CSI: Miami

I would describe the game as a point and click adventure with the CSI Miami setting. You are a new member of the team of Horatio Caine and investigate crime scenes. I hope you “Wont get fooled again” (I know it is a lame pun but I could not resist;-). I would say it is a game that is more enjoyable for fans of the show and weaker without it. There are 5 cases for you to investigate that you unlock after solving the previous one. You have a set of forensic tools available to use. You collect evidence to analyze them in the laboratory. It is in point and click adventure style as you are investigating the crime scenes and other location. With the right tools you can collect evidence. The analyses are done in the laboratory and there are also puzzles to solve. Another part is that you can talk to suspects, witnesses and/or people involved. From this you get additional clues (You can / must also interrogate suspects.) Also requests to get warrants, addresses or data for example from bank accounts must be made. If you have enough evidence you get the suspect arrested and solve the case. It is now in the hand of the justice system. The stories of the cases are well written and show the abysses of human relationships. There are a few good twist and the final case has a great reveal that is a satisfying conclusion. I was positively surprised by the game as licensed games are normally garbage. They used the cast of the show well as they work together with you, help and assist you. It catches the theme and character of the show. The gameplay is fine. I liked that they want to give a realistic or more scientific touch. As someone who works in a (non crime scene) laboratory I must always make a clarification. Most TV shows that show laboratory work / analyses are fake. We would pay a lot of money to get things done that fast. You can not inject a sample in one analyzer and have results in 5 minutes available or it checked against several ten / hundred thousand substances. We have high quality standards and a lot of documentation (Guilty until proven innocent is often an argument we use to describe this practice). It is often that the time needed to to the preparation and documentation far outweighs the time of the analysis. However they do a convincing job in the show and the game. I must also mention that you can make the game far easier or difficult using the available options. There are a few missteps. In a later case they reuse assets in interrogation scenes without hiding it. I was so blunt that you cant miss it. Finally it cant keep up with the better point and click games. Overall this is a well done license game that is enjoyable for fans of the show. I give credit for this as there is so much garbage with licensed game. Worth playing but I think it is nothing that can convince non fans or people that do not know the show. Bonus knowledge. Many people in the justice system actually thought about giving the people in the jury a “CSI instruction” to show them that reality cant keep up with the things in the show that is believed to be an accurate representation.