The player takes the role of a prosecutor attempting to convict an artist of grand theft and the first-degree murder of his business partner.

James Tobin is a struggling artist in San Francisco who owns an art gallery with his business partner, Zachary Barnes.

They believe that the burglary several weeks before Barnes' death was carried out by Tobin himself, that he stole his own paintings to gain the insurance money to save the struggling gallery.

Three months later, District Attorney Sterling Granger is summoned by Inspector Looper who provides him with substantial evidence with which he has to establish concrete proof that Tobin is guilty of the charges and present them in court, while trying to withstand doubts cast by Tobin's expert Defense Attorney Cynthia Charleston.

(Like all character interactions in this game, the briefing by Looper is full motion video, with the player having a first-person view.)

(For example, Barnes' widow Yvonne, who works as the press secretary for San Francisco's mayor, speaks in a relatively calm and dignified manner, whereas Tobin's girlfriend Ruby is quick-tempered and can become very hostile.)

[3] San Francisco Assistant District AAl Giannini was a legal consultant during the script writing and filming.

[14] CD-Rom Today wrote " The interface is blessedly simple, the writing is snappy and realistic, and the acting is generally believable and only occasionally hammy.

[16] In the 1st Degree was nominated for the Codie awards' 1996 "Best Adventure/Role Playing Software" prize, which ultimately went to Oregon Trail II.

The editors wrote, "In the 1st Degree was able to captivate the player with FMV sequences that looked as good as anything from a highly publicized murder trial of several months ago.