| Hi everyone, it's Jason Schreier. This week, the Japanese video game publisher Capcom Co Ltd. announced the worldwide release this summer of The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, a bundle of two games about a defense lawyer that had previously only been available in Japan.
Public defender probably isn't a gamer's top escapist fantasy, but the Great Ace Attorney Chronicles is one of the year's most anticipated titles.
It's been five years since the last Ace Attorney game came out in English and people are excited about this new spinoff of the original. The long-running series, also colloquially known as the Phoenix Wright series after the main character, has sold more than eight million copies. That's pretty remarkable for seemingly niche-interest games.
While there are no zombies in sight, it's easy to see the appeal of the series.
Each Ace Attorney game is a visual novel—essentially, an interactive book—and its writers put a lot of thought into the plot twists and turns. The graphics are low-budget, Japanese-style animation (you'll never mistake Ace Attorney for the latest Call of Duty) but beautiful nonetheless.  The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles Source: Capcom Games are segmented into cases, each revolving around a murder that you'll solve over time. The stories are full of charming characters with peppy personalities and silly outfits. One circus clown, for example, wears a hat with a mouth that mirrors his expressions.
In the Chronicles, you'll play defense attorney Ryunosuke Naruhodo, one of Wright's ancestors, as he takes on cases in Japan and Britain at the end of the 19th century. That's a change from the original series, which was set in modern times.
Your job is to interview witnesses, search for clues, and figure out when suspects are lying. You'll be helped along by various characters, including a detective named Herlock Sholmes. To make your case, you need to stand in court and argue, yelling "Objection!" when you find a flaw in someone's testimony and can provide evidence to prove it.
Earlier versions of the game took this literally—in the original Ace Attorney trilogy on the Nintendo DS, you could actually shout "Objection!" into the console's microphone during these court battles, reflecting the game's silly charm. With enough real-world drama, players can look forward to some escapist court-room capers. I, for one, can't wait to pretend to be a lawyer again. —Jason Schreier | 
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