Tex Murphy vs. Conspiracies

[TerranRich]

I bought a game called "Conspiracies" the other day after reading the back. Get this...

MURDER
Enter the world of Nick Delios, a betrayed, jilted and down on his luck private detective who, after a spree of drinking and gambling, needs cash and needs it quick. When a police investigator and old friend offers him money to unofficially help investigate the murder of a small time crook, Nick agrees, not imagining the bizarre twists and turns lying just ahead.

MYSTERY
As this seemingly "simple" case thrusts Nick into a complex mustery of multiple conspriacies, you will soon discover tht nothing is what it seems and, indeed, mayb lead beyond the very bounds of our planet!

ADVENTURE
A first-person 3D adventure, Conspiracies features a mid-21st century setting, non-linear gameplay, and challenging puzzles all wrapped in a tantalizing tale of murder and mystery! In your search for answers you will explore loads of locations and interact with dozens of intriguing characters.

Hmm... sound familiar? Well, replace "Nick Delios" with "Tex Murphy" and you've basically got any one of the three Tex Murphy games made between 1994 and 1998 (Under A Killing Moon, The Pandora Directive, Overseer). It's extremely similar, right down to traveling off-world (UAKM went to the moon), a down-on-his-luck jilted detective with a drinking problem and in need of cash, the mid-21st century setting, nonlinearity (TPD was multi-threaded and had 3 endings), and the sci-fi look of the screenshots on the back of the box.

Now, another fledgling (?) company, Got Game Entertainment, has apparently been "inspired" to make a similar game. Since it needs 3 GB minimum of my hard drive space, I haven't played it yet and am currently trying to free up some space, and therefore I don't know how similar it is to any of the Tex Murphy games. But, it's almost an exact clone...right down to the FMV cutscenes and use of live actors.

Has anyone else played this? I own it but I'm not able to play it yet. What do you think?

[GarageGothic]

Well, the Tex Murphy games weren't exactly original, were they? Apart from the futuristic setting, this could be any Chandleresque detective story. Besides, need I mention Blade Runner?

This description doesn't mention humor though, which, in my opinion was the only thing that set Tex Murphy apart from all the other pseudo-noir sci-fi stories out there.

Edit: Just Adventure seemed to like it: "this game will be an instant CLASSIC adventure game. I have not been so absorbed by a FMV (Full Motion Video) adventure game since Tex Murphy: The Pandora Directive [...] It is almost included in the elite 'A+' games such as Gabriel Knight, The Longest Journey or Monkey Island"

http://www.justadventure.com/reviews/Conspiracies/Conspiracies.shtm

[TerranRich]

Oh, I'm very sure I'll enjoy it, too, I just found the similarities amusing and interesting, that's all. You're right about the humor, though. This game might not have it. But then again, it's not vital for a good game.

[MrColossal]

PC Gamer hated it

said the video was grainy and the puzzles were inane

more power to the company cause they probably had a hell of a good time making it but it doesn't look like a game i could play

[Lazy Z]

I've never played the game, but I've read a lot about it since it was developed by a Greek company (called Anima, I think), so here's what I've heard (or read, if you prefer).

It's something as a "loving homage" to the Tex Murphy games, hence the similiarities between them, though as far as I know it doesn't have the humor found in those games. Moreover, yes the videos are grainy and the graphics aren't anything special, and even people who liked the game a lot say that the puzzles are sometimes completely illogical. That's not to say that it's a bad game, but the reviews it has gotten are mixed. I can't say for sure, having not played the game myself, but I don't think that it should be considered a classic. Then again, who knows...

[Las Naranjas]

As much as I like the Tex Murphy games, they were themselves very homage based, or if you will, unoriginal. But like other rather unoriginal works (like Indiana Jones or 28 days later) they stand up by themselves on how they're done.

But when they have a character working on Chandler Avenue, and who remarks (and has others remark) about how his office gives the impression that Sam Spade or Phillip Marlowe are just around the corner, they're certainly not attempting to hide their sources.

[TheYak]

Hmm... sound familiar? Well, replace "Nick Delios" with "Tex Murphy" and you've basically got any one of the three Tex Murphy games made between 1994 and 1998 (Under A Killing Moon, The Pandora Directive, Overseer).

Don't forget the first two.  Other than the 1st person 3D aspect, the plotline describes them to a "T" also.  (Of course, MS being basically Overseer v1.0, I guess you could neglect that one).

[TerranRich]

Yes. It's an okay game so far, except for one thing. It's spoken in all Greek with English dubbed over. How come I never knew that? It never says that anywhere on the box or in the manual. It's a little irritating having to deal with lip movements not being in sync. We'll see.

[Lazy Z]

That's because at first Anima wasn't planning to release it outside of Greece (or weren't sure if they'd find a publisher) so they just dubbed the English over the Greek voices. But yeah, I think they should have mentioned that somewhere in the manual, at least...

[Robert Eric]

Three gigabytes?  I hardly even have one to share on my largest HD.