Looks nice, plays like a kid's game with an M Rating
The 3 problems are: 1) the game is extremely linear, 2) the end evaluation is overly simplified, and 3) there is no use for your brain.
1)You have to do everything in a fairly specific order. It does not matter who you speak to, where you go or when you do these things. After you visit each suspect/location you will have your information and evidence that is needed to open the next location and further evidence. Since you can't continue until you gather the info you need, you don't really have to know what you're doing. Just talk to each person and visit each location until something new opens up.
2) At the end of the case you are evaluated. If you don't use any HINTS from your CSI buddy, you get the Master rating. If you use a few Hints you get the Investigator rating, and if you use lots of hints, you get a Rookie rating. It does not matter how long you take to solve the case, how many times you tried the wrong collecting tool or how many times you missed evidence and returned to the location. You really never even had to have had the slightest clue as to what was going on in the case to get a Mater rating as long as you followed along blindly going wherever you were allowed to go.
Which bring us to problem #3....
3) Some have referred to this as a strategy or thinking game. To that I say "WHAT!??". There is absolutely no thinking or strategy involved. None.
When you get to a location you check everything to see if it's evidence or not. If you miss something it will stay put until you eventually find it as the case won't continue without it. When using your collection tools, if you try the wrong one you are told this and simply try something else until you get the right one. 5 wrong tries? No worries as it won't affect your score or your attempts at collecting evidence. When questioning suspects you ask all the questions provided right down the list. The order does not matter at all
as one question does not affect the other answers which is how this usually would work in games. You do sorta get to think a little in the Lab when using your collected evidence. You may realize that comparing a suspect's fingerprint with one collected at the crime scene might be a good idea.
But even if this does not occur to you, you won't be able to continue the case until you DO whatever tests are needed. So basically you just work with each piece of evidence until it does something. You don't have to have a clue as to what you're doing or why.
I would rather see in my evaluation that the suspect was released because I missed so much evidence, or failed to tie them to the crime scene rather than having the game wait for me to eventually do these things.
Still, the CSI connection is enjoyable and while the game does not require thinking, it's not bad from the view of watching a CSI case.