Tex Murphy Games

[ChaoZ]

GOG has the Tex Murphy games for 30% off this weekend. I've never played any of them, but always wanted to back when they were released and FMV was hot stuff. (Hell, I still like FMV games).

Do I have to play the earlier games (Martian Memorandum and Mean Streets) or can I jump in with Under a Killing Moon? I recall reading that one of the earlier games was remade as a later game.

[triggercut]

I jumped right into Pandora Directive back in the day and aside from a few offhand mentions of things here and there from the earlier games, there wasn't any compelling reason to have played them to enjoy PD.

[Gorath]

Just start with UaKM. The games are great and long. Just don't be surprised that they're hardcore adventure games, not interactive movies with tacked on puzzles.

[Sarkus]

I replayed Mean Streets and Martian Memorandum when GoG released them earlier this year. Mean Streets still held up pretty well, but Martian Memorandum seemed shorter, simpler, and felt like something thrown together too quickly. Both those games are traditional graphics type adventure games along the lines of classics like Space Quest and Kings Quest. Mean Streets also uses a relatively primitive flight sim for travel.

Under a Killing Moon and Pandora Detective are considered the peak of the series and mark the move towards FMV and well known actors. You don't need to play the earlier games to enjoy these two, though I do think that Mean Streets adds a lot to the history of the character you play.

Alternatively, you can start with the last game, Overseer, which is actually remake of Mean Streets (though not an exact remake) using the FMV style approach. It's not quite as good as the previous two games as it was funded by a video card maker for inclusion with a major card release they planned and thus was kind of put together quickly.

[Gorath]

I also liked Overseer. True, not as great the the other two, but still a good game.

[pengo]

Cool prolly something that will play on my MBP!

[Skeptic]

I beat Mean Streets many years ago so excuse me if my memory is off but I could have sworn that Mean Streets DID have FMV!? Like a low-grade, digitized-looking portraits during conversations and such?

[Sarkus]

I beat Mean Streets many years ago so excuse me if my memory is off but I could have sworn that Mean Streets DID have FMV!? Like a low-grade, digitized-looking portraits during conversations and such?

That's true, but it's so primitive in comparison to what people think of when you say "full motion video" (and they think of something like Wing Commander 4) that it's almost not worth mentioning. But you are right, even if it was so bad you couldn't tell if the "special effects" were bad costumes or crappy animations added later.

[ChaoZ]

I've purchased Under a Killing Moon and the Pandora Directive for now. Man, Under a Killing Moon has not aged well, but I was stunned to find a rudimentary 3D engine in the game. Horrid controls don't help (use the mouse to move and up and down arrows to pan up and down?) The script is making up for it though.

[Daehawk]

BigFish Games is trying to bring Tex Murphy back

[Hipolito]

I played Mean Streets, Under a Killing Moon, and Pandora Directive a long time ago, and especially enjoyed Pandora Directive. But I only recently tried Martian Memorandum (GOG version). After a few hours of it, I think I'll stop. I'm fine with how the game looks and sounds, but the mouse movement is coarse and the function key-based menu is clunky. The story isn't grabbing me. Not sure this game is worth the trouble. One thing I like is that there's an in-game hint system so you won't miss anything.

I haven't bothered to play Overseer since it's a retelling of Mean Streets. From a few YouTube videos I've seen of it, it looks fun. But I'll probably skip to Tesla Effect.

[Anonymous Bosch]

I played Mean Streets, Under a Killing Moon, and Pandora Directive a long time ago, and especially enjoyed Pandora Directive. But I only recently tried Martian Memorandum (GOG version). After a few hours of it, I think I'll stop. I'm fine with how the game looks and sounds, but the mouse movement is coarse and the function key-based menu is clunky. The story isn't grabbing me. Not sure this game is worth the trouble. One thing I like is that there's an in-game hint system so you won't miss anything.

I haven't bothered to play Overseer since it's a retelling of Mean Streets. From a few YouTube videos I've seen of it, it looks fun. But I'll probably skip to Tesla Effect.

If you're in the mood for some well-produced FMV games, I'd suggest Her Story and The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker (a nifty Lovecraftian murder mystery FMV game).

[Hipolito]

Thanks for the recommendations. I've played Her Story but Doctor Dekker is new to me.

Another FMV detective game on my buy list is The Shapeshifting Detective.

[Anonymous Bosch]

Thanks for the recommendations. I've played Her Story but Doctor Dekker is new to me.

Another FMV detective game on my buy list is The Shapeshifting Detective.

The Shapeshifting Detective actually comes from the same developer as The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker (though I haven't yet played the former). I thought they did a surprisingly good job with The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker though, at least in terms of casting decent actors, writing good dialogue, and the use of real sets (i.e. a far cry from the vast majority of FMV games of yore).