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TGS ’10: Ace Attorney Investigations 2 Hands-On

We have no objections to this game, Your Honor.

Who could object to the return of everyone’s favorite prissy prosecutor, Miles Edgeworth?

The purple coat and cravat are back! We got the chance to play Edgeworth’s latest adventure at TGS. The case opens with nothing less than the assassination of a visiting world leader. In the first scene, the president of Sehouminkoku (People’s Republic of East Phoenix?) is gunned down while giving a speech at Gourd Lake Park. The culprit is still in the area, but how can Edgeworth find him from among the hundreds in attendance?

All the old mechanics of the first game make a return. The demo sees Edgeworth investigate the area for clues, pick out contradictions in testimony, and use the power of logic to connect the clues.

The big news is that Edgeworth has an all new way to pry the truth out of uncooperative suspects: The ‘Logic Chase’. Prosecutor and opponent face off against the backdrop of a chessboard. Edgeworth’s adversaries protect their secrets with chess pieces which must be defeated in order to reveal the truth. To do this, Edgeworth must pursue the right line of questioning to send his own knights and pawns to break down their defenses. You’ll have to think fast though, as a time limit ticks away as you plan your attack. A dead end will knock even more time of the clock. The twist has potential and it’ll be fun to see if they can strike the right balance, avoiding the pitfalls of childish simplicity or the frustratingly nonsensical.

The other interesting news is returning characters. Edgeworth and Gumshoe are in the demo, while Kaye Faraday and the Steel Samurai feature heavily in the promotional material, but the big reveal comes at the tail end of the demo. Edgeworth confronts a man by the name of Tanaka Tarou, confiding in the player, “Where have I seen him before?” Veterans of Phoenix Wright: Justice for All will remember the man as the merciless “Shelly de Killer.” This murderer for hire featured prominently in the game’s final case, but ultimately evaded arrest. Definitely one that will get the fan base talking.

No release date as of yet.

TGS 2010 reporting is done jointly by Fintan Monaghan and Lisa Gay.

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