Streamline
  • Home
  • Spotlight
  • Reviews
    • Action
    • Strategy
    • RPGs
  • Most Hardcore
    • Devices
    • Gifts
    • Gadgets
  • About Us
Hardcore Droid
Hardcore Droid
  • Home
  • News
    • News
    • Spotlight
    • Interviews
    • Consoles
  • Reviews
    • Action
    • Adventure
    • Strategy
    • RPG
    • MMOs
    • Racing
    • Indie
    • Hardware
  • Best Of
    • Top 10 Games
    • Best RPGs
    • Best Action
    • Best Puzzlers
    • Best Strategy
    • Best Indie Strat
    • Best Indie RPGs
    • Most Hardcore
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Game Jobs
    • Archives
    • Attributions
    • Opportunities
  • Archives

Devil’s Attorney Android Review

  • December 14, 2012
  • Meg Stivison
Spread the love

Phoenix Wright this ain’t.

In Senri AB’s Devil’s Attorney, players take on the role of Max McMann, an ethically flexible defense attorney, tasked with keeping his unfortunate and misunderstood clients out of jail. Players aren’t solving the case — Max doesn’t ferret out evidence or pounce on contradictions to prove his clients are innocent. Instead, wily Max uses a collection of lawyerly tricks, like Patronizing witnesses or Tampering with evidence, that players use in a points-based strategy battle against a prosecutor. Each successful case earns money for Max with bonuses for proving the defendant’s innocence quickly.

Max’s clients each have a little story explaining the charges against them and why they are innocent. One explains that he totally wasn’t smuggling rare animals, not at all, in fact he has no idea how those lizards got in his underpants! Another one explains that he wasn’t running an illegal betting operation; instead some friends had gathered to watch sports programs and just happened to be counting their pocket change when police arrived.  And smooth Max defends them all! For a fee of course.

Before a trial, Max and the prosecutor trade hilarious barbs. (Players who hate humor and story in games can, of course, tap to skip these scenes.)

The game has a retro flavor, with characters sporting shoulder pads, blue eye shadow, or big mustaches. There’s an early Law & Order feel, although Max is fighting more for cash than to see justice done. Somehow slimy Max and his underworld defendants seem both delightful and hilarious.

In every trial, you can spend action points to either decrease the prosecution’s credibility, with attacks like Intimidating witnesses or Objecting, or you can give the defense a boost with an Epic Speech.  You must eliminate the prosecutor and any witnesses, evidence or special experts, to win the game.  Each opposing lawyer has a special strength so Max needs to assess each case and attack accordingly.

Most attacks have a random element, so on occasion a player can lose a round or a case due to bad dice. This gives just enough tension to lend excitement to the courtroom and since a failed trial can be easily restarted, it very rarely feels frustrating.

I’ve recently been playing a lot of games with in-app purchases, so when I lost a case, I first imagined that the difficulty level would force me to purchase a deluxe briefcase or extra premium currency. It was really refreshing to find that Devil’s Attorney is an old-fashioned all-one-price game, so a tough case just means I either have bad dice or I haven’t worked out the ideal strategy against this particular opponent.

After each case, Max earns a fee and possibly a bonus, which can be spent upgrading his apartment from peeling paint and a bare mattress by purchasing decor like a disco ball and a swanky stereo system. This is more than a typical casual game trophy room, because each new purchase adds to Max’s Vanity, Decadence or Materialism, and these vital stats manifest in the courtroom as new skills. You can trick out Max’s apartment with the vanity decor, for example, and Max gets the courtroom bonuses of Epic Speech, Deep Voice, Swagger, and Great Posture. Some clients will also offer Max gifts for a job well done, and Max has no qualms about taking these. Conflict of interest? Whatever! Thanks for the swag!

With dozens of poor misunderstood innocent citizens to defend, Max’s cases do start to run together a bit. There’s an optimal strategy to be used against each opposing lawyer, so once you’ve worked that out, the game loses a little punch. There’s not a lot of reason to replay the game either, although it’s possible to restart the game to pursue, say, Vanity instead of Decadence. But the hilarious story of a smooth defense attorney and his underworld clients, unfolding through points-based strategy rounds in the courtroom is great fun and more than worth the $3 price.

 

Related Topics
  • Android Strategy Games
Meg Stivison

has been a videogamer since discovering text-based adventure games as a little girl. She blogs on games and life at Simpsonsparadox.com.

Previous Article
  • Archives

Most Hardcore Holiday Hangover Games Money can Buy

  • December 8, 2012
  • John Markley
View Post
Next Article
  • Archives

The Most Hardcore Android Gadgets of 2012

  • December 14, 2012
  • Al Jackson
View Post
You May Also Like
View Post
  • Archives
  • Best Of

The Most Hardcore Android RPGs of All Time

  • Al Jackson
  • June 7, 2014
View Post
  • Archives

Dark Frontier Review

  • Tyler Burt
  • December 19, 2013
View Post
  • Archives

Gangster Granny 2: Madness Review

  • Claire Donner
  • December 15, 2013
View Post
  • Archives
  • News
  • Spotlight

Hardcore Droid’s News and Bulletin Board

  • Dabney Bailey
  • December 14, 2013
View Post
  • Archives

Riddick: The Merc Files Review

  • Will McCool
  • December 8, 2013
View Post
  • Archives

Isle of Bxnes Review

  • Francis Rafael
  • December 6, 2013
View Post
  • Archives

Death Tower Review

  • Will McCool
  • December 5, 2013
View Post
  • Archives

Westbound Review

  • Dabney Bailey
  • November 30, 2013
0 comments
  1. Pingback: สล็อตเว็บตรง
  2. Pingback: polecane-strony.pl
  3. Pingback: nova88
  4. Pingback: สล็อตวอเลท

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

The Latest
  • Mobile Apps and Hardware to Make Your Online Dating Amazing
  • The Best Minecraft Texture Packs
  • Echoes of Mana Review
  • DISNEY MIRRORVERSE Coming To Android This Summer
  • RuneScape Improves Firemaking and Fletching Skills
  • CRISPR Crunch Now In Early Access
  • Summoners War: Lost Centuria Adds Major Content Update to Celebrate One-Year Anniversary
  • MapleStory M Adds Cannoneer Class
  • Be Funny Now! Launching May 17th
  • Sword Master Story Collaborating with Is It Wrong To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon
Meta
  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
Hardcore Droid
  • Reviews
  • Spotlight
  • Hardcore
Core Gaming on the Android OS

Input your search keywords and press Enter.