With so much carryover from the TV series, it was imperative for the developers to accurately reproduce the look and sound of the show, and in that they've done an admirable job. Visually, Harvey Birdman is done in the same clean, simple style, with little attention paid to such pesky next-gen details like lighting and shadows, which makes it ideal for the three graphically underwhelming systems it was designed for. Quite appropriately, it's all very "weekend TV cartoon" rather than "Disney feature film".

Meanwhile, virtually all of the actors who provide voicework for the show reprise their roles here, including Gary Cole as Harvey, and each does a great job of breathing life into their game version personas. The one notable exception is the absence of Stephen Colbert as Phil Ken Sebben and Reducto. Here is one of the few points where series diehards may take exception, but the actors used here are perfectly adequate replacements, though not identical to Colbert's originals. The jazzy instrumental numbers playing throughout the game are pleasant enough as a background. They're a bit repetitive, but the game is so shockingly short that you likely won't ever get sick of them.

And here at last we come to the main grievance of the game: namely, there isn't much "game" here at all. Heck, there isn't even that much non-game. As effectively as Harvey Birdman manages to emulate its TV origins for the most part, it does an extremely poor job of melding the license with any kind of engaging gameplay. The basic format has been blatantly ripped off of the Ace Attorney games, which isn't itself a bad thing, however unoriginal. The real problem for Harvey is that the game has been all but lobotomized – "mind-taken", if you will. It's obvious that the goal was to tap into a more casual gaming audience, which is pretty common for adaptations of popular licenses. And I'm generally all for streamlined experiences that eliminate purely contrived filler, but Harvey Birdman simply goes way, WAY too far in its pursuit of simplicity, leaving it little more than an animated series of connect-the-gags.

The game is divided into five separate cases, the last four of which are further split into two distinct activities: investigating crimes and representing your clients in court. It's Law & Order lite, essentially. Extremely lite. Investigation consists of moving around from one location to another, where you'll need to look for clues, talk to other characters, or gather inventory items. This isn't much different from most adventures, but here each location is limited to a single first-person scene, with a large onscreen menu showing you which actions are available to you (because, you know, three whole possibilities might prove overwhelming).

Conversation is done through simple dialogue trees that typically just involve clicking through each available option, with the occasional multiple choice question whose "wrong" answers exist solely for laughs. Inventory application could have presented a small amount of challenge, as you can carry up to twelve items at any one time. But the only requirement is to "present" the item in the correct room and you're rewarded for your ingenuity. Even examining items is largely devoid of challenge. Not that pixel hunting is something to be endorsed, but the drawings are so simple and the interactive items so few that you'd be hard pressed to miss something relevant if you tried. In fact, just to hold your hand the rest of the way, the cursor will automatically "snap" to a hotspot when you get close to it, removing any doubt. Still, just to be sure that even Dum Dum the Dog could play this game, subtle hints are doled out in the early going such as the mysterious "Someone's here! Maybe I should talk to them." Thanks, Harvey.

There are actually a few points of challenge in the courtroom, though these are more the result of arbitrary inconsistencies than anything. Whether prosecuting or cross-examining on defense (and Harvey will do both, sometimes even in the same case), the goal is to move line by line through witness testimony until you find a problem you can challenge, either by pressing them on questionable details or presenting evidence at the right point in their story. Unlike the Phoenix Wright games, however, the "press" feature yields only a small handful of pre-scripted answers the bulk of the time, which all but removes both its entertainment value and its gameplay relevance as a strategic option.

Presenting evidence, meanwhile, can range between painfully obvious and mildly chin-rubbing, but will occasionally trip you up by secretly changing the rules on you. Where normally you're looking for actual contradictions in testimony, sometimes you'll need to simply present an item that clarifies or even confirms a particular point, and it’s impossible to know what's required ahead of time. A wrong answer carries a penalty of one point of "gravitas"; lose all your gravitas and it's game over, forcing you to restart that section or return to your last save point. In theory this prevents merely guessing your way through the game, but in practice the only time it's even remotely an issue is when you're all but forced to guess. Plus you can save any time and quickly skip through dialogues, so the whole exercise is meaningless.

Apart from these few frustrating evidence sequences, though, you can't help but simply sail through Harvey Birdman. Even by trying all possible interactions and optional dialogue, I finished the game in a little over four hours. As far as hourly rates go, the cost might not be bad for a lawyer, but it's unacceptable for a game. There are a few select points where you can go back and try something different, but the payoff is nothing more than a different response that just isn't worth all the repetition. A few "extras" can be unlocked by being thorough, but these are nothing more than a few disappointing visual clips from the game. Yawn. If they really wanted to add some much-needed value to the package, why not include a bonus DVD with episodes from the Harvey Birdman cartoon? It's a natural tie-in that would have served its purpose beautifully, particularly for those unfamiliar with the show. The idea seems a no-brainer, which is fully in keeping with every other part of this game.

Instead, we're left with a semi-interactive, semi-passive experience that can't seem to decide what it wants to be. 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. For diehard Harvey fans, that might be two glasses half full. For everyone else, they're decidedly half empty, even if you're desperate for an adventure to play on your console of choice. There's some fun to be had in the cartoon antics of the Birdman and company, but there just isn't enough entertainment value in Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law beyond what the television series offers for free.