Innocent Until Caught

The Good
Yes, Jack T. Ladd could be a cool guy, a mixture of Bruce-Willis-style toughness and macho-man humour, in short: Han Solos unsuccessful young brother. And Innocent Until Caught needs a zynical hero, as everyone else would lose all credibility and sympathy in no time, in a plot that's silly on purpose. It happens nevertheless, because Jack could be a cool guy, but he isn't, and this is only the most important failure in a game that's a prime example for bad design.

The Bad
Is it unfair to blame a game for an uncomfortable interface from today's point of view? Weren't all interfaces uncomfortable in these days? No, they weren't, thanks to Lucasfilm Games' SCUMM system. Okay, penalty point for Innocent Until Caught. Much more important, however, is the fact that there's almost no structure in the game, no guidance for puzzles that are plainly unfair. I know, you want examples. Did you know you can break into a bank using a mushroom and a fly? Yeah, me neither. Deposit the mushroom on the vault wall, free the fly; when it touches the mushroom, it'll explode. No, I've consulted the walkthrough, didn't you? There's really not much incentive to solve these puzzles, as the plot is as weak as Jack's jokes. There's nothing worse than a guy who thinks he's funny, when he isn't.

The Bottom Line
Back in the days when adventure games were plenty, there were bad ones as well. This is one of them. It could have been interesting, but the bad game design spoils all good approaches.