The newest entry in the CSI crime solving series, 3 Dimensions of Murder lets players get into the gory-- and I do mean gory-- detail of Crime Scene Investigation. The latest point/click installation allows you the player to interact with the scenes in 3D, which was what intrigued me from the start. Having played a few point/click games and being a CSI fan, I jumped on this game. Was I disappointed? Yes and no.

3 Dimensions of Murder starts you as a rookie CSI. After plodding through the tutorial, you’re set loose on a ‘real’ crime scene. Of course, as a rookie, you can’t handle it by yourself, so you get to work with a different CSI mentor as you progress. You start out with Warrick, and with each new case you get a new mentor. You have the tools of the trade (camera, swabs, gloves, brushes) and you use these tools to gather up the evidence in order to solve these unusual and really bloody crimes. There are a total of five cases to solve, each one taking at least 90 minutes to solve, so you’ll get a good amount of game time out of this one.

Gameplay is easy to pickup to a point. The tutorial teaches the player how to use some of the tools you’ll need in the field. In any of the given scenes, your cursor changes shape and color to indicate you can interact with this part of the map. When up close, the toolbox will pop up to tell you to do something specific to a piece of evidence. When working with witnesses or suspects, the game gives you set questions you can ask, and leads you through the process. And if you get stuck, you can ask your in-game mentor for help. This is good for first time gamers who haven’t any experience with the CSI game interface. However, once you get used to it, it’s a bit tedious having your hand held by the computer. When I played, I wanted to take pictures of things but couldn’t because the interface wouldn’t let me. In one case in particular, there was blood on a windowsill that I wanted to test, but it wasn’t deemed ‘essential’ by the interface so all I could do was look at it. And when I asked the mentor for help, I hated getting chided, “You know this is going on your evaluation.” I was thinking, "Give me a break, this is my first case." In another situation, I was given a handgun, and I knew I wanted to take it apart to inspect it. In real life, I’d know what button to push and what parts to move in order to field strip the weapon. But in the game, there was no way of knowing what I was supposed to click on in order to get it to fall apart. And then to hear Stokes tease me about my evaluation grade made me grumpy.

The sound and voice acting are first rate for the most part. The soundtrack isn’t overbearing and lent itself to the creepiness of a crime scene. I was happy to hear the real actors reprise their roles for the game. It was nice to hear Grissom tell me ‘Good luck’ and then quote some obscure philosopher. That made the immersion complete. I really felt like I was in his office, thinking, “What the heck does that have to do with anything?”

Graphics are ok. The 3D modeling on specific objects is nice, but as for movement or facial expression, it’s only average. I liked that the developers inserted scenes from the Las Vegas strip when changing locations, just like in the show. I only wish that they could have used these scenes in place of “now loading” ones, instead of seeing the Bellagio and the Sahara… and then “Now Loading.” Again, it breaks up the immersion of the game.

What had me a bit confused was the game rating. It’s rated M for mature because of blood and gore among other things. Now the show itself is gory, but not M material. And though there is blood all over the place and graphic reenactments just like on the show, it’s nowhere near the intensity of what you see on TV.

Overall I liked this game. As a fan of the show, it’s nice to get into the thick of things and act like an ‘almost detective.’ Though it’s only average graphically, the substance in the stories/cases will keep a player intrigued and involved almost as much as the show itself.

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