CSI: Fatal Conspiracy

There have been a number of Telltale games made within the last decade. Sadly, this studio would cease to exist and this trend would come to a close. However, while it was around, it produced some truly captivating interactive stories for popular culture’s favourite franchises. One such show with got the Telltale treatment was CSI: Fatal Conspiracy, a crime investigation show with ten plus years of content to work with. With this much to go on and a dedicated fan base it had to be a nailed-on success, right?

This game plays like Telltale games such as Tales of the Borderlands, The Wolf Among Us and Telltale’s The Walking Dead as well as other interactive story titles such as Until Dawn, Heavy Rain and Life is Strange. This one had all the potential to be a smash hit but was this game a success, or was the case left cold? We find out in our review of CSI: Fatal Conspiracy.

Sets The Scene

One thing that this game does phenomenally well, is allow players to witness what it is like to be in the middle of a crime scene. The game presents detailed crime scene recreations and gives detailed reconstructions of events. Allowing players to piece together clues and gather enough evidence to piece together a valid and reasonable path to the culprit. The game allows adds to this authenticity by providing genuine voice acting by the show’s actors reprising their roles.

Then to add to this once again, the game isn’t just a defective simulation. The story also weaves in storylines for each character dealing with themes presented in the show, expanding on existing relationships and fleshing out the story beyond the nine of five these people live.

Commits Crime After Crime

That is where the praise ends for this title as the gameplay itself loses its novelty very quickly. The cases are very simplistic, the outcomes are far too obvious to work out, the core loop is stale and repetitive and as a whole package. The player will soon find this game grating and those that finish this game may do so just to see any unique story the title has to offer but we are here to inform you, it’s not worth the hassle. The stories are dull and telegraphed from the offset, so even if you check out early, you’ll still have the full picture.

The Verdict

For fans of the CSI franchise, there are nuggets of joy to be found here. The detective work is fun in spells. The crime scenes are detailed and some of the stories the game tries to tell are genuinely interesting.

Pros:

• Detailed crime scenes and reconstructions
• Unique storylines for select characters

Cons:

• The gameplay is dull and repetitive
• The detective work is far too simple and without nuance
• The visuals are surprisingly mediocre