Again DS Review

You know what we hate? Things that could've been better than they are. Several movies come to mind, including a few where the killer was too easy to spot or the twist was so absurd, it wasn't worth the trouble. Unfortunately, Again, the latest and final project from the now-bankrupt development team at Cing, comes up woefully short.

Again casts you as an FBI agent named J (perhaps he knows G from the House of the Dead series), called in to check out a murder that seems awfully familiar to a case he investigated. You'll revisit both cases, matching things up and eventually trying to find parallels between the two.

Despite the interesting premise, Again collapses under a weak storyline, along the same lines as a badly written TV melodrama. There are shocks and jolts, but they feel cheaply delivered. Furthermore, most of the conversations are mundane and repetitive. If we had spent less time chatting and more time investigating, we would've found the killer a lot faster.

As for gameplay, there isn't much to it. You'll interrogate a suspect every once in a while, search for clues and click on certain objects to see if they're of any importance. Cing's previous project, the much-appreciated Hotel Dusk, handled case-solving a whole lot better than this. Here, you're stuck running through the paces to solve the mystery.

Even worse, Again's graphics look dull and muddy, even for a game that's trying to be on the same level as CSI. Sometimes, it's hard to make out objects, and the character models are unimpressive. There are some cool noir-style moments, but you'll need to dig to find them, and the effort isn't worth it. Finally, the audio consists of a campy detective show soundtrack, with no character voices or worthwhile effects.

It's sad to see Cing leave on such a low note. Again can't compare in any way to the better detective games, and hardly has anything worth recommending, save for the intro. We just can't see ourselves going back to it.