I’ve been an ardent fan of the original Las Vegas version of CSI for several years and have loyally acquired the box sets as they hit the shelves and the computer games as they were released.  I sometimes think it’s hard not to love the CSI games if you’re a fan of the show but it is fair to say that some have been a little hit and miss at times, with the biggest gripes being puzzles that were too easy and games that were too short in length.  I was intrigued to see how CSI: Deadly Intent would fare.

The first factor of note is that this is the first CSI game since big cast changes in seasons 8 and 9 saw the loss of Sara, Grissom and Warwick from the team.  In their place Riley and Dr Langston step in.  One of the draws of the previous CSI games has been the interaction with characters you’ve come to know and love (or not as the case may be), so it took a little away from it to have two relatively new characters play such key roles.   Perhaps I’m a stick in the mud but I just haven’t had long enough to mourn my old favourites yet!

Nonetheless some familiar faces are present and, by and large, the actors have done their own voice acting, though once again with the exception of Marg Helgenberger, which is a real shame.  The visual portrayal of the characters is a little hit and miss.  Dr Langston, Riley, Greg and Doc Robbins seem to have come out pretty well but Nick, Brass and Catherine weren’t quite on the mark.  Again, a real shame for Marg Helgenberger’s character, as I hardly felt it had her stamp on at all.

CSI: Deadly Intent is made up of five cases in total, in which you accompany Nick, Greg, Riley, Dr Langston and Catherine and try and piece together the crime.  As with previous games, the usual requirements are searching locations, collecting and processing evidence and interviewing suspects.  This time, however, you can challenge statements made in the interrogation room by suspects by producing the correct piece of evidence to refute what has been alleged.  This was certainly a nice way to make the interviewing scenes a little more involving. 

At the end of each case you are rated for skill, cunning and thoroughness and can achieve certain awards depending on what you managed during your cases.  The difficulty can also be altered by increasing or decreasing the number of hints and tips available to you.  Rather annoyingly, even on normal setting you receive regular ‘hint’ emails from Catherine, sometimes telling you to do what you’re already doing!  By and large all the puzzles are perfectly manageable and straightforward, perhaps even a little too easy at times.  Small changes see you processing chemical and DNA evidence differently to previously and there are now two labs: one for physical evidence and one for data/information. 

CSI remains a popular franchise, even with the shocking changes of the last two seasons.  This most recent game shows some areas of progression (longer cases, more evidence to collect and process) but still some areas of weakness (still too easy, character visuals need work – Brass in particular looked better in the previous game than this one).  However, it still provides several hours of solid entertainment at a pretty reasonable price.  CSI games may still require some work but I have a feeling that fans of the ever excellent series will overlook any flaws for the opportunity to see their favourite characters in action once again.

**Review by Donna Haw**