Tex Murphy: Mean Streets

Story wise, this game can still hold its ground. Gameplay wise, this game is ridiculously dated (as expected from such an old game). If you are willing to overlook the old graphics/gameplay and probably play with a guide, this is probably still worth playing. This is a game that spawned 5 more games in the series over time (though most are quite old).

[b]TLDR[/b] A noir detective adventure with amusing camp and varied ideas, undermined by frustrating action mechanics and clunky controls that didn’t age well. [8/20⭐, 11h🏅, 2/5💡] [b]Context[/b] Mean Streets is a 1989 post-apocalyptic neo-noir game where you play as a private investigator looking into a series of suspicious scientist deaths. Although fundamentally a graphic adventure, it mixes in several action-oriented mechanics which, while ambitious for the time, are so poorly executed that they turn the game into a frustrating experience (not the only [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/macwh/recommended/32310/]offender[/url] from that year). [b]Writing[/b] You are hired by the daughter of a scientist presumed to have committed suicide. As you begin following leads, you discover that other scientists connected to the same project have suffered similarly suspicious fates, eventually uncovering a larger conspiracy. Most interactions take place through interrogations with NPCs, and the dialogue is written in an exaggerated, almost campy manner. Whether this is an intentional parody of B-movies or simply an unintentional product of the era, I genuinely couldn’t tell, but I found…

It's a classic. You have to figure out what you're doing. No tutorial. Just a manual to read. I love it.

An amazing detective game for 1989 with some experimental features that don't seem to fit (but aren't a problem). Wow. I can't believe how good this game is for coming out in 1989. It's an amazing detective game that is one of the most true to real detective work I have ever played. Yes, it has a strange flight simulator travel option that makes no sense being in the game, but you can just use autopilot and forget about it. While it probably went on a little too long (thanks partially to the real-time travel), it is quite the feat for the 1980s. The Positives: -I got this series for its FMV games that I didn't know came later in the series. When I booted this up, I didn't expect a 1980s game taking me back to the old days of computing with NES-like text and VGA graphics, but there I was playing the game and finding that it was fun for what it was with the little pictures of the characters and interactions to get the next clue to continue the investigation. It is not what I expected, but it is a fun adventure game with animations pre-dating FMV games (and a Drakkhen-like world map you navigate—I love Drakkhen for no logical reason). -This is the most realistic detective game I'v…

wow! just seven more years till we have flying cars with fax machines!!!

This is totally fine if you want to play an actual relic. I don't mean that in a negative way, but just to illustrate how primitive it is in comparison to even the other games in its own series. Also, this is mostly a flight/driving simulator - think Decker's vehicle from Blade Runner. There is a game here, but the vast majority of what I played in my short-time was flight sim and navigation. I bought this series, as a whole, more for the FMV element, which is prominent in the four other games that came after this one. Also, I was told that the final game in the series is essentially a remake of this one, and much better.