Law & Order: Legacies - Episodes 4 and 5

Score: 80%
Publisher: Telltale Games
Developer: Telltale Games
Media: Download/1
Players: 1
Genre: Adventure

Previously on Law & Order: Legacies:

Law & Order: Legacies - Episodes 4 and 5 adds two more episodes to an episodic series that has nailed the look, feel and pace of the long-running TV series with the same name.

In the first three episodes of this season, Rey Curtis has returned to his old NYC precinct and is partnered with SVU detective Olivia Benson. While working a case involving a murdered maid, details pertaining to an old case Curtis worked in the late 90's emerge. From there, the second episode was a flashback to a case Curtis worked with Lennie Briscoe, while the third came back to the present and had Mike Logan help Curtis and Benson in a case. In all three of these episodes, details about the "Preppie Joggers Case" are revealed and these new episodes are no different.

What does change starting with Episode 4 is the amount of guidance the game gives the players. Basically, the training wheels are off, you are no longer guided and directed in which questions you should ask, and you don't get the guidance as to when you should use which objections. Now you really start applying what you've learned in the first part of this season.

Episode 4: Nobody's Child:

Is about a death that occurs at on New Year's Eve 1999. Curtis and Briscoe have to figure out what led to a kid's death. This child was beaten over the head not long after a purse-snatching, but it doesn't look like this was a case of self defense. Where the case really gets interesting though is when both the cops and the D.A. are having to go up against the "at-risk" family's case worker and the firm they report to. This particular firm tends to lean towards keeping kids with their parents no matter what condition the home is in and it also likes to keep its name in the press.

As a result, not only do Curtis and Briscoe have a hard time doing their job, but when an unexpected twist occurs in the murder investigation, the head of the social services office ends up being the one on trial. Can Abbie Carmichael and Jack McCoy get him convicted? Was this a case of gross negligence? And if so, was it at the hands of the department's head, or the caseworker herself?

Episode 5: Ear Witness:

Involves what appears to be random gang shooting that leaves an innocent mother dead. Her son, who was walking with her at the time, is blind and is one of the only witnesses to the crime. With this particular case, you not only have to guide Curtis and Benson through the normal series of interviews in order to piece together exactly who did what, but you also have to deal with a racist security guard and, of course, try and make the blind kid's testimony something that will actually hold up in court.

It's that last part that proves to be the clincher in this particular case. While the security guard offers a fairly good testimony, after having to treat him as a hostile witness, that is, the character's flaws makes him a weak witness in both the eyes of the lawyers and the jurors. A major part of this particular episode has Abbie and Michael Cutter trying to convince the judge that the auditory line-up the blind kid took part in is good enough to be admissible in court.

Next Time on Law & Order: Legacies:

While I can't speak of specifics concerning the last two episodes of this season, there has been a running theme throughout all five so-far-released episodes. Each one reveals a bit more about a case that Curtis and Briscoe worked on involving two joggers who were attacked. One died and one was in a coma. It's mentioned in the first episode that a lack of leads caused the case to go cold, but between new discoveries found in the contemporary episodes and hints about the case from the one taking place in 1999 and 2000, this case is obviously about to be re-opened.

While I don't want to get into too much detail since those tidbits feel like the extra scene after the credits of a movie and are a reward of sorts for finishing the episode, I suspect Episode 6: Side Effects will be another case that reveals one final, crucial detail that allows the case to be pursued once again and the season finale, Episode 7: Resolution will be all about the "Preppie Joggers Case."

In any case, the first three episodes of Law & Order: Legacies did a great job of showing how well the show can be transformed into a game that feels like the TV series. Episodes 4 and 5 continue that trend and I have high hopes for the rest of the season.

-J.R. Nip, GameVortex Communications
AKA Chris Meyer

Previously on Law & Order: Legacies:

Episode 4: Nobody's Child:

Episode 5: Ear Witness:

Next Time on Law & Order: Legacies:

Related Links: