In the middle eighties, Mindscape Incorporated released Crime and Punishment for the PC DOS format. It is a crime simulation game that is loosely based on ideas of a famous classical author.
In the game, the user plays the part of a judge in a courtroom environment. He is a criminal sentencing judge and oversees many different courtroom trials for crimes ranging from burglary to rape. Perjury and murder cases will also be tried. The user’s task is to carefully review the details of each case, and then make a decision as to the fate of the accused.
In the middle eighties, Mindscape Incorporated released Crime and Punishment for the PC DOS format. It is a crime simulation game that is loosely based on ideas of a famous classical author.
In the game, the user plays the part of a judge in a courtroom environment. He is a criminal sentencing judge and oversees many different courtroom trials for crimes ranging from burglary to rape. Perjury and murder cases will also be tried. The user’s task is to carefully review the details of each case, and then make a decision as to the fate of the accused. You may put him in prison, place him on probation, or throw him in jail for a few days. Not only does the user choose the punishment, he also decides the duration
of the punishment, for example, thirty days in jail or two consecutive life sentences.
Crime and Punishment features many different cases and many different types of cases in varying seriousness. These many options lend a great degree of replay value to the game. There is an absolute wealth of background the user can collect on each case to help him render a fair decision. The user can receive reports detailing the value of property that has been stolen or damaged. He can explore defender and victim relationships in an effort to better grasp motives. There are tons of sources of information on the accused, including prior conviction records, mental health history, and pre-sentencing behaviour in and out of the courtroom.
The goal, after gathering all the pertinent information, is to pass a fair judgment on to the perpetrator. The game already assumes the accused is guilty. To score points, recorded as gavels in this game, the user must render the same punishment that the computer AI would pass down. The more information the user collects on the case, the fewer gavels he will be awarded. If the user is able to accurately pass down appropriate sentences without wasting the court’s time collecting background information, he will receive the most gavels.
In summary, this is a very unique little simulation game. The user plays the part of the judge instead of the lawyers and has to rely on a sense of morality, as well as common sense and a little luck in order to score points. The graphics are fairly poor, but the game play and interface are both good, and the game should not be passed up because of its lack of flash. Crime and Punishment comes highly recommended for download.
