Very good crime/murder game with fairly good graphics and realism (CSI: Hard Evidence (PC))

Member Name: Michaelboard2009

Product:	CSI: Hard Evidence (PC)
Date:	11/11/09 (45 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Get to use advanced forensic tools and interesting cases to solve

Disadvantages: May be argued that it is a bit easy but there are a variety of difficulty levels it can be played on

Considering I am not somebody who watches the show I was pleasantly surprised while looking for a decent murder mystery type of game to come across CSI: Hard Evidence and thoroughly enjoy it. I was sceptical of whether to get it as I thought you would need to know the series and characters in order to play but this was not the case and anybody who likes an interesting, gritty point and click game will love this.

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Realism
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The characters, that are all from the programme are accurate enough to the real life actors and the actual actors even provide the voice overs so it means you are experiencing the closest thing to being in an episode.

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Graphics
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Apart from the characters looking a bit stiff and the characters voices badly out of sync to the movement of the mouths (but honestly don't let this put you off) overall the graphics are quite pleasing. The scenarios for you to find clues are quite detailed and broad making for a more challenging game. Another plus (although you would probably expect this in a modern game) is that the characters are 3-d to match the surroundings in the game.

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Gameplay
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The game runs very smoothly and is easy to navigate because of the very simple point and click system which when your cursor turns green usually means you have found a clue. This can mean that the game is made very easy as all you really have to do is wave your mouse across the screen and you will find someting. However some clues are well hidden and require a bit of thinking and therefore cannot be found by simply waving the mouse. The vast array evidence tools gives you an indication of the very clever tools available to real life forensic police and personally fascinates me. Some of the techniques that you will use within gameplay are taking fibre samples by placing a square film over it, simple but interesting. The amount of locations that open up to you as you progress through a crime keep the game fun and gives you plenty to do. As well as this the lab room is a highlight for me as you get the chance to search for fingerprint matches and analyse different materials etc.

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Life Span
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The game is very fun and enjoyable while the variety of cases really do keep you hooked and entertained because of how bizarre and different each is and the genuine fact that you are intrigued to find the person who did it because yuo are clueless at the start. With unlockable items and different levels of difficulty I would say that the game has a decent lifespan and as it can be bought from between £5-£15 if you shop about I think that it is good value for money.

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Conclusion
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A very good game that I would highly recommend for fans of the series or if you are just interested in crime/murder related games like me. With five original cases and a huge amount of clues to be discovered, analysed and used to pin-point the criminal the game is worth buying

Summary: A good attempt at a crime/murder game which I hold in high regards