Hard Evidence of a Great CSI Game
Posted by greg October 2, 2007

CSI designer Greg Land and partner Nick Stokes go forensic at the old mini golf course.

As most of you know, Telltale's newest CSI game was detected in stores last week, just in time for the Season Premiere of the TV series.

In the wake of the myriad shooters bludgeoning their way into the market, official reviews for CSI: Hard Evidence are trickling out at the pace of dried blood.

Regardless, there is a smattering of *a-hem* hard evidence that the latest CSI game is indeed a satisfying one. Here are a few facts that help us substantiate our assertion that Telltale has made a great game for our fans, and for CSI lovers everywhere...

First, many users on the various forums have testified that "it's the best CSI game yet." In fact, a few here on the Telltale site gave it an "11 out of 10." Thanks guys!


As of this writing, a forensic statistical analysis of the PC version on Gamespot shows an average player rating of 81%, based on 50 votes. Notably, more than 50% of voters rated the game as a "Perfect," and the vast majority rated it as "Great" or better.

Third, anonymous sources have tipped us off that several stores are sold out of the game. Amazon shows it's in the top 25 games, and the #7 selling PC Action title. (Not sure why it's listed under action, though!) Perhaps being in the New Release section the same time as Halo 3 isn't all bad...

Further, CSI is designed to be fun for men and women, ages 18 to 108. One customer claimed that he is alternating playing cases with his wife -- and highly recommends it. Now that we're playable on consoles as well, CSI is a GREAT game to play on the couch with a loved one. (Or even a liked one!) Find clues together, and place bets on who dunit! It's more like the show than ever before...

On a behind-the-scenes note, back in January, the Ubisoft execs were so pleased with our product that they wanted to double-down and release it to more systems. They even created a TV ad campaign, which has never been done for a CSI game. This type of confidence in the product is a real testament to the game, and a good sign for our consumers.


Finally, in my opinion, the most compelling evidence that CSI: HE is a great game is a single common confession - many people have already achieved a Master ranking on all 5 cases. This means they have played and replayed the game until ultimately they unlocked the final bonus item. People are busy. 12+ hours is a lot of time for most of us. We don't have time to waste on things that aren't fun. It's a good bet that if so many people are taking the time to finish and replay the cases, then they are likely to be engaging and satisfying along the way.

In closing, whatever the official reviewers say, evidence shows the initial response has been very favorable. Telltale put a lot of love and energy into making CSI: Hard Evidence the best it could be. We feel it's a great product. So, next time you spot Grissom and Catherine on CBS just think - I could be solving my own case with those guys right now!

Greg Land
Lead Writer/Designer
CSI: Hard Evidence
Tagged CSI, Game Media Digg this entry Send this to a friend 18 Comments
When is this game coming out for Wii? I can't wait to get my Telltale on with the Wiimote.
Comment by BobHobbit October 2, 2007, 11:10 pm
Congratulations, Telltale!

And, er...who's the person in the first pic? '-'
Comment by Kedri October 2, 2007, 11:39 pm
uhm it looks fun and stuff, but i hope this dosent take focus away from telltales other great games like sam and max or bone, and i totaly agree with BobHobbit, all of these games on the wii would kick @$$.
Comment by kgoodies October 3, 2007, 4:43 am
looks great
Comment by Bruno83 October 3, 2007, 5:06 am
I couldn't find it anywhere so I'm asking here, what is the difference between the Xbox 360 version and the PC version? Are there any extra cases to solve in the Xbox 360 version? Here in Europe the Xbox 360 version costs twice the price of the PC version so I want to know if it's really worth that. ;)
Comment by Pollo Diablo October 3, 2007, 6:25 am
The guy in the picture is Greg. And the Wii version should be out in a couple of months. They're aiming for pre-Christmas.

The main difference between the Xbox version and the PC version is that you can play it in your living room, lying on the couch. The PC version was already mostly done when Ubisoft decided to do console versions, so content-wise, the PC version and the console ports are pretty much identical.
Comment by Emily October 3, 2007, 7:26 am
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Game for all ages?


Uhhhhh, maybe I'm just weird, but last I checked, this game was rated M. Usually these things happen for a reason... :)
Comment by Maratanos October 3, 2007, 9:11 am
Yeah, it actually said "Men and Women of all ages" but I can see how that is too open to interpretation.
Comment by DesignerGreg October 3, 2007, 10:29 am
Well, my PC is in my living room too, and I have a very comfy chair in front of it, so no difference there. PC version it is. Thanks Emily. :)
Comment by Pollo Diablo October 3, 2007, 11:03 am
Yeah, it actually said "Men and Women of all ages" but I can see how that is too open to interpretation.



Well, nobody ever says "males and females of all ages", so it's generally assumed when you talk about men and women in this manner that you're including boys as men and girls as women. The terms are relative, anyway. I've met 12 year old men and 20 year old boys, by the standard social definition of each.


Please don't be age-ist. I'm sure you hated it when people were age-ist to you as a youth.
Comment by Maratanos October 3, 2007, 1:06 pm
Even though I'm a big Sam&Max fan, I love the CSI shows. I just hope this game offers challenging puzzles worthy for a player with inquisitive detective skills. And, FYI, I am not a detective per sae, I just have good problem solving skills.
Comment by vyperspit October 3, 2007, 6:45 pm
Great work Greg.. the CSI team gets forgotten around here amongst all the sam & max hysteria..
Comment by Hero1 October 4, 2007, 4:00 am
Will you guys be selling the 360 version on the site? I have been holding off picking this up since I really want to get it straight from you guys, but it dawned on me that you might only sell the PC version.

Love the show, love Telltale, and 3 Dimensions was fun, so I know I can't go wrong with this one.
Comment by krin October 4, 2007, 11:02 am
But if they're making a CSI game for the wii, then why dont they make Sam and max games for the wii? Maybe the next bonus disc could be a TRI-brid ( hehe sorry couldn't help it) or just make a seperate disc that'll work on wii .
Comment by kgoodies October 4, 2007, 2:14 pm
there has just been a csi game released on 360 telltale has no reason to put a game on the 360
Comment by jared25 October 7, 2007, 8:23 am
there has just been a csi game released on 360 telltale has no reason to put a game on the 360


Yes, indeed.

All sorts of games have recently been released for PS3, XBox 360, AND Wii, so why bother making more?

;)
Comment by Maratanos October 10, 2007, 10:13 am
It's better than the other ones.
Comment by Poseidon January 9, 2008, 1:00 pm
Keep the good work, Greg!
Comment by Poseidon January 9, 2008, 1:01 pm
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