'Law & Order: Justice is Served'
By: Legacy Interactive
(Windows 98 - Me - XP / ASIN: B0001XLMVW / Rated: T / $29.99)
Features: Adventure game based on the hit TV series. Work a case where a young tennis star is found dead. Piece together clues and solve puzzles to make an arrest. Build a strong case against the accused and try to convince the jury to return a guilty verdict. For 1 player.
Description: Sure, tennis is big business, but we bet you never saw a match like this. Your game begins when 20-year-old tennis star Elena Kusarova shows up dead on the locker room floor the week before the start of the U.S. Open. Work along with detectives Lennie Briscoe and Ed Green to piece together the clues and make an arrest. Once you have a suspect in custody, you'll build your case with Assistant District Attorney Serena Southerlyn and try to convince the jury to return a guilty verdict. With a more user-friendly interface, increased interactivity, twice as many puzzles, and more characters and locations, you'll really feel like you're part of the 'Law & Order' team.
Verdict: This has got to be one of the best value buys you can get in adventure gaming. Not only do you get the first game as a bonus (which is of a good length and quite engrossing in itself), you also get a very compelling look into the world of women's professional tennis and the lengths that parents and promoters will go to in a 'Law and Order' setting. This is the 3rd in the series and it is the longest and most challenging so far. This is the first in the series to have actually stumped me in a few locations and for my first subpoena, I had NO idea what I was doing and made the strongest case - and yet it got thrown out of court since I only included circumstancial evidence! This will take you 10-15 hours, longer if you don't break down and look at a walkthrough! Even challenge aside, you will walk away well satisfied from a well told story and rigorous, and thorough conclusion. Highly recommended, and an amazing value! Writing and 'acting' are both topnotch, with three of the actors from the series doing voice work. Graphics are good and have improved dramatically, to the point where the characters' expressions match the emotion in their voices.
Gerry Manners