The area that really separates the game from its predecessors is its interface. Criminal Intent is presented in a third-person view, with you controlling a 3D model of Det. Goren via pointing and clicking. This is something new as far as the Law & Order series is concerned, as the previous titles used a node-based, first-person perspective. This interface change lends itself well to this type of game, and I commend the developers for risking such an experiment when they could just as easily have stayed with their safe, simpler format. Unfortunately, they were less than successful with their more ambitious undertaking, as there is definitely some bad to go along with the good.