Law & Order: Justice is Served opens with the murder of tennis’ latest “It” girl, Elena Kusarova, just before the start of the U.S. Open. You, along with Detectives Lenny Biscoe and Ed Green, are called in to solve the murder and make sure the suspect gets their day in court.
Justice is Served is split into two sections: investigation and prosecution.
The game starts with you investigating the crime. This involves collecting evidence, interviewing witnesses/suspects, and trying to nail the right person. Doing so isn’t easy since there are several suspects, all of whom could be the suspect. There’s the sports agent whose relationship with the victim may have been a little more than agent/client, and a stalker looking for a little more than an autograph. You must collect evidence and figure out whom it points to. After finding evidence, you can have it sent to the lab, which will give you a basis for questioning. Once you figure out who the evidence points to, you can interview the suspect. Questioning a suspect isn’t too hard since you’re not allowed to break off the conversation until you’ve asked all of the correct questions. Often times, the answers you get from suspects only unlock new questions and new people to question. And, for the most part, this is how the first half of the game plays out. There are a few puzzles you can solve along the way, but they aren’t all that hard and require minimal thought. After you have all the evidence, you can arrest the suspect and bring them to trial.
From here, you join up with Assistant D.A. Serena Southerlyn and build your case. You can subpoena witnesses and get evidence ready; when everything is set, it’s time to go to trial. Questioning witnesses on the stand uses the same mechanic as it does during the first portion of the game, only now the questions you ask matter. If you ask the right questions, you can crack the person on the stand. But asking the wrong questions will cause the defense to object. Also, while the defense is cross-examining the witness, you’ll have the opportunity to object. Figuring this section of the game out doesn’t require a law degree, but knowing when to object is important to winning the case. Of course, there is always the possibility of getting the wrong person in court...
