Phoenix Wright and Apollo Justice have had something of a monpoly in the attorney-based videogaming genre for a good while (not too surprising, that), but GameInvest has today announced Defenders of Law for the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS, which it hopes will add something new into the mix.

In Defenders of Law, Inc., players choose to be one of five star litigators (Sophie, Margaret, Mark, Philips or Jane) within a criminal law firm hired to defend the main suspect in the murder of Miss Rosevolt.

Every new case begins in the courtroom, where players are afforded 15 days to search for evidence in order to defend their client in the next courtroom session. This involves questioning witnesses, and searching CSI-stylee for fingerprints, footprints, blood samples and the like, before analysing them in the lab.

Then, somewhat bizarrely, you pit youre evidence against the district attorney in the form of a card game. The winning hand decides the course of the case.

“We created complex criminal heroes in Defenders of Law, Inc. as a way to draw players into a story that feels like a really good crime novel,” said GAMEINVEST founder and CEO Paulo Gomes. “As an attorney in the game, players will uncover the mysteries behind each individual character while proving the innocence of their client. It creates a much deeper experience than the typical casual game yet it’s still accessible to everyone.”

No release date just yet, but we’ll keep you in the loop.