(andPOP) - What ever happened to Birdman, that super hero with the super powered crest? The one that saved our world time and time again from such nemises… nemisae … nemese… as Freezoid, or Mentok the Mindtaker? Well, like all physically demanding super-jobs, it had to end sooner or later. Most heroes retire or get killed in the line of duty but not so for Birdman. Now in his post-hero years Harvey serves the public not with heroic feats, but with billable hours. Yes that’s right, our favorite bird based Hanna Barbara hero from years passed is now a practicing lawyer. And with his comedic cartoon on Adult Swim, comes a fun little game. Well, it’s more like a set of interactive episodes than an actual game. Developed by High Voltage Software and published by good old Capcom, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law hits the PSP, PS2 and Wii for all your litigation funnies.
Controlling Harvey you are given a case, a lead and sent off on your way to gather information, interview suspects and pick up useful items. As a point and click adventure, you don’t really do much moving around. Instead you choose which location to visit from a list given to you, click on everyone and everything, listen to what everyone has to say and explore to your heart’s content. Just as long as you don’t mind single shot stages. Once you gather all the information you need, the case begins and questions are asked. The game play is very similar to that of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, actually exactly like it in which you’re given a set of lives and every time you make a false accusation or ask the wrong question you lose a life. When you are out of lives you must restart from the last save point.
While the stages are pretty short, and there are only five of them, they feel very much like the TV show in terms of quality. As an added plus while you help out your falsely accused Hanna Barbara friends you can be sure to see some sneaky Street Fighter cameos (thanks Capcom). The game is pretty straight forward, and while you may get game over once or twice per case, you can always restart and try different approaches.
Graphic and sound wise the game is exactly like the show. Minimal actual character moving and plenty of voice acting makes the production value feel much higher than you would expect from a cartoon adaptation of this level. Animators are the same ones as the show, and the majority of the same voice actors worked on this game, as such, if your hankering for more Harvey Birdman on TV this might be your best bet in between waiting for new episodes. A lot of our favourite characters are here, Freezoid, Peanut, Potamus, Phil Ken Sebben, X the Eliminator, and of course Mentok the Mindtaker to name a few.
Controlling Harvey Birdman is a snap, as a game without time limits, action, or finesse really you can use the PSP, and PS2 analog stick to point and click on whatever you want to look at, pick up, or talk to. As well, selecting what to say can be as easy as pushing up or down then X. On the Wii however, you don’t even have to scroll, just point and click. It makes controlling around this title a lot faster, and feels more like a different experience than the average point and click adventure from the early 90’s. If you are deciding on your platform purchase based on control alone (as graphics, price and everything else are identical on all three), the Nintendo Wii is the only one of the three titles to offer a different layout.
I’m just going to flat out say it, Harvey Birdman is a short game, with the ability to beat it in a single sitting one evening, it still lasts much longer than the TV show normally would. But luckily with small playtime comes small price tag as all three versions go for an actual retail price of… $19.99, with many game stores having used copies for sale at a slightly lower price. Along with the five cases you can find and unlock five special video clips, which unless you unlock by accident aren’t really worth the effort to look for. As well, you could always go back and try other options just to see what the Birdman has to say.
All in all, if you’re a fan of Harvey and his crazy humor (I know I am), pick this game up immediately, a couple of hours working a McJob should pay for that. If you don’t like Harvey, or any of the other zany characters, hey, not every game is great for everyone. I enjoyed the game play, I enjoyed the humor and the variety of platforms it is available for is also greatly appreciated (on the go, old school, or alternative as I like to think of them). Unfortunately the game is pretty short, and I feel this title would have been a great episodic adventure to carry on into the years.
Graphics: 5.0 / 5.0 (while not amazing, look exactly like the show, couldn’t really get much better than that)
Game play 3.0 / 5.0 (point and click only, some mini-games would have been sweet)
Sound 4.5 / 5.0 (plenty of voice acting from show talent, and humorous to boot!)
Replay value 1.0 / 5.0 (you could finish it 100% in a weekend easily)
