Here's a game that consistently appears on many adventure gamers' 10 Best Lists. Do I agree that it deserves such lofty placement? You bet I do.

The fourth Tex Murphy game (and the second in the format created for Under a Killing Moon), The Pandora Directive describes the further adventures of a broken-down private detective named Tex Murphy, who lives in mid-21st Century San Francisco.

This is a post-WWIII San Francisco, and many of its citizens are mutants due to radiation damage. Some people are immune this plague, including lucky Tex. Actually, this premise was used more effectively in Under a Killing Moon; in this story it seems almost irrelevant. At any rate, as the story opens, Tex is met by a mysterious old stranger (played by the wonderful actor Kevin McCarthy) who wants Tex to find his friend, a scientist who has disappeared.

This leads Tex on a wild odyssey, investigating serial killers, government conspiracies, and the Roswell UFO incident. Like in Under a Killing Moon, the stakes are ultimately global (how does Tex get himself in these messes?).

Access Software kept virtually the same format for The Pandora Directive that they used for Under a Killing Moon, and this is a very good thing. The game play consists of two "modes"--movement and interaction. The movement mode is real-time rendered 3D, and it features absolutely complete freedom of movement. This is a great feature to have in a game in which you play a detective, because it allows total exploration of every environment. In the "interactive" mode, the screen is static and you can open doors, talk to characters, use inventory items, etc. The game is also filmed with video sequences using actors (but the game is not, as it's often frequently mistakenly referred to as, FMV).

One of my few complaints with Under a Killing Moon was the substandard acting in it. I've got to say that in The Pandora Directive, this situation is a bit improved. I mean, no one's going to win an Oscar here, but the acting doesn't as consistently stink up the joint as it did in the previous game. The cast includes Chris Jones (a bit improved here as Tex), Tanya Roberts (not as bad as you'd think), Kevin McCarthy, John Agar, and the always-excellent Barry Corbin.

For the most part, The Pandora Directive is like a beefed-up Under a Killing Moon. The game is huge, deep, and rich. In fact, it's one of the most generous adventures I've ever played, taking place over nine full days of investigating, any one of which could stand up to some of the anemically shorter adventures on my shelf. The game has two gameplay modes, "Entertainment" and "Game Players" mode. The first is easier, has fewer puzzles, and has online hints available; the second is harder, more jam-packed with puzzles, and has no hints.

We adventurers are always complaining about arbitrary puzzles in our games. Well, The Pandora Directive is a textbook case of getting this adventure game element right. The puzzles in this game are diverse, entertaining, challenging, and feel very organic to the plot. This is no inconsiderable feat, and it added greatly to my enjoyment of the game.

Unfortunately, there is one sequence of the game where this virtue is bafflingly abandoned. During the endgame you have to negotiate a series of puzzles and pitfalls in a Mayan tomb that would make Indiana Jones tired. The problem is these puzzle have nothing to do with the plot! They only happen because Tex decided to go through the temple to get to something on the other side, rather than negotiating the jungle to walk around the temple. This was a silly excuse to tack on a pile of (fun but) irrelevant puzzles.

The inventory system is elegant and practical, as is the ability to easily travel from one location to another.

The game does play across 6 CDs, and there is a fair amount of disk swapping. Here's another game that would greatly benefit from a DVD version.

The storyline of The Pandora Directive is extremely strong, as well. It actually sprawls so much you have to really concentrate to keep track of all the loose ends, but this is a good thing. Getting to explore the abandoned Roswell site was some of the most fun I've had in a game in a long time. In one particularly imaginative sequence at Roswell, you have to explore a series of contaminated areas with a remote-controlled flying toy!

One warning, however. Careful exploration is vital in this game. There are many important objects that are very easy to miss, and missing any one of them will bring the game to a complete halt. So make sure and go over every new environment with a fine-toothed comb, or you're in for some frustration.

I have one tiny complaint about the game's bad use of San Francisco geography. I know it's a standard thing that movies get wrong, too, but it does irritate me when the game needlessly makes mincemeat of the layout of the city. Two example include a view from Tex's neighborhood which is patently impossible (his office would have to be in Oakland to get this view), and another time Tex investigates a house "in the Mission District," even though the house is on the same street as the famous Steiner Queen Annes (which are nowhere near the Mission). But I'll admit this is a picayune quibble.

In an interesting attempt at building in replayability to The Pandora Directive, Access has added a new twist. You can play the story on three different tracks, called "Mission Street," "Lombard Street," or "Boulevard of Broken Dreams." In them you play Tex, respectively, as Mr. Nice Guy, an indifferent loner, or a selfish bad guy. These three paths lead to no less than seven different endings.

I would recommend this game to absolutely anyone. If you're a veteran of adventure games, you owe it to yourself to play this classic. If you're new to them, this game will help make you an addict like me!

Final Grade: A

If you liked The Pandora Directive:
Watch: The Zero Effect
Read: The Underground Man by Ross MacDonald
Play: Under a Killing Moon

System Requirements:
486/66 MHz CPU (Pentium recommended)
Windows 95 or DOS 6.0 or later
8 MB RAM installed (16 MB recommended)
Sound board (supports all major boards)
2X CD-ROM (4X recommended)
20 MB available hard disk space (30 MB recommended)
Keyboard/mouse/speakers