“Law Martin
is in too deep. After infiltrating the ranks of a dangerous drug ring, this
undercover cop has to take down the bad guys and solve the mystery sounding his
former partner’s death. While Law does all of the leg work, FBI Agent Sara
Starling must analyze evidence, hack networks, and trace calls to make sure that
her teammate has everything that he needs in the field.” Stop me if you have
heard any of this before. No, really. What I just described wasn’t taken from
some cheesy 80’s cop show, but was actually the basis of the new Nintendo DS
adventure game, Miami Law.
Miami Law
has two main modes of play: adventure and action. You will spend most of your
time in adventure mode, which features a point-and-click interface similar to
the ones found in titles like Phoenix Wright and Snatcher. You are
tasked with exploring police stations, seedy warehouses, and dangerous alleyways
to find the friends and foes necessary to get the information that you need. The
adventuring here is entirely menu-based, as you choose a destination for your
character and then run down all of the available options in that location.
Things pick up a bit once the game switches over to action mode, which happens
whenever the characters are in danger. Action mode is made up of simplistic
mini-games that somehow tie into the story, including a Time Crisis-style
on-rails shooter, an information matching puzzle, a sniper-rifle segment,
fingerprint dusting, tracing of phone calls, and even some high speed car chases
that have you dodging traffic to catch up to the fleeing enemy vehicles. While
not the best mini-games available on the DS, these moments do offer a welcome
change of pace from the snail-like adventuring.
The story is
divided up into five cases, each with their own story, locations, characters,
and mini-games. One of the twists that Miami Law offers is being able to
play as two unique characters. Before certain major action events, the game
pauses to ask you who you would like to follow. Choosing the testosterone-fueled
Law will send you into battle, guns a’blazing. Siding with Sara usually locks
you to a computer terminal for stylus-based puzzle sequences. While the outcome
stays the same no matter who you choose, being allowed to stick with the
mini-game style that you prefer is a nice touch.
While the
mini-games can be pretty entertaining, some hitches in the adventuring end up
hurting the overall experience. When you enter a room, you are shown a small
image of the location and offered several menu choices. Unfortunately, the
picture doesn’t show you any of the people or items that can be found in that
room, forcing you to check the “Talk” menu to see who is around to chat and the
“Examine” menu to see what objects can be toyed with. This gets incredibly
annoying, especially when you are told to go speak to somebody but can’t
remember where they are located. Another problem is with the menu system itself,
which is a bit too convoluted for its own good. There are seven icons on the
bottom of the screen most of the time, and you will have to constantly scroll
through each of them in every room until you find something that works. Figuring
out what to do next can often be a chore as well, as the game doesn’t do a great
job at clueing you in on where to go after the dialogue stops. While you have a
notepad in your inventory, the information found there doesn’t usually help too
much, sending you on a wild goose chase back to each available area looking for
something to do.
This
constant back and forth wouldn’t have been as painful had the world of Miami
Law been more interesting, but that sadly isn’t the case. The game’s story
feeds off of tired cop clichés, from Law’s slain ex-partner to double-crossing
allies that betray you at the exact wrong moment. The characters and locations
are equally generic, as there isn’t a likable personality or interesting setting
to be found. No, you won’t encounter a Phoenix Wright or Guybrush Threepwood-class
character here, as everyone in Miami Law is 100% business-focused and
doesn’t have time to be memorable. This blandness persists in the visuals, as
the game’s still-frame graphics are nicely drawn but plainly designed. While the
adventuring may look insipid, the mini-games fare much better with some smooth
3D animation and a solid variety of scenarios. These moments are underscored by
the catchy music that fits the action admirably. Unfortunately, no voice acting
and minimal sound effects keep the audio from truly excelling.
Overall,
Miami Law provides some tried-and-true point-and-click gameplay with some
decent action-based mini-games, but the story and characters aren’t engaging
enough to fully draw you in. It is tough to fully recommend Miami Law
with so many terrific adventure games already available on the DS, but those
looking for something new might enjoy what they find here.
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Gameplay: 6.0
The menu-based
point-and-click adventuring isn’t too exhilarating, but the action-packed
mini-games keep things moving. Most of your time will be spent reading the
game’s semi-coherent storyline.
Graphics: 5.0
Plenty of
colorfully drawn still frames during the adventuring sequences, but the design
is bland, the characters are uninteresting, and the game lacks any semblance of
personality. The 3D visuals during mini-games are nicely done.
Sound: 5.0
The music
provides a solid backdrop for your travels, but the lack of voice acting in a
very long-winded story hurts the appeal.
Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Aside from
occasionally not knowing what to do next, you won’t have much trouble blowing
through all five cases of Miami Law. The mini-games never get too
difficult, and the puzzles are fairly simplistic.
Concept: 7.0
Separating the
adventure from the action is a clever approach for the genre, allowing for a bit
more variety than you normally find in this type of title. Allowing you to
switch characters before mini-games is a great touch.
Overall: 5.5
Miami Law
provides some solid old school adventuring and a few decent mini-games, but the
plot is generic and the gameplay doesn’t stand out enough to make it
recommendable over other similar DS titles.
