CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: 3 Dimensions of Murder
CSI or Crime Scene Investigators, everyone knows it, the American crime series that can be watched on TV already for several years. Here you go to the crime scene, make some determinations, gather some evidence and go look for the suspects.
CSI: 3 Dimensions of Murder is the third game in the series: you end up in the CSI-team from Las Vegas (from the first series). All main characters have given their face and voice to the game except for the two females. The last 2 games were in 2D and with this title, the developers, Telltale Games wanted to switch to 3D. Unfortunately this isn’t a hit. The characters and surroundings look all but detailed.
The gameplay is equal to that of the previous titles. Back to the point&click principle where you point on various objects and places after which you zoom in on them to discover stuff like finger prints or a trail of some chemical substance… The difficulty degree is extremely low. At the lowest level you get tons of tips from your partner, but even at the highest degree an unexperienced player won’t have any problems completing the mission.
In the main menu you can choose between starting up a new game, load an existing one, or a training level. For those that have played a previous CSI title it may be interesting to first check out the training level where you get to know all sorts of gadgets you can use to solve the murder. These gadgets are split into two groups: Collection tools and Detection tools. The first contain
swab, glove, tweezers, casting plaster and frame, mikrosil, adhesive tape, adhesive specimen mount and a digital camera while the latter include flashlight, fingerprint powder, magnetic powder, ninhydrin, ultraviolet light, USB data drive, LCV(Leuko Crystal Violet) and luminol.
My expectations for the game were fairly high but once I started playing I got very disappointed pretty quickly. The point&click principle was boring even after the first mission. It would have been a lot more fun if you could drive to the murder scene yourself or walk around in buildings. The graphics could really use some improvement and my opinion is that the developers should have stayed with 2D instead of making the switch to 3D.
For the real CSI fans this game may be a top title as the point&click principle won’t keep fans of the series away. The developers have done their best but they should have done more, escpecially on the graphics part. The game does give you the feeling you’re playing along in a CSI episode so that’s one positive point.
5.0