CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Hard Evidence

"Rent it for a weekend of investigatory enjoyment."

CSI Crime Scene Investigation: Hard Evidence

Review by Bill Lange

BOTTOM LINE: Gamers jonesing for a short, fleeting experience with oddly engaging point-and-click adventure gaming should give this a rent.

For those not around long enough to remember, the point-and-click adventure genre experienced its golden years in the early to mid-1990's when LucasArts's superb products like Sam & Max Hit the Road, The Dig, and Grim Fandango ruled PC sales charts. Waving the mouse around the screen waiting for the icon to light up, change colors, or otherwise interact with the background was the most action you'd get, but those games were never about speed of reflexes, but rather speed of mind.

CBS's hit drama CSI has already had several similar games built off its main premise: well-dressed, attractive sleuths poke around crime scenes with high-tech gear, navigating a convoluted web of lies to find the criminal responsible. Besides adding variety to the Xbox 360's lineup, not much has changed this time around.

Once again you play the role of a nameless, faceless CSI added to Gil Grissom's midnight shift of crime scene investigators. Teamed with a different major character from the television show for each case, it's up to you to solve five increasingly outlandish crimes. After a quick description from Grissom, you're off to the races.

If you're at all familiar with the show, you'll quickly catch on to the pattern: talk to the victim/witness/suspect, scour the crime scene for evidence, hit up the lab to process said evidence, interrogate suspects, and so on. Using a first person perspective, you'll sweep a context sensitive cursor across the screen to interact with the game world.

Don't expect award winning (or even respectable) graphics. The environments look nice enough, but main characters are near-unrecognizable, looking like blocky, deformed versions of themselves. Voice acting is barely passable; all of the male actors from the show appear as themselves, but literally hand in just enough effort to get the paycheck into their hands. Catherine and Sara are played by different actresses, which is ironic considering they sound the most interested in their roles. The music is suitably dark and foreboding, with dramatic additions when a key piece of evidence is uncovered.

Unlike the classics of the genre, you can breeze right through Hard Evidence with no fear of failure or penalty. There's no way to incorrectly accuse someone of a crime, or illegally search without a warrant; the story follows to its own conclusion regardless of your actions. If you miss a key piece of evidence, the game comes to a screeching halt until you find it.

At the end of each case, Grissom evaluates your performance based on whether you've collected and processed all the available evidence, how thoroughly you've searched the environments, and how many hints you needed. Your reward for taking extra time to get the highest ranking? Wow, a ten-second case concept art video. And if you find five bugs for Grissom in each case? Character concept art. There's really no compelling reason to excel, especially since you get all the achievement points for a case upon its completion, regardless of ranking.

Okay, so the graphics are ugly, the voice acting is phoned in, and the game itself is ridiculously easy. Why spend money and time on this?

Because once you start, it's really hard to stop. Each case is a bite-sized, 90 minute chunk that's packed with the thrill of discovery and exposition, and very little filler. Cutting through a suspect's alibi is satisfying, and finally tying the perp to the murder weapon or scene of the crime can be enjoyable. The formula is very repetitive, which makes the short investigations a good thing. By the end of the fifth case you'll grow tired of the constant back-and-forth between the lab, Capt. Brass's office, and the crime scene, just in time to finish the game. Don't expect a memorable ending, because Hard Evidence doesn't have one. In fact, it doesn't have an ending, period.

If you breeze through, Hard Evidence will last seven hours start to finish. Your playthrough might last a little longer if you work for Master rankings on each case, planting this title squarely in Rental Country. Hard Evidence is not worth what it currently fetches at retail, but wait awhile and it may slip down to a more easy to justify price.

GAMERSCORE HOUNDS, TAKE NOTE: You get 200 achievement points for completing each case regardless of ranking, meaning you can ask for every hint available and tear through the game quickly, netting a cool 1000 points for a few easy hours' work. Not the easiest points available, but still relatively painless.

Start CSI: Hard Evidence with the right expectations, and you'll experience an enjoyable, if not very memorable, few hours of murder and mystery.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 03/03/08

Game Release: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Hard Evidence (US, 09/26/07)