Tex Murphy: Under a Killing Moon

I really wanted to enjoy that one. I really did. Especially because this game is considered to be cult classic by adventure game fans. It's not that the graphics are bad. Back in 1994 it definitely was impressive (please remember that at that time most of 3D games were sprite based: Wolfenstein, Doom, Blood). Controls were awkward but I got used to them quite quickly. Next thing I faced was Looney Tunes kind of humor used in this game - to give you example: some character ruining through wall leaving hole in shape of his body ... You get the picture). I prefer more subtle or more absurd kind of humor but well, it didn't bother me that much. But ... here comes another thing ... acting. In contrast to general opinion I think it was bad, especially female cast. Oh well, this is not some AAA Hollywood flick so it's fine ... I guess. As for the puzzles ... I got really annoyed by searching through drawers over and over again. Also how the heck did they manage to squeeze pixel hunting into first perspective 3d game ??? Still I could live with all things mentioned above (and still give the game 5 star rating) if the ploy was really good. But it was so-so. No real twists, straightforward ending, flat characters (especially female ones). On plus side the game had great setting (post-apocalyptic world with mutants, racial segregation and noir type detective in the middle of all this)

Having been sorely disappointed by the first two games in the series (I found the user experience really burdensome, and the wasted time/fiddly mechanics simply pushed me away from them). This however, is a really enjoyable adventure. It's effectively a point and click adventure with 3D environments to explore. The movement/exploration is still a bit awkward (not nearly as bad as the early games), but the puzzles are nice, the acting and writing manage to create several genuinely funny moments, and for the most part it avoids the pitfalls of its predecessors. The puzzles are usually not too obtuse, and the game also provides a built-in hint system, to ease the bumps in difficulty. Not everything is perfect, and some of the gameplay which involves the 3D environment can be annoying, but overall the gameplay gets a positive rating from me. The interface is not perfect, but the cast of actors is charming, and I fould myself looking forward to hearing more one-liners coming from Tex, or meeting the next "weirdo" to advance the plot. The story is more than a little absurd, but since the tone is often humorous, and the actual story beats not contrived for the most part (and when they are, it feels tongue in cheek, so it doesn't feel like you are being lead on), it manages to entertain for its entire duration. The midi music is good (especially if you set up Roland emulation) with a handful of brilliant tunes. The voices are clear enough, and overall the sound department doesn't have any glaring flaws. All in all, I am glad I gave this one a try, despite not liking the first two games in the series, It's an old game, with some questionable UI choices, but if you can get past it, you can find a funny, and interesting world with a goofy yet charming story to tell.

Un jeu FMV/point and click de très bonne qualité. Bonne histoire, bon background, personnage attachant le tout dans une ambiance mélant policier noire, cyberpunk et série B voir Z. C'est à la fois surjoué et juste, le jeu possède une atmosphère unique, spéciale et très intéressante. Personne ne se prend au sérieux, on rigole souvent mais sans se foutre du monde, ni tomber dans le lourdingue. L'enquête se dévoile peu à peu, et va assez loin (dans l'espace même lol, mais shhhut, pas de spoiler ;) ) Donc un très bon jeu me direz vous, oui mais.... Car il y a un mais et un TRES gros mais. Les déplacements sont limites injouables car la rotation gauche/droite est ultra mal réglée. Et pas du genre une ou deux fois trop, mais plus de l'ordre de 10 fois trop. Le moindre mouvement de la souris vars la droite ou la gauche et notre caméra fait demi tour voir plus. Les rotations gauches/droites sont ULTRA ULTRA trop sensibles. J'ai réussi à jouer en baissant la sensibilité de ma souris au max et c'était encore limite limite et dans le même coup regarder en haut ou en bas devenait vraiement lourd. Faut le savoir avant de se lancer. Je ne sais pas s'il existe de manip ou de mod pour corriger le problème. C'est dommage car sinon le jeu est une pure merveille.

Loved it since Christmas 1994!

A game that in no way shape or form takes itself serious. If you do the same you will have a blast.