Tex Murphy: Overseer

I'm one of the lucky ones who stumbled upon the Tex Murphy adventure series and discovered a not so well known jewel. You can't beat Tex or the games, not even the early ones with bad graphics. But to those newbies who haven't yet had the privilege, do yourself a favor and play Overseer. Tex never looked better and Adrian Carr's direction polished the series to excellence. Besides Adrian, I don't know who I admire most, Aaron Connors or Chris Jones. I used to think Chris was the real Tex until I read the books. Aaron is the true 1940's detective but Chris is the humor. For a truly good story with character depth and an ambiance of mystery (even the music is good!), Overseer. You won't regret it; in fact, chances are, you'll become a 'Tex' addict too!

This is the third game of the series that follows exactly the same vein as its predecessors, Under The Killing Moon and The Pandora Directive of the mid '90s. The first two obscure games that introduced the character and the concept in the late/early '80s/'90s, underwent the technical limitations of the era, making it hard for their users to absorb the environment and the tale in all its essence. After that period's limitations of computing resources, like the ability to process graphics are gone, this series launched a new era of adventure games relying on the combination of Full Motion Video along with 3D graphics. The result is some impressive tales that stood the test of time.

The main Tex Murphy character is an old-fashioned goofy detective that is obliged to live in the 21st century where income and social inequalities raise issues that the conventional political spectrum is unable to confront efficiently. He started his detective career acting by the book, and later, ignoring all the established rules. He likes self-sarcasm, doing silly mistakes, and expresses inconsistent behaviour (this is also due to the capability the users have dictating his responses, while he communicates with other people). Even though his human vulnerabilities are abundant, he is very likeable as a character by the audience (game players) to an extent where the latter feel like living the story through his eyes, under intense feelings. This is part of the series success. The plot starts with Tex being hired to prove that a suicide is actually a homicide. He finds himself in between a ring of conspirators whose goal is the world domination with a far-right agenda.

What distinguishes this environment from other detective stories, is the similarity to the great Blade Runner dystopia. Remember, we have a post-apocalyptic era where social and income inequalities are dominant. The natural resources of the planet are almost depleted, and the rainy and dark environment is a stable factor that creates a film-noir mood. There are mutants that emerged from the WWIII and are considered by many as a by-product. Even the police department considers them of lower importance in its investigative duties.

You don't see many interactive movie games. I got hooked on the Tex Murphy series back in 1994 when "Under A Killing Moon" hit the shelves. Ever since I have loved the series; sad to see it be discontinued in 1999 due to lacking sales. They had planned on making at least another two games, oh well. In February 1998, when this game was first put out on the store shelves, I vividly remember its odd packaging. Every "Tex Murphy: Overseer" box was equipped with a battery-powered blinking red LED bulb. It was strange walking into the computer store to see a row of blinking red lights in the game section. After I bought my copy and brought it home to play, I tried in vain to disable the darn bulb. It blinked night and day for months, long after I beat the game. All in all, this is a great game series. If you can still buy copies of these Tex Murphy games, you will be in for a treat. It is money well spent as you will surely not tire of Tex's dry humor.

Video games are still not at the level of getting top Hollywood talent, so it comes as no surpise that the acting in Overseer will not win any Oscars. Still the game is downright entertaining. Chris Jones (who got the role by producing Under A Killing Moon for Access) does a good job in the title role. The cast around him is decent. Most notable is Clint Howard, who recently won the 1998 MTV Movie Awards Lifetime Achievement Award, in a bit part. Some of the dramatic moments are overdone and the acting will highlight that. The plot is an interesting one with Tex telling the story of his first case to his girlfriend. The story being told in flashback puts an interesting spin on the whole "you mess up and die" thing. Overall this would do as a pure B-movie shown late night on cable, but it's one of the ones you'd watch until it finished at 3 A.M.

I am a movie buff, but when it comes to "interactive movies" I do not compare them to normal cinema, because that isn't doing them both justice. A computer game has to be fun. Tex Murphy adventures are all fun. You will love the anti-hero tex Murphy, who doesn't take himself seriously, but still gets you involved in great told stories and solves them also. The overseer has some great dramatic scenes, which I do not see often in computer games. The humour in this Tex Murphy is as great as ever. You just have to see it, and when you do I know you will get hooked. It isn't that easy to get from one scene to the next one, there are a lot of puzzles to be solved, but when needed hints are provided, so it really makes you believe you are solving mysteries. So when people say the plot isn't that special, I can confirm that. But people forget that the experience on a computer is very different from watching a movie on the television. Even a b-movie type plot can be enjoyed as a oscar winning plot on the computer. "Overseer" delivers a great gaming experience with a very sympathetic Michael York. The graphics are beautiful. And if this adventure is being typecasted as a b-movie,so be it but "Overseer" (as the whole experience) is even better then most A-movies. Go play it!