Video games - Tex Murphy: Overseer

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	Video games - Tex Murphy: Overseer

Tex Murphy: Overseer (1998) is the 5th installment in the Tex Murphy series of adventure games for the PC. In it, you play Tex Murphy, Private Investigator as he recounts the story of his first case to his girlfriend, Chelsee Bando. Overseer combined the use of Full Motion Video (FMV) with 3D environments.

Setting

Like all Tex Murphy games, Tex Murphy: Overseer takes place in post-World War III San Francisco. After the devestating events of WWIII, many major cities have been rebuilt (as is the case with New San Francisco), though certain areas still remain as they were before the war (as in Old San Francisco). WWIII also left another mark on the world: the formation of two classes of citizens. Specifically, the Mutants and the Norms. Since Overseer is told as a series of flashbacks, it actually takes place in two different time frames. The current year is 2043, shortly after the events of The Pandora Directive and as such tensions between the Mutants and Norms have begun to die down. However, the flashbacks take place in November 2037. The Crusade for Genetic Purity is beginning to gain momentum, and tensions are building between the two groups. The Mutants are usually forced to live in the run-down areas of cities such as Old San Francisco. Tex lives in his new apartment on Front St. in New San Francisco. He has just been kicked out of the Colonel's Detective Agency for reporting the Colonel's unethical practices, and has now gone into business on his own.

Plot

Tex Murphy: Overseer starts out with Tex going on a date with Chelsee Bando. Worrying about Tex's ability to commit to a relationship, she confronts him about how he still wears his wedding ring from his ex-wife, Sylvia Linsky. This leads Tex to recount the story of his first case. Tex is hired by Sylvia Linsky to discover the truth behind her father's suicide. She believes he was actually murdered, but the police have already closed the case. With no one else to turn to, she goes to Tex for help. Tex becomes involved in a plot involving implants and mind control, and must do what he can to stop it, before it's too late. Tex Murphy: Overseer continues the Tex tradition of using some well-known actors to portray major characters, such as Michael York (Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery), Henry Darrow (The High Chapparal), and Clint Howard.

Gameplay

The Virtual World

Tex Murphy: Overseer is the third game in the Tex Murphy series to use virtual world technology. For Overseer, Access Software created a new virtual world engine designed for use in Windows 95/98. Along with the new engine came a slightly modified control system, which was not widely liked. Despite this, the virtual world still allowed for full freedom of movement and allowed you to search for clues in every corner, which by this point had become a staple of the Tex series.

Conversations

Tex Murphy: Overseer continued the use of the Tex series' unique method of dialogue selection. Instead of providing you with a list of responses showing the exact words that Tex will say, each dialogue choice is given an adequate description. Never knowing exactly what Tex will say when you select an option helped to keep the dialogue surprising, and often funny.

DVD or CD

Overseer was one of the first games to utilize DVD technology. The game came on 5 CDs or 1 DVD, packaged in the same box together. The advantage to the DVD version was the absence of any disc swapping and the higher quality video files used. Other than on those key points, gameplay remained identical in the two versions.

Entertainment or Gamer Modes

Overseer provided two difficulty settings: Entertainment mode and Gamer mode. On Entertainment mode, hints were available and you could bypass certain puzzles in the game. A total of 1500 points were available on Entertainment mode. In Gamer mode, no hints were available and puzzles could not be bypassed. However, you received bonus points if you solved certain puzzles within a set amount of time. A total of 4000 points were available on Gamer mode, though due to a glitch with one puzzle, only 3900 of these points are actually attainable. Unlike its predecessor, The Pandora Directive, Overseer didn't have any other changes to gameplay between the two modes.

Cast

Chris Jones as Tex Murphy
Michael York as J. Saint Gideon
Rebecca Broussard as Sylvia Linsky
Henry Darrow as Sonny Fletcher
Richard Norton as Big Jim Slade
Clint Howard as Larry Hammond
Suzanne Barnes as Chelsee Bando
Joe Estevez as John Klaus
Roger Davis as Robert Knott
Silvanna Gallardo as Eve Clements
Monique Lanier as Wanda Peck
Howard Mungo as Arnold Sternwood
Emmett Grennan as Jorge Valdez
Micaela Nelligan as Delores Lightbody
John Gavigan as Frank Schimming
Jim Cash as Harry Rice
Aaron Conners as Greg Call
Ron Ross as Carl Linsky
Doug Vandegrift as Bosworth Clark
Kevin L. Jones as Mac Malden
Adrian Carr as Dalton

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