Review by: Brian Pipa
Published: August 15, 1997

Americans are obsessed with lawyers and court cases. Who didn’t watch at least a little bit of the case of the century — the O.J. trial? We take people to court at the drop of a hat (literally). L.A. Law, Law and Order, The Practice, People’s Court, and Judge Judy are just a few of the court-related TV shows I can think of and now we have a way to try court cases ourselves without getting that expensive law degree — Legacy Software’s D.A.– Pursuit of Justice.

I’ll be honest — I wasn’t looking forward to reviewing (what looked like) another crappy FMV game, but I was pleasantly surprised by the gameplay and the overall quality of D.A. D.A. is the second in Legacy Software’s RealPlay series (Emergency Room was the first). There are currently three cases available which you can buy separately at their website or all together in retail stores beginning September 15.

Here’s a quick summary of the three cases:

Case 1: The Sunset Boulevard Deuce

This is a simple DUI (a 502 or a “deuce” to the police) case. The defendant has difficulty with English and an old war injury, but eyewitness statements, an open wine bottle and a .17 blood alcohol content should make for an easy case, right? Don’t be so sure.

Case 2: The Gatsby Diamond Jewelry Theft

A young coed takes a joyride in someone else’s car and a necklace and a camera turn up missing. Later that week the necklace and camera were found in her car. Did she buy them at a flea market or is she caught red-handed? It’s up to you to prove her guilt.

Case 3: The Rat Tattoo Murder

A friendly game of billiards turns deadly as two rival Chinese gangs clash, and young Tommy Wu loses his life. Was it pre-meditated murder or was Tommy just an innocent victim? The murder weapon and eyewitnesses are here; it’s up to you to put the murderer behind bars.

You have four days in each different situation to work on the case. You start the game in Case 1 (which is the easiest) as the new guy in the law office, judging from the receptionist’s friendly welcome. Your first case is supposed to be an easy one, a DUI case. It turns out that it’s not as easy as it seems. Just like in the movies, all of the cases have twists and turns to throw you off-track and the opposing counsel is a whiz at shooting down your witnesses.

You can travel around to different places like the police station, the lab, the crime scene, and your law office. Research relevant case law in the law library. Examine the evidence at the police station and watch videos of witness testimony and suspect interrogation. Maybe even get inside information from a prisoner in the jail cell.

You receive faxes and phone calls at your office that can help (or harm) your case. It’s up to you to decide what is useful in court and what isn’t. One of the great things about D.A. is that not everything you come across is usable in court. If you use too many irrelevant or unneeded items in court, your case will be thrown out during pre-trial.

The most important part of the game is your legal notebook (computer). With it you research laws, get advice, analyze test results, and piece together your case. The Case Constructor allows you to piece together your case. You must prove two things: that a crime occurred and that the defendant committed that crime. By scanning in the evidence (with your “digital camera”) into your legal notebook, you can send them over to the lab for testing and use the results to build your case. You use the witness testimony, test results, and the evidence to build your case as well. Put the right items in the right paces in the case constructor and you can get a conviction. Do it wrong and the opposing counsel will taunt you unmercifully.

D.A. has decent acting in its FMV scenes and there are even some actors and actresses I recognized from TV (nobody big). The FMV scenes weren’t overdone at all — they were just long enough to convey the information I needed. There are a few times when people will tell jokes (like the lab technician), but I thought they were funny in a corny sort of way. The police sergeant (a recognizable fellow) will give you words of encouragement and the opposing counsel will taunt you unmercifully by leaning over the table in court and saying things like “This is too easy, counselor.” He immediately becomes your enemy, the little #$%&.

D.A.’s realism was more than I was expecting. It uses actual California law and has a searchable law database in the law library so that you can search previous cases and case histories. During the trial, you must object to the defendant’s attorney at the appropriate times and be prepared to backup your objection with legal reasons. Luckily, you are presented with three choices for your reasons, so you don’t have to memorize anything. While listening to him cross-examine my witnesses, I kept thinking, “He can’t ask that, can he? Isn’t that hearsay?” or something similar. You can’t just object to everything either — it hurts your case when you are overruled and makes you look bad in the eyes of the jury. You should know why you’re objecting before doing it.

I played all three cases a total of two times each and they all play about the same, but each one gives you such a different scenario and focuses on such different aspects of the law, that each was like a game unto itself. I thoroughly enjoyed playing all three cases and would heartily recommend it to anyone.

“The defendant is guilty . . . now all you have to do is prove it.”