To add some variety to the point and click system the game implements a few new puzzle types into the fray. There's one where you have to move boxes in order to get to a battery in a suspect's apartment. Your path is blocked so you'll have to move the boxes in such a way that you'll clear a path from one end of the room to another. The puzzle works like one of those little handheld puzzles where the picture is scrambled and you have to arrange the object one piece at a time in order to assemble it. I like the new puzzles, but they're pretty nonsensical and have very little relevance to the plot. At one point you'll encounter three shelves full of dolls. You'll have to figure out how to solve the puzzle but nothing in the game really clues you in on exactly what you're trying to do. Everything operates on triggers too, so even if you know the solution to a puzzle, you won't be able to solve it until you activate the trigger. This causes you to wander around aimlessly, wasting precious time while the killer roams freely.
If you’ve played one of the two previous L&O entries you might be shocked at just how much better this game looks. This is due in large part to the fact that all of the characters have been beefed up and feature more than 40,000 polys as opposed to the 12,000 poly models that appeared in the older games. All of the stilted and puppet-like movements from before are gone and in their place are realistic looking models that animate and behave more fluidly. Briscoe definitely looks the best but some of the NPCs look great as well, especially the first one you’ll encounter. It’s surprisingly that the other two top-billed actors in the game look so bad in comparison. They look very little like their real-life counterparts but they suffice. The environments look pretty much the same and have that pre-rendered look to them. Overall the game looks decent but it won’t be pushing the limits of your graphics card anytime soon.
One of the real treats for fans of the franchise is the fact that the game employs the actors in the show to reprise their roles in the game. The case is the same for the third entry, with one major exception; S. Epatha Merkerson is out and Jesse L. Martin is in. You'll still spend the majority of your case with Jerry Orbach's Lenny Briscoe, but Detective Green will poke his head in from time-to-time to assist you in the investigation. As before, Elisabeth Rohm reprises her role in the courtroom and she's about as good here as she is in the television show. Whether it's a good thing or a bad thing is entirely up to you. Personally I would have preferred Sam Waterston but apparently he's too busy filming T.D. Waterhouse commercials. As for the dialogue, the level of writing is about on par with what you’ve seen in the television show; so you can depend on the witty insight of Briscoe and the horrid overacting of ADA Sutherlyn.
Overall it’ll take you anywhere from six-to-ten hours to complete the game, depending on how long it takes you to solve the puzzles. I consulted a walk-through for some portions of the game and it still took me about seven hours to play through the entire game. After beating the game you’ll be given a password that can be used at the Law & Order Web site to unlock special features starring the cast members of the game. They’re a series of short videos discussing some of the features of the game, how it was to make it, that sort of thing. It’s odd that the designers decided to put it online instead of in the actual game though; you’ll need some good bandwidth in order to access them. To top things off the game comes with the complete version of
Law & Order II: Double or Nothing. This is a great throw-in and it allows those who are new to the franchise to become familiar with the universe.
If you can turn your mind off for a couple of hours you'll have a great time with the third Law & Order installment. It breaks a few of the rules set forth by the show, but it still has enough going for it to appease adventure fans and fans of the show. In the end, any true adventure fan will want to pick this one up. It'll tide you over for awhile, and while the story isn't the greatest one out there, TV's most lovable detectives will be right there to pick you back up.
B-
It has the weakest storyline in the franchise thus far, but the game makes up for it by staying true (for the most part) to the Law & Order universe. The beefed up graphics and the streamlined interface makes this the best entry yet. That Double or Nothing throw-in was a great idea as well.
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