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Topic: 5 reasons why TPD is inferior to UAKM

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All Forums : [Adventure Games Forum] : Adventure Game Discussion > 5 reasons why TPD is inferior to UAKM

#1 30 OCT 2005 at 7:49am
The_cranky_hermit Private Detective Posts : 547 Joined: 14 MAR 2004 Status : Online	Before I get started, I just want to make it clear that I believe The Pandora Directive is a VERY worthy adventure game, but not worthy of being considered the best of the Tex Murphy series, as it often is. Under a Killing Moon easily gets on my personal top 50 AG list, and TPD does not. 5: Uneven acting UAKM had the emphasis on "fun" the entire time, and never really called for masterful acting. The plot, dialog, and atmosphere are all very silly, all of the actors ham it up appropriately, especially Chris Jones as Tex, and they all seem to have a great time doing it. James Earl Jones is an absolute riot as the god of PI's, who gives Tex ludicrous instructions like "Rule #47: Don't walk into electrified force fields" without cracking up. TPD, on the other hand, has a much darker and more serious tone. Furthermore, the quality of acting has gone up, but sporadically. This time around, several well-known Hollywood actors appear, including Kevin McCarthy of Invasion of the Body Snatchers fame. Perhaps more importantly, Chris Jones comes across as competent, confident, and mature; a far cry from his goofy portrayal of Tex in UAKM, self-described as "a combination of Sam Spade, Rick Blaine, and Inspector Clouseau." This would all be fine, except that the rest of the returning actors, STILL can't act, neither can about half of the new actors, and the fact that their dialogue no longer lends itself so well to hamminess doesn't help. Chelsee Bando's actress in particular sounds like a typical actress you'd hire to re-dub obscene dialogue for network TV runs. The result is you have a cool and collected Tex offering information to a particularly unenthusiastic news reporter, getting intimidated by a G-Man who would rather be playing solitaire, and trying to explain that a ninja clubbed him to a girlfriend who goes from irritated to ballistic to understanding and back to ballistic without any apparant transitions. 4: The slider puzzles UAKM's slider puzzles weren't terribly varied; most of them involved putting a torn-up letter together. But they were pretty fun to do, because you could use the words as guides on which pieces go together as well as the shape, and the letters always produced evidence that was interesting to read, and usually useful both immediately and later on. TPD has fewer puzzles involving torn letters, but asider from the photo, they really suck. The threat note has large and uneven handwriting, making the writing on the paper far less useful as a guide for assembling. The punched-out passcode is a number on a piece of paper, with lots of holes punched out, and putting it together consists of taking each punch-out, putting it in a hole, turning it until it either looks right or turns all the way, and then trying a different hole until you find the right one. Other puzzles are more varied, but most are frustratingly reliant on trial and error, and/or obscure clues. To make things worse, if you care about scoring points, the bulk of the points scored in this game come from "puzzle bonus points." You get these by setting the difficulty to "Game Players mode," and then solving the puzzles within a certain amount of time, or within a certain number of moves. Solving the timed puzzles fast enough to score any points at all is nearly impossible, and getting the minimum number of moves for the others is only possible if you know the solution ahead of time. 3: The plot and setting are uninspired. The plot and setting of UAKM was actually pretty innovative, combining Bogart-style detective movie elements with various sci-fi stories, mainly Blade Runner, The Terminator, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The frequent references to classic Bogart films are greatly appreciated, too. The plot of TPD just feels like it was written from a frequently used X-Files skeleton script, and there are more references to Star Trek than film noir. A very long stretch of the game takes place in Roswell, and you get stalked by an "alien" that strangely reminds me of Ghostwriter (yeah, that kid's show on PBS). 2: The multiple endings don't work. TPD features six (often incorrectly reported as seven) different endings, accessed through three different "paths" through the game. Unfortunately, these "paths" have almost zero effect on the actual gameplay, which means that in order to see all the endings, you need to play through the entire game three times, some parts of it more often than that, and it will be exactly the same each time, aside from a small number of cut-scenes, virtually all of them in the first half of the game. The game claims that these paths are chosen by your general actions and dialogue choices, but that's total crap. The initial path is chosen by a single early dialogue session, and for two of the three paths, there are almost no opportunities to change. The third path, the "good" one, gives you plenty of opportunities to lose it, and you can easily lose it without realizing it until the end of the game, and without knowing what you did to lose it. I'll type up #1 later. I already typed it, but the message board system told me my post was too long, and threw it out with the bathwater.
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#2 30 OCT 2005 at 10:14am
Deleted User	*Originally Posted By The_cranky_hermit (30 OCT 2005 7:49am)* 5: Uneven acting The acting was okay IMO and didn't bother me at all. Chelsee Bando's actress in particular sounds like a typical actress you'd hire to re-dub obscene dialogue for network TV runs. I look at that sneer and simply don't know what you're talking about. You mean her voiceacting is too seductive or sexy?? [Mental note to self: listen to dubbed obscene dialogues on Dutch tv.] 4: The inventory puzzles ...most of them involved putting a torn-up letter together. Nonsense. This kind of absurd statement is totally unconvincing, to put it mildly. I remember two torn-up messages, were there more? And I would never call them "inventory puzzles", even if you can take the puzzle with you. Inventory puzzles involve using objects on other objects and there were loads of them in all of the Tex Murphy games. 3: The plot and setting are uninspired. Well, personally I thought the plot was much better than the utterly unbelievable UAKM plot. 2: The multiple endings don't work. ...unfortunately, these "paths" have almost zero effect on the actual gameplay, which means that in order to see all the endings, you need to play through the entire game three times, some parts of it more often than that, and it will be exactly the same each time, aside from a small number of cut-scenes, virtually all of them in the first half of the game. The game claims that these paths are chosen by your general actions and dialogue choices, but that's total crap. The initial path is chosen by a single early dialogue session, and for two of the three paths, there are almost no opportunities to change. How do you know all that? How many times have you played the game or tried different routes from a saved game?

#3 30 OCT 2005 at 5:01pm
jalex Schattenjger Posts : 2503 Joined: 5 MAR 2003 Status : Offline	Well I have played both of those games many times and I wouldn't put it that way. I think they were both great games and had many good ideas that seem to have been forgotten in games today. I would say that both were exilent games and both had plenty of humor. I thought the multipal ending was a great idea and they did a great job setting the triger points. I played though all the endings too and if it hadn't had them I might not have replayed it. Another point you missed was the puzzles could be skipped and that was a great idea too. This way I got to enjoy it the first time through. The second time I played it I didn't skip any of them and enjoyed it as much as the fist time. The hint system was the best I have ever seen in any game as well and it alowed gamers of any skill level to play it without a walkthrough. Both of these games were two of the greatest games ever created to date in my book.
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#4 30 OCT 2005 at 7:52pm
The_cranky_hermit Private Detective Posts : 547 Joined: 14 MAR 2004 Status : Online	*Originally Posted By Betje (30 OCT 2005 10:13am)* I look at that sneer and simply don't know what you're talking about. You mean her voiceacting is too seductive or sexy?? [Mental note to self: listen to dubbed obscene dialogues on Dutch tv.] No, that's not what I mean. When an R-rated movie is shown on network TV, lines of dialogue are often replaced with tamer ones (Scarface is notorious for this). Typically, the new lines are re-dubbed by people who have no acting skill whatsoever, and don't sound anything like the originals. When I typed that line, I actually was specifically thinking of TV runs of The Terminator, and re-dubbed lines of The Terminator. *Originally Posted By Betje (30 OCT 2005 10:13am)* Nonsense. This kind of absurd statement is totally unconvincing, to put it mildly. I remember two torn-up messages, were there more? Yes, there were more. But you don't understand me, I'm just talking about puzzles that result from "examining" objects, and getting a close-up on them. *Originally Posted By Betje (30 OCT 2005 10:13am)* Well, personally I thought the plot was much better than the utterly unbelievable UAKM plot. You missed my point. UAKM's atmosphere doesn't demand a believable plot. TPD does. You might as well say that Phantasmagoria had a more believable plot than Day of the Tentacle. How do you know all that? After playing it through the first time and getting the clown ending despite trying to get the best one, and having no idea what I did wrong, I decided I would rather resort to walkthroughs than replay the game an indefinite number of times just to find it by chance. I also found a cheat code that shows you the path you're on. Turns out, not chosing the right options in the very first dialogue of the game automatically and permanently bars you from Mission Street.
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#5 30 OCT 2005 at 8:15pm
The_cranky_hermit Private Detective Posts : 547 Joined: 14 MAR 2004 Status : Online	1: It's just not as much fun. A good part of this has to do with the “multiple endings.” In UAKM, you could pick dialogue options based on what you thought would result in the most amusing response, true to the spirit of LucasArts games. Thanks to the multiple endings, if you don't know ahead of time which dialogues trigger path changes, you have to worry about how your choices affect which ending you get. It goes from “what do I want to say?” to “what would Mission Street Tex say?” But the reduction of fun is hardly limited to that. Many of the colorful and varied residents of Chandler Street are gone, and others have changed for the worse. My former favorite resident, Rook, used to be a delightfully cranky old coot. Now he's just nasty and spiteful. Another thing about UAKM I loved was that examing just about anything usually resulted in a funny remark or gag. These are few and far between in TPD, now you usually just get an observant description from Tex. Even the chapter intertitles were more fun in UAKM. Seeing monolithic text in front of swirling fog with ambient wind chimes in TPD made me want to load up UAKM again just to see the words “Day 1: Cuffing up Flemm” swerve onto the screen to the beat of jazzy intermission music. For that matter, I also liked the way UAKM started you off with a simple robbery case, rather than thrusting you into the main plot from the beginning, as TPD does. And perhaps this couldn't be helped, but I REALLY missed the “Big PI in the Sky.” In UAKM, I would deliberately walk into killer droids just to hear what he had to say. In TPD, I would just get angry each time I got killed by timed event after timed event.
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#6 30 OCT 2005 at 9:20pm
Reckless Journeyman Posts : 962 Joined: 14 NOV 2002 Status : Online	I really must add all of the Tex games to the 'replay list'. Only played UAKM and TPD when they were originally released. My machine was not so great and now might yeild a better experience - even under DOSBox. Also it was a long time ago so my squish has almost certainly declared the experience as worthless and removed it from chemical store I remember both games were good! [url=http://leisuresuitlarry.dyndns.org/]Leisure Suit Larry Archive Site[/url]&&[url=http://www.adamhearn.co.uk]Hearn Garage[/url]
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#7 30 OCT 2005 at 9:30pm
The_cranky_hermit Private Detective Posts : 547 Joined: 14 MAR 2004 Status : Online	*Originally Posted By Reckless (30 OCT 2005 9:20pm)* Only played UAKM and TPD when they were originally released. My machine was not so great and now might yeild a better experience - even under DOSBox. I wouldn't count on it. On my 2.4Ghz Pentium 4, UAKM is only playable on low details settings (though the cut-scenes run flawlessly), and TPD is unplayable at any detail settings, plus the cut-scenes are choppy. I did, however, manage to get TPD running pretty well with VDMSound, but I had to do some fairly extensive tweaking and config file editting, because the game crashed at the setup screens.
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#8 30 OCT 2005 at 10:06pm
Jenny100 Guild Master Posts : 3510 Joined: 12 OCT 2002 Status : Offline	*Originally Posted By The_cranky_hermit (30 OCT 2005 9:30pm)* I did, however, manage to get TPD running pretty well with VDMSound, but I had to do some fairly extensive tweaking and config file editting, because the game crashed at the setup screens. Wasn't this something that also happened if you tried to run the Setup in Win 95 or 98? Didn't you have to reboot to DOS mode to run the Sound Setup (even though you could play the game in Windows once the Sound Setup was fixed)?
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#9 30 OCT 2005 at 10:35pm
caktus Intergalactic Janitor Posts : 44 Joined: 2 APR 2005 Status : Online	Hi. I love Tex Murphy games so much that I really don't care which is best. I even replay Overseer (specially since it's the ONLY one of the Tex games any of my computers will play now!) and I think that one was really a little inferior. I only feel TPD is slightly better because it's longer and harder. I miss those gems so much! New technology sometimes sucks really hard. [smiley=furious.gif]
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#10 31 OCT 2005 at 5:31am
Deleted User	*Originally Posted By The_cranky_hermit (30 OCT 2005 7:52pm)* No, that's not what I mean. When an R-rated movie is shown on network TV, lines of dialogue are often replaced with tamer ones... Wow, that was very enlightening! The American way of life never fails to amaze me. We don't have dubbing like that over here. But you don't understand me, I'm just talking about puzzles that result from "examining" objects, and getting a close-up on them. Then don't call them inventory puzzles. You missed my point. It's quite possible that I'm missing your point. But I still disagree. I felt the entire UaKM plot jarred, regardless of the "atmosphere". PS: Rook stands out in my memory as the one awful actor of the lot.

#11 31 OCT 2005 at 5:40am
MichalN Grand Inquisitor Posts : 7058 Joined: 14 SEP 2003 Status : Online	*Originally Posted By Betje (31 OCT 2005 5:31am)* Wow, that was very enlightening! The American way of life never fails to amaze me. We don't have dubbing like that over here. Maybe because it'd be called censoring I don't normally watch TV, but once I accidentally saw Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back on TV. It wasn't re-dubbed, there were just lots of cuts and many bleeps. I thought that actually added to the comic effect, because it was not hard at all to figure out which swear word was supposed to have been there. I would call that an exercise in futility, but it apparently makes some people happy for some inexplicable reason. I forgot my sig.
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#12 31 OCT 2005 at 8:21am
The_cranky_hermit Private Detective Posts : 547 Joined: 14 MAR 2004 Status : Online	*Originally Posted By Betje (31 OCT 2005 5:31am)* Wow, that was very enlightening! The American way of life never fails to amaze me. We don't have dubbing like that over here. It's actually a law, not a social standard. The FCC forbids "obscenity" and "profanity" on public broadcasting, though commercial cable lines can carry whatever they like. Also, "obscenity" and "profanity" are not very clearly defined; back when these laws were formed, using words like "crap" and "damn" over the air would have gotten you a fine. Nowadays you hear those words on Nickelodeon.
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#13 31 OCT 2005 at 8:57am
Deleted User	*Originally Posted By MichalN (31 OCT 2005 5:39am)* Maybe because it'd be called censoring I don't normally watch TV, but once I accidentally saw Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back on TV. It wasn't re-dubbed, there were just lots of cuts and many bleeps. I thought that actually added to the comic effect, because it was not hard at all to figure out which swear word was supposed to have been there. I would call that an exercise in futility, but it apparently makes some people happy for some inexplicable reason. Yeah, the American bleeps are familiar. I remember the Jerry Springer show, complete with bleeps. One bleep after another in fact. My fascination with the exhibitionism soon turned to disgust and I stopped watching. Don't know if we import re-dubbed stuff, if we do I haven't seen it. I guess I don't miss much. :

#14 31 OCT 2005 at 11:24am
Reckless Journeyman Posts : 962 Joined: 14 NOV 2002 Status : Online	*Originally Posted By Betje (31 OCT 2005 5:31am)* Wow, that was very enlightening! The American way of life never fails to amaze me. We don't have dubbing like that over here. Just picking up on this point... I remember ITV (one of the UK's commercial TV stations) showing Robocop some years back and they brutally re-dubbed the film. It was SO bad! A scene where an armed man's attempt at robbing a store is foiled by Robo had his dialogue of 'f... me' (repeating) was replaced by 'why me'. It wasn't even recorded to the same 'quality' Why bother eh?! People who'd want to watch the film would most likely want to because of its extremeness. [url=http://leisuresuitlarry.dyndns.org/]Leisure Suit Larry Archive Site[/url]&&[url=http://www.adamhearn.co.uk]Hearn Garage[/url]
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#15 5 NOV 2005 at 11:14pm
Reckless Journeyman Posts : 962 Joined: 14 NOV 2002 Status : Online	*Originally Posted By The_cranky_hermit (30 OCT 2005 9:30pm)* I wouldn't count on it. On my 2.4Ghz Pentium 4, UAKM is only playable on low details settings (though the cut-scenes run flawlessly) Installed UAKM this evening and it runs very well Using DOSBox 0.63 CVS build with OpenGL & D3D output modes. I'm using the Gravis Ultrasound device for sound, the game set to full detail and I can run fullscreen for movement mode with pretty smooth playback I've only got a 2Ghz CPU as well [url=http://leisuresuitlarry.dyndns.org/]Leisure Suit Larry Archive Site[/url]&&[url=http://www.adamhearn.co.uk]Hearn Garage[/url]
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Topic: 5 reasons why TPD is inferior to UAKM

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