The Tex Murphy series of games remains one of the longest running of all time. Spanning since the late 80's, it has become the standard for adventure games ever since it first brought PC Speaker sound to Tex Murphy's debut in Mean Streets. After Mean Streets, The Martian Memorandum was released in 1991 using very early video capture techniques and supporting the then new Sound Blaster. A few years later, Under A Killing Moon (UAKM) came out using the first 3D-adventure exploration and conversations completely in video. The Pandora Directive came out almost on UAKM's heels, but featured a full Hollywood movie director calling the shots and a more epic story line. Again Tex Murphy, a.k.a. Chris Jones, vice president of Access, is called upon to save the world. The thing that set Tex Murphy apart from the other graphic adventure games, which almost were a dime a dozen in the early 90's, was a good sense of humor. Mixing occasional sight gags and a lot of funny dialogue, Tex never gets too serious for his own good.

Tex Murphy: Overseer is in many ways a remake of Mean Streets, the first Tex adventure. Much of the game's plot is a flashback to Tex's first case that he is describing while on a date. You take on the case of Carl Lynski's death, a scientist who may or not have committed suicide. The game moves from there to reveal a plot to take control of the world. Much of the game occurs in the form of interviews with numerous characters that slowly allow you to piece together what's happening. The game moves from location to location with good logic and originality. The places you explore range from a remote desert ruin to Alcatraz. The plot builds and builds with an assortment of action sequences and twists that end with an original, but somewhat bland, climax. I can tell veteran players of the series that the climax won't shock you as much as the actual end of the game does.

Since UAKM, the Tex Murphy series has always included a few Hollywood names, ranging from the late Brian Keith to Barry Corbin. This time the game brings in Michael York (Logan's Run and Austin Powers) and Henry Darrow to take up roles in the game. York gives one of best performances in the game in the role of the J. Saint Gideon, a reclusive billionaire and president of Gideon Enterprises and former employer of Carl Lynski. Chris Jones' performance in the role of Tex Murphy has matured since Under A Killing Moon. It is interesting to watch him match his talent with Michael York and other long-time acting veterans. Every performance in the game is movie quality and the pro editing/directing work of Adrian Carr can be seen quite easily.

Most of the multimedia elements in the game are on par or a bit above. The CD-ROM version's movie segments are compressed using the Smacker Video Format. The frame rate is a bit low (somewhere around 12 FPS), but it does the job. The DVD's movie segments are all in the new MPEG-2 compression format that has superior video quality to VHS or Laserdisc picture quality and feature CD quality Dolby Surround Sound that can make the game more movie like.

The new interface in Overseer replaces the more basic one used in UAKM and The Pandora Directive. Veterans will find it a bit difficult to get used to it, but all the original controls are there with a much larger 3D viewing area. This allows for movement and interaction with the environment without switching between the two as required in past Tex games. The original tools (travel bar, inventory, save/load, and movement) have all been placed into drop-down menus. This type of interface takes some time to figure out, but makes movement easier.

The major problem I have with Overseer is its sloppy 3D engine. While the rooms are much more detailed compared to the original Virtual World engine, they now suck up most of your CPU time, while giving you 1-5 FPS movement. The game also lacks good 3D support, with only a handful of cards supported and, even then, only through patches that must be downloaded. Objects are easy to make out, and the texture quality is generally good, but it just doesn't deliver a decent frame rate or movement. What you get is a very choppy, somewhat sub-par, exploration of locations.

The sound for the game is pretty good. The MIDI music always lends to the different moods set in the locations and during the movie segments. The sound effects in the different 3D rooms are pretty basic. More important than that, the game's 3D sound has a way of causing problems that can crash the game completely.

Another thing that Access has always done in their adventure titles is to include a number of helpful features that can lessen problems in the game. One of these features is that the game can be recovered completely after a crash or accidental reboot, a very nice feature with occasional bugs in Overseer. Another is the online hint system. Anytime during the game, you can get a hint or clue as to what you need to do next. There is a minor point subtraction for each clue you're given, but there is no way that you will be wandering from location to location for days wondering what to do.

Overseer isn't great, but it isn't bad either. Its overall attention to story and acting quality comes across well, but the 3D engine needs a bit of work, as it now makes movement through the game feel more like playing Myst than a Tex Murphy game. I was forced to call Access' tech support number twice to help resolve some minor issues with the game. It does have its problems, but a lot of good game play makes Overseer worthwhile.

System Requirements: Pentium 133, 16 MB RAM, 4X CD-ROM, 35 MB of disk space, 16-bit Sound Card, Mouse/Keyboard/Speakers, Video Card w/ 2 MB of RAM, and Windows 95, Assorted 3D Cards supported.

DVD-ROM Special Requirements: MPEG-2 decoder card or 233+ Pentium, 32 MB RAM

Tested on a: Intel Pentium 166, 32 MB RAM, 2X DVD-ROM/ 20X CD-ROM, Sound Blaster AWE64, 800x600 High Color (16-bit) color palette, a Microsoft mouse, and Windows 95 OSR2 w/ DirectX 5a