

External links

• Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law at MobyGames