Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law (video game)
Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law is a video game developed for the Wii, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable by High Voltage Software, and released on January 8, 2008. It was published by Capcom, and is based on the Adult Swim animated series of the same name, with collaboration of the show's writers and voice actors. The game appears to borrow very heavily from Capcom's "Ace Attorney" series, having almost identical gameplay. Gameplay. The game is played like "Ace Attorney," collecting evidence from crime scenes and cross-examining witnesses during trials, but  with the Harvey Birdman type of humor and feel. The game also includes cameos by "Street Fighter" characters within the five cases. Thanks to the show's simple flash process, the game was able to closely mimic the show's animation. Most of the show's cast reprise their roles for this video game, except for Stephen Colbert. Because of this, actors Stephen Stanton and Crispin Freeman filled in for Colbert's characters Phil Ken Sebben and Myron Reducto respectively. Plot. Case 1: The first segment deals with Peter Potamus being accused of burning down half of Harvey Birdman's  house. Case 2: Magilla Gorilla and Secret Squirrel are accused of robbing Harvey Birdman's office. Case 3: Yakky Doodle's latest name change lands him in jail when the Nailgun name makes the authorities think that he's the criminal of the same name. Harvey comes to Yakky's defense, but winds up being jailed himself after it is discovered that his license has expired. Case 4: Peanut is suspected of copying music controlled by the RIAA without permission. Case 5: During Phil's absence, Blue Falcon is put in charge who tricks Birdman into hiring prosecutors for his  own "embezzling" trial. Reception. The game received "mixed" reviews on all platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. "Maxim" gave the game a score of three stars out of five and said that it was "actually funny, and unlike "The Simpsons Game", it's actually fun to play. Game play is lifted straight out of Capcom's own "Phoenix Wright" series. [...] It's short enough that you can finish it in a couple of nights, but all the show's characters are in effect... along with their respective voice actors. Finally, the game's budget price (around $30 ) means there's no need to shout, 'I object!' when the game store clerk rings you up." However, "The A.V. Club" gave the PlayStation 2 version a C−, calling it "A decent rental, but not a wise investment." "The New York Times" gave the game an unfavorable review, stating that the game design was "just plain bad".