Crime Scene is an upcoming game for the Nintendo DS and DSi from SouthPeak Games. If you’ve been waiting for a DS game that allows you to play a game filled with forensic investigation and puzzle solving, Crime Scene is it. The Mature-rated adventure game will have you combing through various crime scenes in search of the truth using forensic technology, in a way you can only interact on the DS using touch and microphone controls.
Read the full preview of Crime Scene below to see some of my firsthand impressions of the game. Pre-order Crime Scene here. To see more details on Crime Scene, visit the official website here.
As Matt Simmons, you start as a new inspector in a Forensic Department with your first case being the investigation in the death of another inspector. The case begins as a suspected double suicide. You’ll have to thoroughly investigate various crime scenes, collect and examine evidence, and do some interrogating to ultimately find the truth and close a case.
Crime Scene features a menu system that allows you to collect different clues, visit different locations from a map, store data of people you’ve encountered, check your inbox for messages, and a help option which will give you hints when you’re stuck.
Crime Scene‘s scoring system is based on how accurate you are in identifying clues and answering questions from the lead inspector. This is known as the Credibility Gauge. If you are wrong in identifying something or someone, or in collecting evidence, your Credibility Gauge drops. Make too many mistakes and you will ultimately be fired.
Once you pick a destination from the map, you can inspect a scene. You use the DS stylus to interact and investigate a crime scene. A flashing cursor indicates an interactive spot that can be inspected further. The game plays similar to other occupational adventure/puzzle games on the Nintendo DS like Phoenix Wright and Trauma Team, but Crime Scene has more serious overtones and dialogue.
The heart of Crime Scene is at finding and combing through evidence. Forensic tools at your disposal include swabs, a scalpel, tweezers, brush and powder, a UV light, and much more. The way you use each tool calls for various control methods. Most involve some kind of proper timing and accuracy. For example, when collecting a blood sample, you’ll have to dip a swab into some solvent, applying just the right amount by releasing the L button when it is within a green area in a gauge. You then drag the swab over the area of blood while holding the L button, collecting just enough blood and then dragging it to an evidence bag. Once you’ve collected a piece of evidence, the item will appear in your inventory.
Gathering evidence from a crime scene is only part of solving the mystery. You will need to return to your office to inspect the collected evidence. From the lab, you’ll use touch controls to inspect bullets for their markings, trace DNA evidence under a microscope, and match finger prints. The microscope will have you zapping away at red blood cells and glucose, while carefully avoiding the white blood cells. You’ll have to have some sharp eyes when investigating bullets and finger prints as well. These are only a bit of the tools you’ll use. Using these forensic tools plays out like mini games, where you have to figure out and execute controls in a timely manner, without making too many mistakes.
You can question individuals to gather evidence as well. The statements collected become useful tools in the presentation of your evidence to the lead investigator. You answer each question by selecting the correct item of evidence. Just as when you’re using the forensic tools, a credibility gauge decreases each time you are wrong. Once you have presented all the evidence that backs up a theory, you are given a score. Crime Scene plays similar to point-and-click graphic adventure games. Sometimes you’ll have to return several times to the same scene as a new evidence trail emerges. Other evidence may come during your investigation and completely turn around what you may have initially suspected.
Crime Scene immerses you in an investigative world of forensics unlike any other DS game before it. Prepare to sink into your DS and feel like a detective. You’ll really enjoy Crime Scene if you’re a fan of crime thrillers or crime investigation television shows. Keep a lookout for Crime Scene in February 2010 on the Nintendo DS and DSi, from SouthPeak Games, Nobilis Publishing and White Birds Productions. It’s an adventure game you shouldn’t overlook.
