Anyone who likes CSI, point and click games, or just likes easy achievements has probably played one of the CSI games. So how does Fatal Conspiracy hold up?
The first CSI was the most basic - it didn't include nearly as many options for evidence gathering, comparing, etc. as the second, so it's safe to assume that the third would be even better, right? Wrong, a lot of options and challenges have been taken away from the player. Case in point - a lot of evidence gathering (for larger things) is now instant, also the computer clearly highlights an available tool from each category (molding, finger print, etc) limiting your choices to one and in some cases it's very obvious as to which one. This is not necessarily a bad thing, more of something that gives the player pause to say, "huh?" Why on earth would the third game in a series be backtracking to give you fewer options? Though occasionally it serves the purpose of speeding up the game and getting past certain things, case in point - obviously you would just have to pick the "grab" option in the past so why not have the computer automatically do it for you? This is again both nice and kind of annoying.
The new cursor also gives you a few options like where to scan in rooms and what to zoom in on, which is weird because they still did the whole "fake evidence" thing. In the last CSI you would walk into a room see something on the ground and zoom in to find it was nothing. These tid bits are still found but you can't zoom in on them. Again, it seems like the game designers are just trying to skip steps on the players behalf but I'm not sure how I feel about this. The two things that really bother me about the cursor in this game is when it does a spin move when you are hovering over something that you can't do anything with... I really don't need my cursor to remind me of the hour glass on color wheel on computers. It seems minor but after a few hours it gets really annoying. The cursor also goes from being so insensitive that you are crawling across rooms, to so sensitive you'll find yourself missing vital pieces of evidence because it won't slow down long enough for you to get a hit on it.
Graphics are the same, disappointing and bad. Character design is horrid and their movements are very unnatural. I understand they do this to keep the game budget, I almost feel like it would be worth a higher price tag if they just made one longer and prettier looking game. It's also disappointing looking at such horrid graphics when they actually get the actors from the tv show to voice themselves. By the third game though this is sadly expected.
The only new thing this game offers is the story, for once cases are connected and part of a larger plot (which I won't spoil), it's a curve ball and kind of nice. However everything about this game remains the same as the second and even more limited in some cases. If you've played the last two you know what you are getting. If you haven't but are curious I would recommend the second over this. However, Fatal Conspiracy still remains a decent point and click game, which some easy achievements. It won't blow you away but it's a fun distraction and worth the few hours it takes, though I highly recommend renting it. Even being a budget title I feel it's a total rip off unless you REALLY love CSI.
Thank you!
Good review Melanopterus, thanks!