Customer Reviews

CSI: Dark Motives

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This game is the only CSI game I've ever played. I thought that it was a lot of fun and that the mysteries were interesting. The big problem with Dark Motives is that it is very, very short: it only has five levels. I beat the entire thing in just a few hours. There's not a lot of replay value, either, since the clues and the mysteries stay the same each time you play. Some of the clues are a little difficult to find, and I definitely would not have finished this game without consulting a walkthrough.
I'd recommend renting this game rather than buying it- you'll have it finished very quickly. It is fun, though, while it lasts. I was incredibly disappointed by how quickly I was done with it.

CSI Dark Motives is a very entertaining game that makes good use of the DS lite's controls and features. This game is about gathering and analyzing evidence, building a case, and then finding out "who dunnit".

In this game, you play a new CSI recruit. You are assigned to work with a veteran investigator on 5 cases. You navigate between different locations, such as the crime scene, the lab, and a suspects house.

Game play is pretty simple. Each location is basically a "still image" with various hotspots that you find with the stylus. There is no animation or character movements at any of the locations. You click on a suspect or object in order to interact with it. If it is evidence, you can either grab it or do something to gather it up. For example, you may need to spray a wall or floor with a chemical to reveal blood stains. You then take the evidence back to the lab and use the right CSI tool in order to get more information about it (if there is any more info, that is).

When you identify suspects, you ask them questions and then store their answers. If you gather enough evidence against a suspect, you can get a warrant to search their house and/or bring them in for further questioning. The questions are all pre-determined, and you can't accuse someone of the crime and then see if you are right. You have to PROVE that they did it by building a case against them with the evidence.

Overall, I found this to be a pretty entertaining game. It was frustrating at times, because some of the hotspots are very small. However, the stories were pretty good and there was nothing that was too mind-bogglingly difficult.

The good:
- The game makes very good use of the DS lite controls, particularly the touch screen
- The cases were challenging, but not overly complex
- If you get stuck, you can ask the other investigator for some tips


The bad:
- It was tough to move forward sometimes, and the game did not always make it clear what you needed to do next. For example, if I had gathered evidence against a suspect and wanted to question them, I couldn't until I found some unrelated piece of evidence. When I would ask to interogate a suspect, I was told "you need to establish a stronger link between the suspect and the crime scene". However, what I REALLY needed to do was to find a piece of evidence that showed what time the crime happened. The evidence had nothing to do with the suspect, but it was necessary in order to move the case forward.

- There was a minor technical bug that I came across. When you gather evidence, you often will need to check it for fingerprints, blood, etc. If I found the fingerprint AND picked up the evidence in the same step, the game would not recognize that I had found the fingerprint. I had to start a level over so I could reset this.

- The questions were pretty linear, and there was no variablity or method for ratcheting up the heat on someone. I think that it would have been a little more interesting if the suspects could try to be a little more argumentative or secretive, which would require that you pressure them a bit.

- There is little or no replay value, unless you really liked the cases or the style of play. As far as I could tell, you need every piece of evidence to move to the solution. I don't think you could replay a story and find a new string of evidnece or a new suspect.



I liked this game a lot and I'm glad I picked it. It reminds a little bit of "Hotel Dusk", which is another interactive mystery game. One word of warning: as pointed out in another review and comment, be very careful about consulting a walkthrough. This game is pretty linear, and doesn't really require the building of skills or techniques. Once you've found an answer, it will take you about 10 seconds to move on. When I played Prince of Persia, I had to consult a walkthrough in order to find out how to defeat a certain boss. The walkthrough told me HOW to do it; it still took me about 45 minutes to actually defeat the boss and move on. That is not the case in this game. If you go to the walkthrough too much, the game will take you a a few hours to play, instead of a few evenings.

This game did nothing for me. I wanted it so bad and begged for it for christmas (I'm 41). I love the shows and thought that this would be great. I like games like Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney, Cate West, Touchmaster, Millionheir, Mystery PI, and Professor Layton and the Curious Villiage...this game did not cut it. It would basically stop and expect me to know what to do next without giving me any direction. If you ask for help from your partner, you lose "points" for your review. I found it very boring. I hope some of you find it good because I was very hopeful but it just did not work for me.

I bought this game thinking it would be fun, but there is little instruction on what to do. No real help from the game as to next move. Not worth the money.

This Game Is To Hard For Me And It Takes Forever To Figuare Out. So This Game Sucks! Do Not Buy It!

I am an avid CSI Fan, and I guess I was hoping for something a little more interactive. You lose points if you talk to your CSI "buddy" and if you miss one piece you get stuck and have to go completely back through everything. I beat the game and sold it the next day.... only 5 cases and once you complete them, there really isn't anything else to the game. Buy used or rent.. don't waste too much money. This game can be completed in a day.

This game has the CSI feel, but is very clunky point and click on the DS. I really enjoyed the Wii CSI game which has different cases than this one, but to me it was a more enjoyable gaming experience. If you have the option to play/buy the Wii game instead of this one that would be my reccomdenation.

I purchased my DS on a whim one weekend. While looking for a game that my friends were all raving about I came across CSI. Being a HUGE fan of CSI Las Vegas, I decided to purchase this game. Once getting used to the controls and how to gather evidence and such, I truly began to love this game. I play for a little while and when i get stuck, I take a step back, shut it off, and come back to it another day. It's not a game to play all in one sitting. It's something for you to sit back and reflect upon, truly create a connection with the characters. I love the fact that i process my own evidence, I establish links, I can ask questions. Does it get frustrating at times? yes....but if you enjoy thinking, and working things out in your head, examining and re-examining things....this is a GREAT game!

This game is hard to follow to figure out what needs completed. I only played it for a little while but got discouraged so I didn't want to play it. I may try it again in the future but right now I have no desire to play it.

I have this game for my PC and it always freezes up, which was frustrating! I just had to get it in Nintendo DS format, which is way better in many ways and it never freezes up on me. I'm finally able to play and really enjoy the game!