NCIS

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To start off, If you are not a fan of the TV Show that this game is based off of, you will most likely be a little put off with this game. This is a game that does what it was intended to do, Give fans of NCIS a way to interact with the feeling of the show.

This is not to say that this is a game that will give you a feeling of inclusion that one would hope for however.

Mechanics:

While it does focus on some pretty action oriented themes, NCIS: The Game is a point and click adventure only. I was somewhat surprised by this due to the fact that the show has some of the best car chase and dramatic action sequences of this genre of television.

The game moves pretty smoothly for the most part, You take the role of the NCIS agent needed for any given task Tony/Ziva while collecting clues/evidence, Abby for the forensic analysis, Ducky for the autopsy portion, McGee for the Hacking/Database searches, and of course Gibbs when taking on a subject in interrogation. No matter who you are, the game moves along with a series of minigames that get progressively more difficult as you progress in the game. None of these should prove too challenging and failure has very little consequence other then having to replay the scene in question until you get it right.

In my mind this makes sense since they are reaching out to a large demographic of fans, many of which may not even play video games. In this, the game feels very casual and pretty much any fan of the show can pick it up and play.

Audio:

This is the part of the game that made me wince the most. The reason for this is simply in the voice acting. Please note that the characters in this game ARE NOT voiced by the cast of the show other then Ducky (David McCallum) and Anthony DiNozzo SR. (Robert Wagner)It's hard for me to describe this in the fact that many of the voice actors that were chosen to play the roles did not do a bad job, in fact many of them do a fairly decent adaptation of the characters with slight inconsistencies to the character, others however seem so out of place that you just can't quite push it to the back of your mind. The voice actor that portrays Gibbs in the game is probably the worst out of them. His lines are delivered in such a way that fans of the show (Like myself) find themselves shaking their heads at some of the dialog. Overall, the voice acting is a disappointment for a game that was heavily advertized by the show itself. You just end up wondering why they couldn't get the entire cast instead of just letting ducky and SR go it alone.

The rest of the audio is pretty much up to what you would expect, from the signature "Thump" as a scene ends to the title music playing through a pixelated version of the show's opening theme. In the game itself it is pretty well done. At the NCIS office you can here phones ringing and keyboards typing the in the background, various muffled conversations and pretty much everything else you'd expect in an office setting. The crime scenes play up the scene a bit with some low tension building background music that never gets loud enough for you to truly take note.

The audio of NCIS is a mix of what you'd expect and voices that just don't add up.

Story:

This is by far one of the games highlights. The game is set into 4 "Episodes" that play out very much like what you would expect from the show. Each episode is written by the writers of the show and it really comes across well. Each episode adding a bit more to the depth of the game while not drowning you with complex variables. Since this is a point and click minigame collection for the most part the story really helps to tie it all together and make each segment seem significant.

I won't give away any spoilers but by the time you reach the fourth and final episode it will become clear that all of these cases have something in common and the climax of the game brings you climing your way up the side of a building as Gibbs. While I would have wished for a bit more action from this scenario, the story comes across as something that any NCIS fan should at least enjoy as a "Lost episode" like faeture.

Graphics:

The game's graphics are nothing spectacular but serve their purpose, it is evident who is who and what you are looking for. While the backgrounds and characters are bland for the most part you never really feel like they are "too bad" either in the grand scheme of things.

Replay value:

I would say the replay value on this game is low, you can't move onto the next scene until you have completed 100% of your objective and you are practically given every Trophy/achievement in the game just for completing it so there's very little to go back to unless you feel the desire to go back several months/years down the line and replay it.

Length:

Each episode of the game lasts roughly an hour (Roughly the length of an episode of the show) However gamers with good coordination will probably be able to beat this game much quicker.

Overall:

This is a game that any fan of the show can get into, while you may not get exactly what you would hope out of the package you do get a bit of additional content for those of you who love the show and want a bit more. It's a good game and does what it was set up to do. But it is a casual experience, do not look for too much depth here. For this, I give the overall game 3/5 stars.

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I love both in NCIS shows so I was ecstatic to find that they made a video game based upon the show. As soon as I got the game, I rushed to my PlayStation 3 ecstatic that I was going to be able to solve crimes alongside Gibbs and his team. I was a little disappointed to hear the voice actors were not the actors on the TV show all except for Ducky and it was a little surprising to hear the different voices than what I was used to hearing on the show. I also feel that they could have made the episodes longer or added more episodes for you to play. Because just when I got in the groove of what I was doing the game was over and the only option you have is to start it over again but by that time your you know how to solve the cases. Overall, it is a great game for someone who loves mystery games and loves the show.

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Fun to do as a family tryiing to figure out where things are. Very long episodes maybe an hour. IF you like fast paced games these are not for you. Very much like the series

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has to be the worst, slow paced game in history! the only positive is it was THE EASIEST platinum trophy i ever bought.

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I am a hardcore NCIS fan and wanted this game to be like the show. With action and free roaming . The game looks and sounds good. I hated to accept the realization that is is just a bunch of mini games . I wanted to interview people and run, drive and shoot.. Even work on a boat while drinking bourbon in Gibbs basement. I was hoping role playing or something. Feel how it is to walk around the office. Nothing of any sort. Not even the real actors voices. This was a rushed play on gamers love of the show to get a quick buck. No fun and it doesn't get any better then the first ten minutes. By the time you read this you should be able to get it used for a couple of dollars, literally. Even the most hardcore fan can do without.