CSI 3: Dimensions of Murder Review
09 May 2006 | By JanaLee Stocks
I greeted CSI: 3 Dimensions of Murder with a lot of expectation and found that I wasn't disappointed
All right, I admit it. I’m a CSI geekette. I like watching the show, even when I acknowledge the logical fallacies and medical fallacies. So, from that aspect, I greeted CSI: 3 Dimensions of Murder, the third in a series of CSI games brought to us from UbiSoft, with a lot of expectation and found that I wasn’t disappointed.
Is it the most perfect game I’ve ever played? I wouldn’t go that far by any stretch of the imagination. Hardcore adventure gamers will likely find the learning curve too fast and those familiar with the previous CSI games will progress up that curve even faster. There is a limit to the replayability of the game, which makes it a $30 price tag for a first good time through and then some poking at favorite parts later, unless you’re rank hungry which may increase the replayability several times over. As well the graphics could be further stepped up, particularly the expressions as they didn’t often match the tone of what was being spoken, but they weren’t so bad that the TV based characters were unrecognizable or that I was too visually disturbed to finish the game.
The setup and basic plot of the game is no real surprise. You take on the roll of a rookie assigned to the CSI Las Vegas night shift working with the stars of the television series, many of which have done their own voicings for the game. Most of these performances are engaging, though they occasionally go on for a while. Personally I didn’t get overly annoyed with this, since the same thing tends to happen in the series. A little exposition never hurt anyone but the impatient. In the default mode everything that is spoken is also printed on the screen, but this feature can be turned off for a more immersive experience.
The game plot consists of five cases that you must process and solve in order to win the game. The cases are locked based on your performance on the previous case, so you have to win at each level in order to play the next. As has been seen in previous games, taking a note from and giving a nod to the television series, the cases are interesting with some good red herrings, though you will start to pick up on certain predictabilities by about the third case. No, I’m not going to say what those are. If you want to make the cases harder you can turn off your hotspots and tools, but those make the evidence collecting and processing more difficult, not necessarily the story itself.
Evidence processing is a major focus and an interesting one. The evidence can require processing on site or you may have to return to the main lab. The onsite processing is made possible through the GMC Mobile Analysis Unit, a new feature that adds a unique playability to evidence gathering. Things have to be assembled, finger prints typed, all the things we’re used to seeing from the show, but you get a more hands on approach in this game using tools such as casting material, magnetic powder and Luminol. An additional level that has been added in is that processing may be multi tiered meaning that you may have to process a single piece of evidence on a couple of levels before you’re done. For example a bottle may have trace remains of what was in it, and have a fingerprint on the outside and you need both pieces of evidence before you’ve finished with the evidence.
From the get go the game play is straight forward, you’re assigned cases and a CSI partner, though they won’t do a heck of a lot, sent to the scene of the crime and left to find what ever evidence you can, process it, talk to witnesses and finally get Brass to go pick up your suspects. Once the case is concluded Gil Grissom will evaluate your progress based on how many hints you needed and how much evidence you collected. The more evidence and the less hints makes for the better rating. No hints at all and all the evidence collected will net you a master rating. Unfortunately there are not a lot of bonuses that come with getting a master rating save for the rating before. This is one thing that wasn’t done as well as in previous games where the rating unlocked rewards for the gamer, but does give a reason for playing the game more than once if you’re obsessive about your rating.
Hunting for evidence has been made fairly straight forward. You’ll experience some pixel hunting, particularly if you’ve turned off your hotspots, but even trace evidence is fairly visible. This is a matter of complaint for some people, but for me I don’t love spending my hours combing the screen and would rather get on with the rest of the case. Witness interviews are the second pool to pull hints and clues from, and you can continue asking them questions until all the dialogue has been worked through.
As mentioned the graphics of the game are not as tight as they could be, despite the hype about 3D graphics and interactions. The backgrounds are much better for the 3D design, but sometimes the animations jerk or flash, which can pull you out of what is otherwise a unique moment.
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| Body of evidence! | Collecting trace to be Luminol tested |
Is it the most perfect game I’ve ever played? I wouldn’t go that far by any stretch of the imagination. Hardcore adventure gamers will likely find the learning curve too fast and those familiar with the previous CSI games will progress up that curve even faster. There is a limit to the replayability of the game, which makes it a $30 price tag for a first good time through and then some poking at favorite parts later, unless you’re rank hungry which may increase the replayability several times over. As well the graphics could be further stepped up, particularly the expressions as they didn’t often match the tone of what was being spoken, but they weren’t so bad that the TV based characters were unrecognizable or that I was too visually disturbed to finish the game.
The setup and basic plot of the game is no real surprise. You take on the roll of a rookie assigned to the CSI Las Vegas night shift working with the stars of the television series, many of which have done their own voicings for the game. Most of these performances are engaging, though they occasionally go on for a while. Personally I didn’t get overly annoyed with this, since the same thing tends to happen in the series. A little exposition never hurt anyone but the impatient. In the default mode everything that is spoken is also printed on the screen, but this feature can be turned off for a more immersive experience.
The game plot consists of five cases that you must process and solve in order to win the game. The cases are locked based on your performance on the previous case, so you have to win at each level in order to play the next. As has been seen in previous games, taking a note from and giving a nod to the television series, the cases are interesting with some good red herrings, though you will start to pick up on certain predictabilities by about the third case. No, I’m not going to say what those are. If you want to make the cases harder you can turn off your hotspots and tools, but those make the evidence collecting and processing more difficult, not necessarily the story itself.
 |
 |
|
| Scene of the crime | The coolness of a mobile lab |
Evidence processing is a major focus and an interesting one. The evidence can require processing on site or you may have to return to the main lab. The onsite processing is made possible through the GMC Mobile Analysis Unit, a new feature that adds a unique playability to evidence gathering. Things have to be assembled, finger prints typed, all the things we’re used to seeing from the show, but you get a more hands on approach in this game using tools such as casting material, magnetic powder and Luminol. An additional level that has been added in is that processing may be multi tiered meaning that you may have to process a single piece of evidence on a couple of levels before you’re done. For example a bottle may have trace remains of what was in it, and have a fingerprint on the outside and you need both pieces of evidence before you’ve finished with the evidence.
From the get go the game play is straight forward, you’re assigned cases and a CSI partner, though they won’t do a heck of a lot, sent to the scene of the crime and left to find what ever evidence you can, process it, talk to witnesses and finally get Brass to go pick up your suspects. Once the case is concluded Gil Grissom will evaluate your progress based on how many hints you needed and how much evidence you collected. The more evidence and the less hints makes for the better rating. No hints at all and all the evidence collected will net you a master rating. Unfortunately there are not a lot of bonuses that come with getting a master rating save for the rating before. This is one thing that wasn’t done as well as in previous games where the rating unlocked rewards for the gamer, but does give a reason for playing the game more than once if you’re obsessive about your rating.
Hunting for evidence has been made fairly straight forward. You’ll experience some pixel hunting, particularly if you’ve turned off your hotspots, but even trace evidence is fairly visible. This is a matter of complaint for some people, but for me I don’t love spending my hours combing the screen and would rather get on with the rest of the case. Witness interviews are the second pool to pull hints and clues from, and you can continue asking them questions until all the dialogue has been worked through.
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| Brass uses Windows!!! | Everyone wants to be processed by a good looking CSI |
As mentioned the graphics of the game are not as tight as they could be, despite the hype about 3D graphics and interactions. The backgrounds are much better for the 3D design, but sometimes the animations jerk or flash, which can pull you out of what is otherwise a unique moment.
CSI 3: DIMENSIONS OF MURDER VERDICT
At the end of the day CSI 3 Dimensions of Murder has some great moments, and those, for me, were stronger than the things that annoyed me. It was an enjoyable game and I never found myself reaching to turn it off or wanting the hours of my life back. There are some things that I wish were stronger, and that I think would have enhanced the over all experience but at the end of the day I was satisfied at this addition to the CSI adventure game line up.
TOP GAME MOMENT
The inside gaming jokes in the ‘First Person Shooter’ case did a good job at catching my attention and jiggling my funny bone.
