The jury finds the defendant guilty of lightweight strategy, casual entertainment, unfulfilled promise and hit-&-miss humour. Dismissed!
Hotshot lawyer Max McMann is a fellow of firm principles. Self-interest, personal enrichment and turning up the sleeves on a pastel suit are just a few of them. So he’s naturally at home in this parody of a lurid Hollywood eighties, when lunch was for wimps and the ozone layer looked awfully like breakfast to an industrial smog of back-combed hairspray.
At heart this is a neat, inviting turn-based battle where you defend your client by selecting from your deck of legal dirty tricks to discredit the prosecution. For example, the Interrogate skill can deal 1-5 damage to a Witness’s Credibility – equivalent to their health or hit points – in an attempt to eliminate them. In the prosecutor’s turn, surviving Witnesses and Evidence return damage against your case. Of course, Max favours defendants with a certain ‘ker-ching’: rich clients who are prepared to undo a zipper and show society the true meaning of Reaganomic trickle-down. Wipe the opposition for a handsome fee and you can buy new courtroom techniques, while pimping out your condo in taste-free contemporary frippery.
We found the humour a little thin after the rocking theme song, but enjoyed the pop-cultural references and the voice work, with pre-court exchanges weaving a story of Max’s pursuit of the delectable Susan Maple.
It’s also a breeze to pick up and play, taking only a few rounds to reach a verdict. But the system just doesn’t deliver on strategic integrity, with luck holding too much sway. Replaying the same moves can turn up wildly different results. Balance is also an issue, some skills seeming overpowered while others never saw use. Our replay on Hard felt easier than our exploratory completion on Normal difficulty, as we knew exactly what to expect and never missed a bonus.
We’d recommend you overrule our objections and try Devil’s Attorney anyway: as stylish and shallow as its square-jawed antihero, it may be flawed (and climax too soon), but it’s still rather likeable.
Download this app: Devil’s Attourney for iPhone
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Review courtesy of Tap!
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