suppose "immersion" is one of those things the 3DS was going for with its 3Dness and

all. But even then, most games don't get it. They're still very much "games," and I recognize

them as such, and most of my emotion is determined by whether or not I'm winning. The Ace Attorney

series, on the other hand... that's different. Capcom have crafted a line of adventures that

grab you by the throat and don't stop squeezing. They're the most lighthearted depictions of

grisly murders I've ever seen, kinda like Monk without the OCD but with the absurdity

cranked up in compensation. And they went away for a long period of time, teasing us

with re-releases of the same cases we've cracked before on our Wiis and iPhones and whatnot.

But now... now the Wright Anything Agency is open once more. Court is in session, the

honorable Mills Lane presiding. Let's get it on.

What we've presented today, your honor, is in line with previous entries in the series:

A compilation of cases spread out over a period of months, each functioning as a separate

incident but contributing to an overarching narrative. They detail the inner workings

of the party of the first part, heretofore known as the "Wright Anything Agency," formerly

the "Wright & Co. Law Offices" but now offering talent booking services and a specialty in

stage magic. The party of the... oh, sod it. YOU'RE A LAWYER, one of several, actually,

from renowned Dr. Doom-slayer Phoenix Wright all the way down to newcomer to the firm Athena

Cykes, who is not only a bar-certified lawyer in her own right but can also fulfill the

"moderately deranged sidekick" role that's become a staple of this series. You talk to

people, investigate crime scenes, point, click, and most importantly reason your clients out

of a number of sticky situations in a twisted mockery of jurisprudence that makes for lousy

societal control but a smashing video game. You might even have to delve into their emotions

by analysing vocal fluctuations which indicate jargon jargon babble more hoops to jump through

because Maya's not around to show you the psyche-locks and Apollo can't use his magical

polygraph bracelet because there's a hawk pecking his head.

Problem is, it's a very linear game. Which is great for telling a story - and don't get

me wrong, the story's about 85% of why you're here in the first place - but if you're clever,

you're probably going to find yourself thinking at least one step ahead of the game at most

junctures. And this might result in your being exceedingly frustrated when you can't just

shout "IT WAS USED AS A BLUDGEON, YOU DIMWITS" into the microphone - though there is microphone

support as has been a hallmark of the series. For your crime of overclocking your brain,

you take penalties that lead to a guilty verdict... but then you can just continue, so why bother.

Maybe it's a pride thing. But as I've mentioned before, you're not playing this for pride,

you're playing for the story. And the soundtrack, which is intensely awesome.

Oh, and it's all in 3D. Considering that you're sitting in a courtroom for most of the time,

that's not such a big deal... but this use of models rather than sprites allows for a

significant boost to the graphics, and most notably to the animation quality. That would've

been enough, but then they had to go and add fully-animated cutscenes to the equation,

making it look even better. And THAT would've been enough, but Capcom decided to go all-out

and include support for DLC content and updatable costume packs, so you can be classic-Phoenix

if you want. Personally, I think the vest works for him. Dual Destinies has the usual

flaws of a Phoenix Wright game (plus I think they got the Mega Man Battle Network 4 team

to proofread and it shows), but manages to overcome them by being thoroughly engaging

and, yes, even immersive. I guess you just can't keep a good man down. Or a lawyer, for

that matter.