Before I write anything about CSI: Hard Evidence, I have a confession to make… I love the TV show so much I came up with a special dance to go with the credits. That’s to give you an idea of just how receptive I am to a game emulating my favourite show. It is not a bad game either, despite its being a massive throwback to 1998 – but I am not against a spot of vintage gaming.
The premise is very simple: you are a new recruit in the CSI team and you have to prove your worth to Grissom and co by solving five cases. The whole cast lend their voices to their characters in the game and they even added a few legendary Grissom one-liners about bugs. The five cases are all very different and on a scale going from ok to kinda gruesome. Unfortunately, there is no foray into serial killer/miniature killer territory, I would have really loved that.
One of the biggest flaws of the game is that it is extremely short. Don’t expect to spend more than the length of an episode (42 minutes each) on each case file… that makes for a very short-lived entertainment.
You can play it again and make sure you get all the evidence, collect all the bugs for Gil and accumulate thoroughness points, but if you did quite well the first time around, it is likely you won’t spend much more time on it on your second try.
The graphics aren’t mind blowing either, but that’s to be expected from a game clearly just aimed to make money from CSI hardcore fans like me. The characters faces are barely animated, there are loads of glitches left everywhere in the game (from massive pixel blemishes on people’s faces to text not fitting in its box).
On the whole I suppose you could say it is pretty pants for anyone who isn’t into CSI, but those people probably wouldn’t get this game in the first place, so whatever.
I thoroughly enjoyed being immersed in the Vegas crime lab, experimenting with trace evidence, comparing bullets and inspecting every single nook and cranny of the crime scenes.
Call me a loser, I don’t care, but I have met Grissom now and I can die happy.