Metacritic Games

Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law (Playstation 2)

Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law is a fully animated interactive adventure game that merges the fun and mayhem of the popular Adult Swim TV show with Capcom's unique style of gameplay. Players step into the shiny wingtips of Harvey Birdman, a third-rate superhero turned third-rate defense attorney charged with exonerating parodied classic cartoon characters. Over the course of the game, players must guide Harvey through a series of odd and comical cases. Each of the game's five interactive stories takes the winged crusader of justice to familiar locations from the TV show. In order to prove his client's innocence, Harvey must peruse the scene of the crime, gather evidence, talk with other cartoon characters, occasionally have drinks with opposing council, and of course, tear holes – no matter how ridiculous – in the testimony provided by the witness for the prosecution. Harvey must bring the whole story together to defend his client in a court where anything can happen... including a confrontation with the prosecution who brandishes a Shrink Ray Gun. [Capcom]

Capcom Entertainment
Adventure
Players: 1
T (Teen)
Developer: High Voltage Software
Released January 8, 2008

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

63 / 100

Critic Reviews

88 Cheat Code Central
Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law will teach you as much about law as a cartoon will teach you about the laws of physics. Don't take it too seriously, and you'll have a blast.
80 Playstation: The Official Magazine (US)
As simple as Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law may seem, the game is brought to life by excellent dialogue, true-to-the-show characters, spastic humor, and of course, penis jokes. [Jan 2008, p.81]
80 TotalPlayStation
A very, very solid and semi-interactive version of the cartoon, Harvey Birdman may be as inept in court as the game's namesake, but all of the humor and interesting takes on classic characters come through just fine.
78 Digital Entertainment News
Though lacking in length and complexity, Harvey Birdman Attorney At Law makes for a nice tide-me-over snack in attorney sim games until the next Phoenix Wright game hits store shelves. And Adult Swim fans will like it.
74 IGN
If you're a Harvey Birdman fanatic -- or just a casual fan like myself -- you should probably pick up this game. Sure, it isn't terribly long and it isn't too challenging, but it is a really funny and an engaging play.
70 GameDaily
You'll be able to solve all five cases and locate all the "secret movies" within a matter of hours. Fans should check it out; others might want to rent it.
70 PSX Extreme
For $30 it's not a bank breaker, and is an acceptable cost, but don't expect anymore than 4-6 hours worth out of the game. Hopefully a sequel offers more bang for the buck.
65 GameTrailers
If it’s a game you want, the Birdman may not be the best video game attorney for the job, but when it comes to cracking cases to go with funny bones Harv is a class act.
65 GameSpot
It nails the show's insanely enjoyable brand of humor, but can't quite pull out a gameplay design to match.
64 Game Positive
Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law will appeal to fans of the Cartoon Network show, but those not enamored of the humor and art style will probably end up bored.
60 GameSpy
A fun way to spend a few hours if you enjoy the television show. It's faithfully done, easy to play, and a showcase of pop-culture references and parody. You won't get many hours of game for your thirty dollars, but you will get some laughs.
60 GameTap
You're doomed if you try to take this game seriously; it doesn't even take itself seriously. Moreover, you pay full price; and the game is short, so you'd better like Harvey Birdman. If you have doubts, catch the show on the Cartoon Network before you make the call.
58 Electronic Gaming Monthly
No way would I recommend this game to legal eagles with the superior "Phoenix Wright" titles already out there. [Feb 2008, p.78]
58 GameShark
Die hard fans of the show will enjoy it, however with no replay value whatsoever and an extremely short play time, there’s not much justification for buying it. Those that aren’t into the show’s scatological sense of humor, or those looking for a deep courtroom experience won’t find much here.
56 Gamer 2.0
Either way, at a measly four hours or less, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law is barely an okay rental.
55 1UP
Gameplay aside, in a lighthearted adventure like this, the biggest crime is not being consistently funny...an offense of which Harvey Birdman is regrettably guilty.
52 Worth Playing
It's less "Phoenix Wright," and more "Phoenix Wrong."
50 Adventure Gamers
The gameplay concept is a good one and the license a natural fit, but rather than successfully complementing each other, the end result is a shallow, watered down version of each, neither fully game nor fully show.
42 The Onion (A.V. Club)
A decent rental, but not a wise investment.
35 The New York Times
The game design, however, is just plain bad.
16 Game Revolution
This just feels like one of those movies where you push a button to decide what scene should come next (and we all know how great those movies are). That’s just not enough to justify what is essentially five slow moving episodes of Harvey Birdman.

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