Software:Law & Order: Double or Nothing

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Law & Order: Double or Nothing
Developer(s)Legacy Interactive
Publisher(s)
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Release
  • NA: October 1, 2003[1]
  • EU: November 21, 2003
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Law & Order: Double or Nothing (also known as Law & Order II: Double or Nothing) is the second in a series of video games based on the television series Law & Order. The game was developed by Legacy Interactive and was first published in September 2003, a year after the release of Law & Order: Dead on the Money.

Plot

The game's plot revolves around the murder of a noted geneticist in his car on a city street. The player and Detective Briscoe investigate the crime and gather the evidence to make the arrest. Once accomplished, the player joines forces with ADA Serena Southerlyn and tries to crack a case that combines traditional desires with almost futuristic means. DA Douglas Wade, played by Victor Brandt, is a character created exclusively for the game who does not appear in the main show.[2]

Controversy

A controversy erupted in the United Kingdom over the game after an in-game image (used to depict a fictional child abduction) was discovered to be an actual CCTV still of murdered toddler James Bulger being kidnapped by his killers. Because of this, the game's distributors withdrew it from the shelves for a short period of time. A spokesman for the game's developer, Legacy Interactive, said they were only made aware of the offending picture on June 17, 2007. The spokesman said: "Obviously the game was out almost five years ago and this is the first time we knew anything about it otherwise we would never have put it out." An update patch was later released, which removes the image of Bulger from the game for anyone with an offending copy.[3]

Critical reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings69.45%[4]
Metacritic74/100[5]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Adventure GamersStarStarStarStar[6]
GameSpot7.1/10[7]
GameZone7.5/10[8]
PC Gamer (UK)35%[9]
X-PlayStarStarStar[10]

Double or Nothing was met with average to mixed reception, as GameRankings gave it a score of 69.45%,[4] while Metacritic gave it 74 out of 100.[5] According to PC Data, the game's North American retail sales reached 37,714 units by the end of 2003.[11]

References

  1. ↑ McNamara, Tom (2003-10-02). "Law & Order II Ships to Stores" (in en). https://www.ign.com/articles/2003/10/02/law-order-ii-ships-to-stores. 
  2. ↑ "Law & Order II: Double or Nothing (2003)". https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386589/. 
  3. ↑ "Game pulled over Bulger complaint". BBC News. June 19, 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/6768695.stm. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Law & Order II: Double or Nothing for PC". GameRankings. http://www.gamerankings.com/pc/914812-law-and-order-ii-double-or-nothing/index.html. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Law & Order II: Double or Nothing for PC Reviews". https://www.metacritic.com/game/law-and-order-ii-double-or-nothing/critic-reviews/?platform=pc. 
  6. ↑ King, Tom (October 7, 2003). "Law & Order II review". Adventure Gamers. http://www.adventuregamers.com/articles/view/17626. 
  7. ↑ Navarro, Alex (October 14, 2003). "Law & Order II: Double or Nothing Review". http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/law-and-order-ii-double-or-nothingreview/1900-6076825/. 
  8. ↑ Rgerbino (October 7, 2003). "Law & Order II: Double or Nothing - PC - Review". GameZone. http://www.gamezone.com/reviews/2003/10/07/law_order_ii_double_or_nothing_pc_review. 
  9. ↑ "Law & Order II: Double or Nothing". PC Gamer UK. February 2004. 
  10. ↑ Jackson, Jonah (February 25, 2004). "'Law & Order II: Double or Nothing' (PC) Review". X-Play. http://www.techtv.com/xplay/reviews/story/0,24330,3621075,00.html. 
  11. ↑ Sluganski, Randy (March 2004). "Sales December 2003 - The State of Adventure Gaming". Just Adventure. http://www.justadventure.com:80/articles/State_of_Adventure_Gaming/March2004/Dec03ret_gam.shtm. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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