Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (Nintendo DS) Preview

Those that have grown accustomed to the Ace Attorney games will feel right at home with the way Ace Attorney Investigations commences. Turnabout Visitor is the name of Chapter 1 and as the current time of events fades from the screen, a scene plays out in front of your very eyes as two people in a room have a heated discussion, gunfire echoes around the room and the image blacks out once more. Queue the introduction of the game's protagonist, legendary prosecutor Miles Edgeworth, and bumbling side-kick, Detective Dick Gumshoe. Visually, despite the change in view to a third-person vantage point, the hand-drawn, colourful appearance of previous Ace Attorney games is retained, as are some of the classic tunes on the soundtrack front, with plenty of new pieces that are equally as aurally pleasing and extremely memorable mixed in.

The objective of the demo version of Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth currently on the European Nintendo Channel is to give players a taste of what can be expected in terms of the new play mechanic that is so lovingly wrapped up in very familiar surroundings. The entirety of this early snippet takes places within Edgeworth’s office, with players taking directly control of the game’s namesake either by moving him with the D-Pad or using a stylus and touch-screen combination. When wandering around the office, approaching something of potential interest will bring up an ‘Examine’ button in the bottom right-hand corner, and with some items around the initial office location being so close together, movement with the D-Pad and menu options being accessed with the stylus is the simplest method of execution.

This new hands-on approach to movement and investigation is definitely a positive progression from the static nature found in previous Ace Attorney games. Each character displays various hand gestures and takes various stances as they either work away in the background or take part in current conversations (with the text either appearing at the upper or lower section of the top screen, dependent on your current position, so as to avoid obscuring Edgeworth). The touch-screen is home to a mini-map for the stylus control of the main star, as well as a portrait of Gumshoe, which can be tapped on when you wish to discuss specific matters with him.

Rather than following the same style as Phoenix Wright and his Contradiction method of investigating, Miles Edgeworth has his own personal brand of finding holes in crime scenes, using a method of Deduction. After gathering as much information as possible from the current location, the precise spot where a murder has taken place is zoomed into. Then following a process of examination, a key anomaly can be identified and a piece of evidence from the Edgeworth’s Organiser needs to be selected to back the statement up. Despite being dressed up in alternate clothing, this works exactly as the process of calling an Objection! in court and using supporting evidence to bolster your claim.

Second Opinion
Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth is looking to be a more than worthy entry into the series. Despite different appearances, the core gameplay seems to be very similar to the mainline series - as does the humour, thankfully. I would hope that it will differentiate itself outside of the incredibly short Nintendo Channel demo currently on offer, though. Unfortunately, something it shares with the other titles is the need to click on everything before you can go forward with a solution that you have already figured out. Fingers crossed that Edgeworth's logic has rubbed off on the developers and this is not prevalent throughout the entire game...
- Mike Mason, Reviews Editor.