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