Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law
Friday, January 29th, 2010 at
2:37 pm
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The ultimate courtroom parody game starring retired superheroes, villains and sidekicks with non-stop laughs. The appeal of the Harvey Birdman show translates directly over to the game, but with an added dimension of interactivity. Players will feel like they’re actually taking part in an episode rather than just watching it!… More >>
I bought this game because I love adventure games and have recently been enjoying the Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney games. I was excited to play my first adventure game on the Wii and expected play to be similar to the Ace Attorney series. I was not familiar with the cartoon Harvey Birdman on Adult Swim, so I admit it took a little while to get used to the humor and silliness of it, but I did enjoy it.
The game is fun. It’s similar to Phoenix Wright, except for feeling more arbitrary, silly, and less challenging. Mostly, the cases were VERY short. Five cases flew by. I probably spent a total of 5-6 hours playing this game. That’s not a lot of playing time for a $40 game.
It was fun. But for anybody already used to adventure games or lawyer games, it won’t present any challenge. And it entertained me, but not for NEARLY long enough. I wish they would have made it longer, and the cases more involved. If they did that for a sequel, I would buy it. But I would try to pick this one up cheap.
Rating: 3 / 5
I’ll add my two cents only because there are so few reviews on this item. Basically, every other reviewer is correct. It’s funny, very short, and pretty easy. If you like the show and/or point-and-click adventures you will enjoy it.
The lack of Stephen Colbert is the only real disappointment. The actor who does Phil Ken Sebben sounds nothing like him. It’s so short I’d be ticked if I paid a lot for this game, but at its current price it is perfectly reasonable. I’m not a fan of games that take 60 hours to complete anyway.
Rating: 4 / 5
Harvey Birdman was one of my favorite shows on Cartoon Network’s [adult swim] line-up. The show featured the classic cartoon hero Birdman as a washed-up, middle-aged, sexually confused superhero-turned-lawyer, and a rapid-fire delivery of jokes and Hanna Barbara guest stars like Scooby Doo and the Flintstones. The show ended it’s run recently, and I picked up all 3 volumes of the show on DVD. I was jonesing for new Harvey by the time I heard of this game, and thought I had to get it. I was extremely happy that the game does work well. The game does retain the show’s non-sequitor spirit. Although at times, I worry that I made Harvey a bit too competant.
The game works a lot like the classic point-and-click adventures or the more recent Phoenix Wright games on the DS. Explore the environment, find evidence, present them at the right moment of the case, and you win, it’s pretty simple. Unfortunatly, the game is extremely short. If you can figure out the case, you could get through it in about a half hour, and the game only has about 5 cases, so you probably get through it in about a couple of days (I did). The game would be great for any fan of the show.
Rating: 4 / 5
If you love Harvey Birdman on Adult Swim, then you HAVE to buy this game. It’s a point & click adventure, where you play as Harvey Birdman, uncovering evidence & probing witness testimony. There are tons of hilarious cut scenes throughout each case, which feature all the weird characters from the show. You explore different areas to find clues, as well as pressing witness testimony & presenting evidence in court. Although it starts off easy, the gameplay is fun & does get more challenging by the end. The humor is just as offbeat & great as the tv show, & there are 5 original cases to explore. The voice talent is there, & definitely just as terrific as the show. The graphics & sound are also excellent, exactly like the cartoon. Overall, my only complaint is that it was too short, the game could have benefitted from another case or two. But there are different dialogue paths & unlockables, which enable you to replay the cases for different laughs. It’s not often that you get a game based on a tv show (or movie) that is done as well as this. It really reflects the cartoon flawlessly, & deserves a spot in any fan’s library.
Rating: 5 / 5