L.A. Law: The Computer Game – Final Rating

by Alex

Never before have I played a game that felt so much like work. Is this how cops felt when they first fired up Police Quest? Probably not, I’ll wager, reliance on the manual notwithstanding, because Police Quest, for all its faults, is actually a game. It has game-like elements and structure, with puzzles and a player character you can move around and do stuff with, and an actual sense of agency . . . unlike L.A. Law: The Computer Game, which is a glorified Choose Your Own Adventure story, but bad.

L.A. Law: The Computer Game – Case #8: Becker’s Problem – WON!

by Alex

I did it, loyal TAG readers. I finished L.A. Law: The Computer Game. I hesitate to say “Won,” despite the title of this post (pre-established naming conventions, you know), because nobody wins when they play L.A. Law: The Computer Game. There is only a hollow sense of disappointment that, yes, I wasted close to six hours of my life playing this game. And you can too! I feel the need to share the pain, so I will wholeheartedly recommend that each and every one of you—yes, you in the back too!—go ahead and give this game a try. And then . . . then . . .

You know what? Nah. I’m perfectly content to be one of the, what, four people to ever play this game all the way through.

L.A. Law: The Computer Game – Case #7: The Revenge of the Milquetoast

by Alex

This game is terrible.

L.A. Law: The Computer Game – Case #6: The Stolen House

by Alex

Sadly, an actual house doesn’t get stolen in this case, but how cool would that be? Instead, Brackman drops a matter on Victor that’s similar to the kinds of things that happen to lawyers in real life firms: He is asked to take a case pro bono for a firm employee’s family member. In this case, it’s one of the secretary’s aunts.

Brackman warns Victor not to take too much time on this case, as there probably is no case. But hey, Victor just made partner. He can win anything, right?

L.A. Law: The Computer Game – Case #5: The Knotted Stalking

by Alex

We’ve got an apparent suicide. We’ve got the D.A. going after the younger husband. And we’ve only got nine in-game hours until trial. You know the drill. Let’s do this thing.

“I’m ready!”

L.A. Law: The Computer Game – Case #4: The Hidden Assets

by Alex

After yet another victory, Victor Sifuentes is handed a divorce matter. Rebecca Stevens has hired McKenzie, Brackman to get a fair settlement in her divorce. And as Arnie Becker, the firm’s divorce guru, is busy, the duty falls on the new guy.

L.A. Law: The Computer Game – Case #3: The Battered Boy

by Alex

L.A. Law: The Computer Game might not be the worst computer game I’ve ever played, but it’s certainly the one that’s felt the most like work.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying this is a great game by any stretch of the imagination. And the jury’s still out (pun not intended) as to whether or not it’s an objectively good one. But man, L.A. Law embodies one of my least-favorite adventure-game design choices, if this can even be called an “adventure game”: trial and error.

And believe me, this pun was also not intended.

Let’s pick up this thread for a second though. Adventure games usually consist of things like inventory based puzzles, exploration, and an overarching story. L.A. Law has none of these things. Maybe it has an overarching story if you look at the career dreams of your player character of choice. But in general, this game seems pretty thin in the adventure game department. Still, my torture is your entertainment, so without further ado, recess is over and court is now in session!

Okay, these puns were intentional. And I’ll show myself to the door now . . .

L.A. Law: The Computer Game – Case #2: The Blown Whistler

by Alex

Well, the people have spoken! The Adventure Gamer reading public actually liked the detailed, blow-by-blow account I gave of L.A. Law: The Computer Game’s first case. Here I thought it was too boring and dry, but the legal profession is all about upholding the process and the rules the people agree to! Who am I to argue? So instead of consolidating multiple cases together, I’ll go through one case per post. And since the boring basic stuff has already been taken care of, this should go a bit quicker than the last one.

First things first: in the comments to post one, Joe Pranevich wondered if the choice of character has any effect on gameplay:

“Do we know how the character selection impacts the game? Are there certain witnesses that one character is able to get more out of than another? Is one of the characters a superhero who can defeat difficult judges using the power of hypnotic suggestion?”

That would be fantastic, but I haven’t yet checked out other playable characters. Perhaps I will after I finish the game as Victor Sifuentes, but not until then, because this game is . . . hoo boy, we’ll get to that.

Continuing in the vein of Case #1, we’ll focus on L.A. Law’s two main aspects: Trial Prep and The Trial. In the meantime, there are two factors I want to keep in mind as a through-line for these posts:

1. Does L.A. Law: The Computer Game work as a game?
2. How well does L.A. Law: The Computer Game simulate actually being a lawyer?

Strap yourself in for some hardcore lawyering, because we’re about to find out!

L.A. Law: The Computer Game – Case #1: The Wrathful Race

by Alex

In the comments to my first L.A. Law post, reader Lugh expressed his or her feelings about this game’s technical qualities:

“20. It's a Capstone game, so I'll be shocked if it even works.”

Well, the game worked, after a fashion, in that it loaded and I could choose my character—in this case, Victor Sifuentes as portrayed by Jimmy Smits—and get started at my first day at the prestigious firm of McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney and Kuzak!

As chosen by YOU, The Adventure Game readers!

Problem was, every time I tried to call someone on the damn phone, the game would freeze as I waited for the person on the other line to pick up. And since most of this game involves making phone calls, you can see how this could be a problem.

Imagine this . . . forever!

Game 93: L.A. Law: The Computer Game (1992) – Introduction

by Alex

Video games, like any other form of entertainment, are meant to provide recreation.

Let’s look at the word “recreation” for a moment. It is made up of two separate parts, both Latin derived: the prefix “re,” meaning “again,” and the word “creare,” “to create, bring forth, beget.”

So taken together, through our leisure activity, we are being reborn.

This is why I have to chuckle when I, a lawyer by day, am playing a game like L.A. Law: The Computer Game.

As The Adventure Gamer’s resident legal eagle, I have already been tasked with playing two Police Quest games. And while those put the player in the shows of the street-level law enforcement officer, they touched a little bit on the law—I’m thinking of the first Police Quest’s reliance on proper police procedure in order to successfully make the bust, and make it stick, and Police Quest III’s oh-so thrilling paperwork puzzle. Police Quest I had you testify in court to keep a no-good perp in jail, and Police Quest III also had parts where you had to testify in traffic case and discuss evidence with a judge in order to get a warrant, so I’ve been in a virtual courtroom as a part of my duties on this blog before. But L.A. Law will be the first time the game is focused exclusively on being a lawyer.

Lucky me.