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CSI: Hard Evidence
Despite the ever growing TV lineup of CSI's I really enjoy 2 of the 3 currently on (Vegas and Miami), so I wanted this to be a good game. I really didn't hold out much hope since many TV/movie to game translations fall flat on their pixelated faces, but I can dream, can't I?
Apparently, dreaming is all I can do. It's not the worst game in the 360 lineup, the cases are entertaining, well written and with enough twists that I could easily see any of them being shown as an actual TV episode. However, while CSI is an entertaining game, it does a lot of things badly.
The game is your standard point-and-click adventure that has you searching for clues to solve the case. The makers have included a decent context sensitive help system to give you a nudge in the event you get stuck. If you follow the clues carefully and talk to everybody there really is no need to use the hint system as the cases are fairly linear in nature. Some of the clues can be hard to find, especially in dark areas, but searching the entire screen doesn't take long and usually turns up missing clues. Each case takes about 2 hours to complete if you play it out without using many hints. There are 5 cases so the whole game can be completed in about 10 hours.
Graphics are arguably the weakest part of the game, though the achievements are very close. The actor models have low polygon counts and are badly textured and normalized, disappointing considering the power of the 360 and the absolute lack of strain this game puts on the processors. I know that graphics don't make the game, but there is a limit to what most people will accept. Launch PS2 quality graphics on a 360 are below that limit for most people I'm afraid, and that is just what this game delivers. Locations are sparse and duplicated in a couple of cases so I really don't understand why the graphics are so bad.
The voice acting is very well done. Surprisingly all of the male stars are voiced by the actors that play them on the show, while both of the women are voiced by studio people instead. Catherine WIllows is voiced by someone that is quite close in voice to Marg Helgenberger, but Sara Sidle sounds absolutely nothing like Jorja Fox. It's actually quite distracting from the flow of the game since it's such a jarring difference. Other than that they are well done and add to the experience over all.
I don't usually comment on the achievements of a game, since to me they are just bonuses and don't really add or detract from a game, but these are abysmal. There are 5 cases, and 5 achievements worth 200 points each. One for completing each case, with ANY rating. That's it. Complete the case by being a tool and using the hint system all the way through and you get the same 200 points somebody who actually played through and got the Master Investigator rating. The strange thing is, is that there are collection bonuses inside the game that could have been used for achievements as well. Find all the clues. Get Master Investigator on Case 1/2/3/4/5. Get Master Investigator on every case. Collect every bug in Case 1/2/3/4/5. Collect every bug in the game. Complete every case without using a hint. These are all things that you could get an achievement for. Many of them already unlock bonuses in the game anyway.
It's obvious this game was rushed. From the sub-par graphics to the crappy achievements it just screams "done in a hurry for the least amount of money". I don't understand why, either, it's not like the show is going off the air anytime soon. You can see some version of CSI on various channels 12+ out of 24 hours a day. The game very easily could have been done a lot better, and it's disappointing that it wasn't.
If you are a fan of the show or just want a fairly easy 1000 GamerScore (it pushed me over the 10,000 mark), rent this one. Even it's below normal price of $40 doesn't justify a purchase. The cases play out the same every time and the lack of online support means there is no reason to play through the game more than once, unless you just feel the overwhelming urge to have all the bonus films.
Apparently, dreaming is all I can do. It's not the worst game in the 360 lineup, the cases are entertaining, well written and with enough twists that I could easily see any of them being shown as an actual TV episode. However, while CSI is an entertaining game, it does a lot of things badly.
The game is your standard point-and-click adventure that has you searching for clues to solve the case. The makers have included a decent context sensitive help system to give you a nudge in the event you get stuck. If you follow the clues carefully and talk to everybody there really is no need to use the hint system as the cases are fairly linear in nature. Some of the clues can be hard to find, especially in dark areas, but searching the entire screen doesn't take long and usually turns up missing clues. Each case takes about 2 hours to complete if you play it out without using many hints. There are 5 cases so the whole game can be completed in about 10 hours.
Graphics are arguably the weakest part of the game, though the achievements are very close. The actor models have low polygon counts and are badly textured and normalized, disappointing considering the power of the 360 and the absolute lack of strain this game puts on the processors. I know that graphics don't make the game, but there is a limit to what most people will accept. Launch PS2 quality graphics on a 360 are below that limit for most people I'm afraid, and that is just what this game delivers. Locations are sparse and duplicated in a couple of cases so I really don't understand why the graphics are so bad.
The voice acting is very well done. Surprisingly all of the male stars are voiced by the actors that play them on the show, while both of the women are voiced by studio people instead. Catherine WIllows is voiced by someone that is quite close in voice to Marg Helgenberger, but Sara Sidle sounds absolutely nothing like Jorja Fox. It's actually quite distracting from the flow of the game since it's such a jarring difference. Other than that they are well done and add to the experience over all.
I don't usually comment on the achievements of a game, since to me they are just bonuses and don't really add or detract from a game, but these are abysmal. There are 5 cases, and 5 achievements worth 200 points each. One for completing each case, with ANY rating. That's it. Complete the case by being a tool and using the hint system all the way through and you get the same 200 points somebody who actually played through and got the Master Investigator rating. The strange thing is, is that there are collection bonuses inside the game that could have been used for achievements as well. Find all the clues. Get Master Investigator on Case 1/2/3/4/5. Get Master Investigator on every case. Collect every bug in Case 1/2/3/4/5. Collect every bug in the game. Complete every case without using a hint. These are all things that you could get an achievement for. Many of them already unlock bonuses in the game anyway.
It's obvious this game was rushed. From the sub-par graphics to the crappy achievements it just screams "done in a hurry for the least amount of money". I don't understand why, either, it's not like the show is going off the air anytime soon. You can see some version of CSI on various channels 12+ out of 24 hours a day. The game very easily could have been done a lot better, and it's disappointing that it wasn't.
If you are a fan of the show or just want a fairly easy 1000 GamerScore (it pushed me over the 10,000 mark), rent this one. Even it's below normal price of $40 doesn't justify a purchase. The cases play out the same every time and the lack of online support means there is no reason to play through the game more than once, unless you just feel the overwhelming urge to have all the bonus films.
Sara's voice being that far off from Jorja Fox's would be a very large distraction to me. We've had 7 years to get very used to the appearance and sound of the main characters, and if you have almost every one else sound right, she has to stick out like a soar thumb.
Exactly. The men are fine, done by the actual actors, and Catherine's voice is so close that I had to listen very carefully to tell and I still had to check IMDB.com to be 100% sure it wasn't her. It sounded a little off, but that was about it. Sara's voice is the audible equivalent of seeing a building all of a sudden appear in the distance in a 3D game. It was very jarring. I didn't deduct points for it, since it didn't affect the overall game that much, it was just a distraction and more evidence that this game wasn't a labor of love so I felt it deserved mentioning in the text.