A turn for the worse.
In the earlier games, you were able to do things such as switch between the crime locations, question people at will and analyze evidence in the laboratory at your own leisure. This is not so for this game. CSI:NY is totally linear, meaning that you cannot choose the order you progress in the game's plot. In fact, you basically just jump from a minigame to a minigame, without any chance to make any decisions for yourself.
But on a brighter note; One of the few good things about this title is the fact that the developer (read: publisher) got (most of) the real actors of the series to do to the voiceacting. In stead of making the experience more immersive, the voiceacting actually draws attention to the flaws of the rest of the game.
The gameplay mechanics are very simplified, almost to the point of stupidity. The "puzzles" of the game consist of roughly 10 minigames that are repeated throughout the game, sometimes more coherently than at other times.
The cases aren't as badly written as one could expect, compared to the rest of the games production values. In fact, I was somehow compelled to finish the first 2 cases at one go, for reasons I cannot really explain. There is definitely "something" in this title, but I cant put my finger on it. Perhaps its the relentless succession these short minigames are thrown at you or perhaps its just my macabre curiosity that makes me want to see the next awful "cutscene" (you'll see for yourself...), but never the less, I suspect I will actually play this game *again*.
Fans of the previous CSI games, you have been warned.
The good:
- Voice acting (most of the real cast)
The bad:
- Graphics, particularly the cutscenes (rough 2D art)
- The resolution (locked to 800x600)
- Gameplay mechanics (the game is basically just ~10 minigames)
- Lack of freedom and discovery