Windows

Cold Case Files

Although just about every adventure game I’ve ever played contained more complexity, more challenge and more environmental immersion than Cold Case Files, the game does work unexpectedly well as a “casual” game.

Even if Cold Case Files is geared to the CSI- and Law&Order adventure games, it's not a quarter as good. The placement of advertisement is a piece of impudence, considering that you've to pay around 20 dollars for the game. And 20 dollars are definitely too much for a product, which one could rather call an interactive case documentation. May be the law enforcement agencies in the USA have only waited to use Cold Case as tutorial stuff (which they actually do!), I cannot recommend it to adventure gamers, it is a sad memorabilia for fans of the series or collectors at the most.

Cold Case Files is eigenlijk niet eens de titel "adventure" waard. Het is meer een reclamefilm voor de TV-serie waarin je af en toe mag klikken. Nadenken is overbodig, je hoeft geen aantekeningen bij te houden of keuzes te maken, alles verloopt automatisch als je de verschillende lokaties bezoekt en de bewijsmaterialen aanklikt. 25 Euro weggegooid dus.

It was inevitable that the success of the Law & Order and CSI game franchises would lead to some form of imitation. And why not? Criminal investigation and adventure games are tailor made for each other, as players love sleuthing through intricate mysteries with complex, dramatic plots. Add in some modern-day forensic instruments and detective techniques, a few familiar names, a recognizable brand, and you've got a winning formula, right? That was certainly the philosophy behind the creation of Cold Case Files.

The biggest hurdle for this game was difficulty. But this game is simply a walk in the park, with no work that needs to be done by the player. While the game advertises the idea of “high-tech forensic tools and the most sophisticated technology” to help solve the cold crimes, this is no C.S.I. There are no puzzles to solve, no reluctant witnesses to bargain with, no evidence to mull over with your mouse. Simply put, this really isn’t an adventure game. You don’t have to think, you don’t have to work, you don’t ever have to put pen to paper.