For each case, you are given a variety of forensic tools to use. To detect evidence, you can choose from a magnifying scope; ninhydrin, a substance that reveals latent fingerprints; a fingerprint brush, the UV light; a sniffer that detects gasses and fumes; luminol, the substance used on the television show to reveal traces of blood; and an IR diagnostic camera which allows one to detect heat signature within objects. When you click on each item a description of its use is offered. You can also collect evidence to take back to the lab and analyze using a swab, gloves, tweezers, a casting kit, adhesive lifting tape, an electrostatic dust-print lifter, and Mikrosil, which is a casting material used to take casts of wounds and tool marks. In addition to receiving help from Greg back at the lab, you also can use a computer which allows you to do various searches including fingerprint searches with AFIS, and searches for tire marks and shoe prints. There is also a comparative microscope to look at trace evidence. The variety of options is both entertaining and educational.
The best thing about the game is its resemblance to the television program. All of the CSI cast members voiced the PC game and the graphic representations of the characters are fairly accurate if a little stiff. The game is also scripted well and does not ignore characterization. Greg Sanders is still sarcastic and funny and Gil Grissom can still seem aloof and condescending.
The game's greatest deficiency is its lack of complexity. Many of the cases are fairly easy to solve, and there are too few cases from which to choose. The real challenge only lies in trying to better your evaluation and find all of the available clues. Even when you do well enough that you hit on all of the possible suspects, the cases are not quite as interesting as the majority of the cases presented on the actual show. It could be better if the type of evidence found changed the outcome of the case, but unfortunately you are stuck with the same five cases with the same five outcomes and there is only so far that you can go. This is a game that begs for an expansion pack and hopefully one will follow.
Go To Page: 1 2
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Kelcey Woolsten's Crime Films & TV topic, please visit the Discussions page.