CSI Review

Yes, I admit it, I watch CSI: Las vegas Boxset and occasionally Buy CSI: Lasvegas Boxset when nothing else is on. Anyway, the CSI format lends itself perfect to video games so it was only a matter of time before CSI games started being produced. CSI: Deadly Intent is now the fifth game in the Las Vegas based series.
Having already owned and beaten CSI: Las vegas Season 9 DVD Boxset on PC I was expecting more of the same from Deadly Intent (also on PC). And I was right. Aside from new menu designs and new cases, it's essential the same game. But the game is overall playable, enjoyable, and rather fun. Unfortunately, with only five cases, it's over too soon and has little to no replay value.

The premise of Deadly Intent is that you are the new CSI assigned to work night shift. Partnered with one of the members of the team you have to investigate crimes, collect evidence, process evidence, interview suspects and ultimately solve the crime.

However, with the massive line up change in Season 9 the crime lab is now missing Gil Grissom, Sara Sidle, and Warrick Brown. Replacing Grisson is Dr. Ray Langston, who has a rather soothing voice and a polite demeanor. And the new kid on the block, Riley Adams, makes an appearance as well. She manages to be just as completely void of personality in the game as she is on the TV show.

Thankfully, you, as the main character, are supposed to process all of the evidence yourself which saves you from having any inane conversations with the various lab techs, who in the last season have gone from distractingly cute to downright annoying. Particularly, Hodges. One thing I did like about the game was that all of the actors voiced their own counterparts with the exception of Marg Helgenberger. Come on, Marg. Join the crew for the next game. The fans will appreciate it.

The game play itself flows nicely. You discover evidence at a scene, process the evidence, then use your findings to earn arrest warrants and interrogate suspects. You can direct interrogations by utilizing a conversation selection menu populated by pretty graphics. You can also work to contradict your suspects by providing them with evidence that shows they're not telling the truth.

There are also some innovations with DNA and chemical analysis. Unfortunately, these involve tediously matching samples. This neither adds to game play nor makes it more challenging. It just gets annoying after the first few times you have to line up all the little bars on the chemical spectrum analysis machine. But over all, the processing methods work well.

The cases themselves are nicely written and the voice acting is solid. Apart from the original cast the other actors actually sound like real actors and the game doesn't indulge in the time honored tradition of employing the nighttime janitorial staff to voice most of the characters. The cases have enough twists and turns to keep you interested and figuring out who the murderer is is always a logical conclusion, not the result of any dramatic intervention.

The game's graphics are nice, but not a huge step up from Hard Evidence, which was released in 2006. The game still makes most characters, particularly Nick Stokes, look like they have fuzzy felt for eyebrows. But even with the minor improvement to graphics, the graphics card taken to process the game seems rather excessive. I played Hard Evidence with no problem and kept running into glitches in Deadly Intent about every twenty minutes.

I came to find out after I had already purchased the PC version that there was a Wii release as well. I'd recommend the console version over the PC version just because the technical aspects seem to be a little too demanding and with a basic point and click game, the console version ensures you won't have to worry about the same ridiculous graphic glitches that I encountered. Seriously, it's strange to try to interview a suspect when they show up as a pair of floating eyeballs and teeth.

In conclusion, Deadly Intent is a fun game to play for an afternoon. But due to the nature of the game play you probably won't get much replay value out of it at all. The $30+ price tag might make the game a little expensive for only a few hours of entertainment, but it's worth playing if you get the chance.