For ten years through the middle eighties to the middle nineties, the world enjoyed a television drama known as L.A. Law. As one could judge by the name, L.A. Law was primarily a courtroom drama, detailing the daily activities of a series of heroic lawyer characters. Within the video game of the same title, the user can choose between three of these prime time favorite characters: attorneys Jonathan Rollins, Abbey Perkins, or Victor Sifuentes
The play of the game involves defending people in a court of law by making intelligent choices.
This defense is basically a means to an end, with the ultimate goal of the game (regardless of which character the user chooses to play) is to become worthy of full partnership within the firm. To do this, the user will have to succeed with each case he is given, receive and manage new cases, and climb through the ranks at the firm.
Many of the choices the user will have to make begin with gathering pertinent information to put together a solid case. He will begin developing a case file and this can be referenced at any time during the course of a trial. It will contain everything from collected evidence to advice the user gleans from other characters. When he is
prepared enough, the user can take the case to court and continue to make decisions to direct the flow of the trial.
Each case is a little bit different. The player will begin by trying to prove that his client was innocent of any wrong doing in a horrific car accident. This first case, like all the others, is timed, so the user must be careful to make decisions that will be lucrative to the case. Wasting time will cause the user to lose the case and hence the game. The user will have to do all sorts of things, such as question the clients and witnesses, visit opposing counsel to collect forms and evidence, perform some minor investigative work, and so forth. There are many resources available to the user, ranging from people to the library. Your bosses are good advisors. The bosses serve much like a “hint” feature.
And so the game goes…completely mouse driven and fed by a series of choices and options. It is a good game and certainly capitalizes on a very popular television drama. It is not a study in complete logic, which is probably an accurate reflection of the actual law practice, but it is a good and engaging play, featuring clear cut goals and interesting scenarios.
