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| CSI: Hard Evidence | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Telltale Games |
| Publisher(s) | Ubisoft |
| Producer(s) | Chris Ferriter |
| Designer(s) | Greg Land |
| Programmer(s) | Karen Peterson |
| Artist(s) | Lea Mai Nguyen |
| Writer(s) | Max Allan Collins |
| Composer(s) | John M. Keane |
| Engine | Telltale Tool |
| Platform(s) | OS X, Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, Wii |
| Release | Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows & Xbox 360 Wii |
| Genre(s) | Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
CSI: Hard Evidence is a computer and Xbox 360 game based on the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation television series. This is the fifth CSI game released, including CSI: Miami.
As with the previous CSI games, there are five cases to work on. However, the game includes improvements on CSI, like a 3D crime scene kit. The voice of Sara Sidle is again performed by a soundalike (Kate Savage) and not Jorja Fox. In this game, Catherine Willows is also replaced by a soundalike is also replaced by a soundalike in this game, with Edie Mirman standing in for Marg Helgenberger.
This is Telltale's first console game, released in line with the PC version. It is Telltale's first Xbox 360 and Wii game. A Mac OS X version was later released by TransGaming, using their Cider technology.
In the first case, a taxi driver, Bob Castor, was killed in an apparent arson attack inside his car. The player works with Nick Stokes in this case.
During the investigation, the victim was found to be a racist with a criminal record. The details narrow down the suspects to Ed Danville, a homeless man from Arizona, Liz Sunderland, an aspiring artist whom Ed had a one-night stand with. And Debra Finch, Liz's lesbian lover and the victim's old high school prom date, who he had harassed for two weeks. It is revealed that Ed killed Bob because of his racist attitude towards the women, which Ed would not tolerate.
Waitress Connie Roth is repeatedly stabbed in her house and survives but doesn't know who hurt her. The player works with Catherine Willows in this case. Connie's boyfriend Shane, also the owner of the casino where Connie worked, is initially suspected after the woman is found to have entered into a contract with an aging African-American tycoon to be the surrogate mother for his son. However, after discovering that the husband was oblivious to the arrangement, the only suspects are the tycoon and his trophy wife. The wife attacked Connie because she was also pregnant, but she was carrying a girl, and her husband wanted a boy, causing her to fear Connie would steal him away. This case can also be played as the sixth case of the PlayStation 2 version of 3 Dimensions of Murder.[citation needed]
The bodies of four members of a rock band called Bullet Train are found electrocuted. The player works with Warrick Brown in this case.
The band members each have a record, except for the young singer. The suspects are the band's roadie/sound-tech, who was picked on by the band; his current lover, who is the band's second choice for a singer, the band's hateful manager, and Bullet Train's ex-singer, who was also the ex-wife of the lead guitar player. The evidence eventually reveals the roadie's lover seduced him into killing the band so she could take over as the lead singer.
An eye surgeon originally from India was brutally killed in his own home. The only witness is his blind wife. After realizing the wife's alibi has holes in it, she becomes a suspect along with the victim's daughter and his partner at work, whom the victim was forcing his daughter to marry. The player works with Greg Sanders in this case. The wife turns out to be the murderer because she and her daughter were suffering from her husband's constant attempts to control them both.
There has been a gun shootout where many bullets have been found, and a store clerk is shot repeatedly. A man named Keith, found at the scene of the crime admits to killing the clerk, but evidence soon suggests the work of his brothers, all three of whom are triplets. The case includes characters from the "Shock Rock" case. The player works with Gil Grissom in this case. It's revealed the triplets' mother was having an affair with the victim and despite Keith's warnings, his brothers confronted him, but he only opened fire on them. Keith's brothers took cover behind a gun case which reflected the sun's glare and blinded them, so they tried to shoot out the glass in order to see better but wound up killing the victim by accident, and Keith covered for them.
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CSI: Hard Evidence was met with mixed reception from critics, with reviewers citing repetitive gameplay and a lack of challenge as the main areas of weakness. It was also pointed out that little attention was given to implementing interesting achievements for the Xbox 360 version. GameRankings and Metacritic gave the game a score of 69% and 63 out of 100 for the PC version;[14][17] 44% and 48 out of 100 for the X360 version;[16][19] and 52% and 49 out of 100 for the Wii version.[15][18]
Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]
Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]
In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]
On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]
In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]
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