[Dangerzone]

I guess i will break the ice on this forum
below is my review of every version of every csi game

Game 1
CSI:
Release date - March 2003
this was the first csi game released, it had graphics that were "recorded" using quick time
the characters had a jittery appearnce and they looked like cardboard cutouts
the cases were very short and there were several tools that were only used once in the game
but the game was a breakthrough in the way it allowed the user to solve the crime
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Graphics: 2.0 - Poor
Sound: 9.0 Excellent
Gameplay: 6.0 - Fair
Challenge: 9.0 - Difficult (getting 100% ups the difficulty)
Interface: 8.0 - Excellent
Overall rating: 5.5 - Fair
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Game 2
CSI: Dark Motives
Release date - 3/23/04
the second game used a program called "bink video" to create the characters
this method allowed the characters to be rendered in semi 3D, and gave the game a more life like appearnce
the cases were double the length of the first game, and plot twists were added to the cases to make them more intresting
some new tools were added to the game and all tools are used frequently throughout the game
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Graphics: 7.5 - good
Sound: 9.5 - Near Perfect
Gameplay: 9.0 - Excellent
Challenge: 8.0 - Hard
Interface: 8.5 - Excellent
Overall Rating: 8.5 - Excellent
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Games 1 and 2
CSI: ( xbox version )
Release date - December 2004
because the xbox is a system intended for games, it made the game a bit better than its previous versions
the game lacks the advanced options and some of the "flair" that the pc versions had
part one of the game is the cases from the first csi game
the appearnce is the exact same as the pc version, some things were added and removed to make the game play better
BUT, the second part of the game (which is the cases from the second game) is a huge diffrence from the pc version
the background and scenes are cleaner and the animations play better
although navigating around is a bit odd, and i have to say that the toolbar system in the pc version is better
and the "fan" of all the tools was a cool solution for the fact that the xbox does not have a mouse
but i still prefer the bar at the bottom of the pc games
this version looks better than the pc versions, but the bugs in the game and the odd interface pulls the game down in my ratings
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Graphics: 9.5 - Excellent
Sound: 10 - Perfect
Gameplay: - 7.5 good
Challenge: 9.5 - Difficult (the fact that the game is 2x the size)
Interface: 3.5 - Poor
Overall Rating: 4.0 - Poor
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Game 3
CSI: Miami
Release date - november 2004
this is the third installment of the csi series
it takes place with the miami crew as it was near the end of the second season (before yelina and speedle left the show and wolfe joined)
once again bink video was used and the detail of the characters is about the same as in the second game
the cases are a little longer than the dark motives game
and the interrogation scenes got more lifelike with the extra camera angles
the only new tool in the game was the "flashlight" which is used in 3 cases
they also added the assembly table and the cryptograph thing in the computer
despite the positive changes to the games engine.......my favorite game is still dark motives
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Graphics:8.5 - Excellent
Sound: 9.5 - Near Perfect
Gameplay: 7.0 - good
Challenge: 9.5 - May Cuase Brain Damage
Interface: 8.5 - Excellent
Overall Rating: 7.0 - Good
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double pack (csi and csi dark motives )
Release date - Febuary 2005
triple pack (csi, csi miami, and dark motives )
Release date - december 2005
both of the "packs" have basicly the same version of the games as in the original releases
some bugs were fixed and some new ones were found ( language problems )
but all 3 of the games are version 1.01 and do not require the patch
both of the "packs" are on dvd so it is easy to install and use
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Graphics: 8.5 - Excellent
Sound: 9.5 - Near perfect
Gameplay: 10 - Perfect
Challenge: 9.5 - May Cause brain Damage
Interface: 9.5 - Near Perfect
Overall Rating: 9.0 - Excellent
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Game 4
CSI: Three Dimensions Of Murder
Release date March 14th 2006
this game is very detailed and is a big diversion from the previous csi games
they finally made the jump to using fully rendered real time 3D
the cases are almost the same length as the miami game (maybe a little longer), but the cases have more twists, turns, and time wasters to make them even more intresting than the previous 15 cases
there are a few new tools, but your set of tools is almost same as the previous game
but the breakthrough with the tools in this game is that you do more to collect and examine the evidence
there is also the addition of the mobile evidence analysis unit, but i have a more technical name for it........ "the truck"
the truck allows you to do things without having to go back to the lab, such as run fingerprints
the static panoraminc view is gone and they have gone with a vr type setup
it is a more advanced interface, although it is still a panoramic view at heart, but now you have the ability to do more than just rotate the camera left and right
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Graphics: 10 - Perfect
Sound: 5.0 - poor (the fact that they did not have sara or catherene)
Gameplay: 9.5 - Near perfect
Challenge: 10 - One Word.......Stroke
Interface: 9.0 - Excellent
Overall Rating: 9.5 - Near Perfect
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a high bar was set with the dark motives game.......... a bar so high that the miami game was not able to get over that bar

the new game not only has what it takes to get over that bar
but it looks like the game has the ability to raise the bar by a mile and make the dark motives game "old news"

- Dangerzone