Never played Tex Murphy.. Where to start?

I'll let you choose:

Under A Killing Moon starts each day with a jazzy tune, is funny and has a good detective feel to its story.

Pandora Directive is more dark in tone than UAKM, but has a great story and branching paths (7 different endings).

Tex Murphy: Overseer is a retelling of Tex's first case (Mean Streets). Also featuring great storytelling and detective feel, it's possibly the most cinematic to date. Its ending has left us Tex fans wanting more Tex for 14 years too. On a personal note, it's also the game that introduced me to the series.

I hope that helps you better decide which game is right for you. And, if you have any more questions, I'll be around.

Hammerhead

jazzmeister wrote:Hi!

Im new here and I have never played Tex Murphy games.
I love old Sierra and LucasArts adventure games, but I have missed this serie completely.

I watched the kickstarter trailer and was impressed.
FMV game in 2012?! That's insane! (in a positive way)
It seems that these guys know what they are doing. I love film noir and jazz, so the style of this game appeals to me. I will pledge 15$, that's for sure and I might do a much bigger pledge if I like this serie.

So.. trying out one of the old ones..
Which one would you recommend for a first timer?
Are there deaths/unwinnable situations? (just to know if I should go "save early, save often")

Thanks!

Yes! There are deaths in the games...since Overseer is a retelling of Mean Streets, it was clever of them applying those differently, hearing what Tex had to say when you did die or do something wrong!

The Pandora Directive was my personal introduction into Tex Murphy...it's my personal favorite because I was really into X-Files back in the 90s

I think Pandora is a good introduction. It was my first.

jazzmeister, how about an original demo for one of the games? That got me hooked instantly!

I got the demo for Under a Killing Moon, kindly hosted by Chris M. You'll need 7zip to open the .7z's, and the .txt has directions.

http://209.59.150.117/~texmu125/moondemo/C40VID.7z
http://209.59.150.117/~texmu125/moondemo/DISK1.7z
http://209.59.150.117/~texmu125/moondemo/HOWTODOIT.txt

You can use DOSBOXto run them or maybe a computer that can handle DOS if you have one. If you need any help, just ask me!

You can save the games at most places throughout, so the deaths and unwinnable situations don't ending up coming to much. I'd start with UAKM because of chronology reasons, and because it eases you into the world of Tex Murphy, and then you go into the other games without feeling like you've taken a step backwards (in time and in seriousness -- UAKM has a lot more silliness).

No love for Mean Streets and Martian Memorandum? I do enjoy those as well. Admittedly they are less deep than the later titles, which I attribute in part to the series finding its legs (and Aaron Conners) and in part to technological limitations. However, I do love how the mutants in the first two games look more outlandish than in the FMV games. Martian Memorandum is the one closest to old Sierra and Lucasarts adventures in terms of gameplay. It also has the biggest dead end possibility in the entire series. Hint: find the weapon on the murder scene before you take the long ride.

So personally, I would recommend the first two games as well, if you are the kind of person who can enjoy old games regardless of their limitations.

I agree, Crowley, if you really like the old style games. But if you want the noir stuff, that's much more in the FMV games.

I would go with Pandora. It's my personal favourite, and the one most likely to convince you to give more money

I imagine Pandora will also have the most in common with the new game, in terms of tone, puzzling and storytelling. Though I'm guessing the ways to follow the different narrative paths will be less obscure than they were in Pandora.

How lucky to get to be playing Tex Murphy games for the first time! Your in for a treat. All good points from the board though some maybe given from personal experiences and favourites. If you are completely new to Tex gamer, objectively I would have to say UAKM is the perfect introduction as its the first of the true FMV games. As Jerry Dan said it will make sense chronologically and also you can appreciate the progression of the technology and gameplay as well as the story which will lead you right up to Project Fedora. As for MS and MM I think at this stage they are better appreciated once you have a real feel and affection for the Tex universe and go back and take your time with them and marvel at what was done with the minimal resources. Also adding more richness and back story to your experience this way round. This is coming from someone who actually played all of them in order which I think is fairly rare. Honestly from what I can remember when I wanted to share the games with people when they were originally out, I always gave away copies of Under a Killing Moon. Just my two cents but in general you can't really go wrong with TEX! (But go play UAKM )

Crowley wrote:No love for Mean Streets and Martian Memorandum? I do enjoy those as well.

I wouldn't recommend them to a newcomer. Mean Streets was impressive and ambitious in its day, but has aged like bread. Martian Memorandum is still pretty playable, but won't knock anyone's socks off.

I'd start with Under a Killing Moon, because it was almost a reboot for the series, and, along with Pandora Directive, probably gives the best picture of what they want to do with the new game. It's also my personal favorite, with Pandora close behind.

Oh yeah, and yes the games have death, but the later ones don't have dead-ends, so save often, but you can overwrite saves.

Although I started with PD (only because I couldn't get the video on UAKM to work on my system), I recommend starting with UAKM. It is a good introduction to Tex and is the basis for the other games.

I think MS and MM are interesting, but mainly for the back story/nostalga factor once you're hooked on Tex.

So, I would play them like this: UAKM, PD, then OS. Then, if you just can't get enough Tex MS and MM.

UAKM it is, just got it from gog!
Thanks for the recommendations!

Finished UAKM and loved it! Pandora Directive is next on the list.
I will definitely up my pledge quite a bit, I really want to see Project Fedora happen!

Thanks for everyone!
I still can't believe I have missed this gem!

Welcome jazzmeister! You are going to love Pandora.