CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 2: Dark Motives

As games like The X-Files and other mystery-focused offerings continue to be put forward, a hardcore following continues to embrace them. It's often difficult for such games to be put into the media spotlight, but Ubi Soft's Crime Scene Investigation did rather well thanks to a popular TV counterpart. And in light of that success, Ubi Soft's brought forward a second effort, dubbed Dark Motives.

Dark Motives tells a story faithful to the TV series in which a team of five night-shift investigators, one cop and a couple of lab technicians work together in Las Vegas, gathering and analysing evidence using forensic science techniques to solve crimes. You will play as a CSI rookie training with the best law enforcers of Las Vegas, but this time you're going to find things a little more difficult.

In what is a mentally challenging game, Dark Motives charges players with solving some five new cases, all of which are much longer and more in-depth than those in the first CSI offering. However, you'll be armed with a multitude of forensic equipment that includes fingerprint dusters, UV lights, Luminol and even a DNA sequencer, so your options will be plentiful.

The game also plays host to several familiar and wonderfully rendered non-playable characters, all of whom bear strong likenesses to their real-life counterparts. For fans of the TV series, this helps make the adventure much more authentic, but regardless, Dark Motives is a gripping virtual drama. Get involved.