Game 32: Neuromancer - Introduction

Neuromancer: Well this should be interesting!

I like science fiction. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that I love science fiction! Many of my favourite movies sit in the genre on some level, and I’m generally attracted to games that do too. It’s therefore quite strange that I really haven’t read very many science fiction books. The truth is that I’ve not been a massive reader over the course of my life, reading on average only about five or six books a year. That’s definitely increased with my recent discovery of audiobooks, but I’m still only getting through about a book a month. I guess I’m just a sucker for epic fantasy series like George Martin’s Game of Thrones and Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time, and given how many books tend to make up those series and how long each part usually is, it’s no surprise that I haven’t had much time for anything else. You might be wondering why I’m crapping on about books instead of games. The answer is that the 32nd game on the playlist is based on a book by the same name, William Gibson’s Neuromancer, and it’s a book I’ve never read. I’d heard the name numerous times, but didn’t realise how well regarded it is until I started researching today.

With its whites, pinks and blues, Neuromancer was just screaming for a CGA release!

Neuromancer (the book) was released in 1984, and is generally considered a seminal work in the cyberpunk genre. It was the first book to win the science fiction “triple crown”, meaning it cleaned up the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and the Hugo Award. It was actually Gibson’s first published novel, and follows a computer hacker named Henry Dorsett Case. After being caught stealing from his employer, Case’s central nervous system was damaged (I assume purposely), leaving him unable to access the global computer network (which strangely enough was called the Matrix). Needless to say he regains his ability to access the network through an underground organisation in exchange for his hacking services. That’s about as far as I was willing to read about the novel, just in case the game closely follows the plot, but from what I can tell it’s only “loosely” based on it. Interestingly, it was American psychologist and writer Timothy Leary, known for his advocacy of psychedelic drugs and for being labelled “the most dangerous man in America” by President Richard Nixon, that held the gaming rights to the novel (there’s also a simulation game named Timothy Leary’s Mind Mirror if you want to check it out). He took the game idea to Interplay around 1987, where producers Brian Fargo and Troy P. Worrell agreed to make it.

Timothy Leary: A very happy guy, and no wonder too!

You may recognise the name Brian Fargo, particularly if you’re also following the RPG exploits of Chet over at the CRPG Addict. Brian helped design all three games in The Bard’s Tale series (taking over as director for the third one), as well as playing a major role in the design of the classic Wasteland. He also designed three early adventure games (interactive fiction with graphics), with the first two being The Demon’s Forge (1981) and Borrowed Time (1985), and the third one Tass Times in Tonetown (1986). Long time readers will know that I played TTiT back in January last year (it was game 8 on the playlist). It was a very quirky game that I quite enjoyed, but had to rate it harshly due to some technical deficiencies and numerous dead ends. Troy Worrell also worked on that game as a programmer and directed Wasteland alongside Fargo, meaning the two of them had quite a history by the time Neuromancer landed on their desks.

Wasteland: Well if they made that game, then Neuromancer should be good...right?

Given the success of Wasteland, it’s not surprising that Fargo and Worrell invited members of the same team back to make Neuromancer. Michael A. Stackpole (a science fiction and fantasy writer) and Bruce J. Balfour came onboard to design the game along with Fargo, while Troy A. Miles took on all programming duties. Also from Wasteland was Charles Weidmann III, who was tasked with creating the graphics and artwork in an attempt to bring Gibson’s world to life. Finally, all sound and music was to be looked after by industry veteran David Warhol (Tass Times in Tonetown, Maniac Mansion and Zak McKracken). Speaking of music, the soundtrack for the game is based on a song by Devo named Some Things Never Change. This track appeared on the 1988 album Total Devo, but instrumental only versions appeared on all versions of Neuromancer (apart form the C-64 version which apparently sampled the real song in the intro). Ilmari has already mentioned that the theme music is annoying and repetitive, so it appears we can blame Devo for that, at least in part.

At least Devo's distinctive style didn't rub off on the general population

I really don’t know what to expect when it comes to gameplay, although I do know that Neuromancer is described repeatedly in the manual as a role playing game that involves gaining skills by “implanting chips directly into your brain jack”. Just how much adventure game elements there are is yet to be seen. The manual covers a lot of ground (it’s quite daunting really), so I’ll read it whilst playing rather than prior. I’m under the impression that gameplay is split between traditional adventure sequences and cyberspace, although I have no idea how that plays out. I guess it’s time to find out, and I’ve found a DOS copy and got it working in DOSBox. It looks like I’m going to face the same screenshot issues that made Mean Streets take so long to get through, so this time I’m going to try out Lars-Erik’s suggestion that should allow me to use the ALT-F5 function without it acting as an ENTER. Well, I’m off to jack in (as opposed to jack off), and will report my initial findings soon enough. Who’s joining me?!

Neuromancer: "A cyberpunk role playing adventure"...apparently

Note Regarding Spoilers and Companion Assist Points: There's a set of rules regarding spoilers and companion assist points. Please read it here before making any comments that could be considered a spoiler in any way. The short of it is that no CAPs will be given for hints or spoilers given in advance of me requiring one. As this is an introduction post, it's an opportunity for readers to bet 10 CAPs (only if they already have them) that I won't be able to solve a puzzle unassisted (see below for an example). If you get it right I will reward you with 110 CAPs in return (it's going to keep going up until someone beats me)! It's also your chance to predict what the final rating will be for the game. Voters can predict whatever score they want, regardless of whether someone else has already chosen it. All correct (or nearest) votes will go into a draw.

Example Bet:

V xabj V’z nfyrrc, ohg pnaabg jnxr

V zhfg erznva sbe guvf ynaq’f fnxr

Vg’f nyy tbar jebat, V qba’g xabj jul

Ohg V zhfg svk vg, ng yrnfg V’yy gel!

Anzr gur tnzr sbe 20 PNCf.

Extra Note: Once again, Lars-Erik will gift the next readily available game on the list to the reader that correctly predicts what score I will give this game. So, if you predict the right score (or are closest), you will get 10 CAPs and a copy of Space Quest 1, 2 & 3 from GOG! How awesome is that!? Good luck!

Game 31: Mean Streets - Final Rating

Mean Streets was unlike any other game I've played so far for the blog, and it's for this reason more than any other that I'm not really sure what score it might end up with. I have a feeling that it will suffer the same way the Manhunter series does, being a clearly flawed yet still entertaining game. I imagine the technical advancements might push it a little higher though, so let's see whether that turns out to be the case.

Puzzles and Solvability
It’s not going to be very clear cut when rating categories for Mean Streets, as the game has contrasting sequences. The puzzles in the game can be split between finding the information you need through questioning leads, and searching for items you need through more traditional third person perspective investigations. I enjoyed both sequences, but it’s not difficult to pick them apart. The questioning sections follow a very strict format. Ask a lead about a topic. If they give you a new name or nav code, then write it down. If they’re unwilling to answer, then try bribing or threatening them. Repeat until you run out of relevant questions. That’s pretty much all there is to it.

Even failed threats usually mean you can just walk back in and try something else

The more classic adventure game sections also rely very heavily on trial and error. Move to each section of a room and use the look, get, move, open, on / off nd taste actions on each item. Continue until there are no more items left, then move on to another part of the room. What makes it even more simplistic is that 90% of “puzzles” are solved using items found within the same room, and the player has no ability to “use” any of the items they pick up. If you have the right item, it will be used at the right time, and often the player is not even informed. All of this makes the game sound very simplistic, repetitive and boring, but somehow it’s not (well, it’s not boring anyway)! I’m not even sure I can explain why, but I guess it has to do with the unfolding story, the wacky characters, the smatterings of humour, and an indescribable X factor. I can’t deny that the puzzles are pretty average though, so I have to do the right thing here.
Rating: 4

Combinations are generally hidden within arms reach of safes, which is disappointingly unchallenging

Interface and Inventory
Let’s start with the flying sequences. There really isn’t any other category to discuss this in, so I’ll deal with it here. The truth is that flying the speeder is initially a little daunting (for those of us unaccustomed to simulators anyway), but in the end it’s really quite intuitive and simplistic (there’s that word again). After a few dodgy flights, I found myself getting from one location to another (and landing) without much thought for controls. The problem is that it’s utterly, mind-numbingly boring!  The scenery is almost non-existent, and it generally involves getting yourself to an appropriately high altitude (so you don’t run into things), pointing the speeder in the right direction, pushing the throttle to the max, and then sitting back and waiting for literally minutes. In the end I decided to save my sanity and use the autopilot, and spent the time doing some other task such as looking for new music to listen to or starting the next Adventure Gamer post. From an interface point of view, there’s no problem, but I’m punishing this category for the existence of the speeder sections in the first place.

 I rarely saw this screen as I was off doing something else

The questioning sections are straight forward and the interface really can’t get in the way. The same can be said for the shooting sections, although once again they are repetitive and boring. That leaves the room investigation sections of the game, which is where the real adventuring was to be had. The interface for these parts of the game is actually pretty clunky too. I could generally do what I needed to do, but it didn’t always feel intuitive (having to press the down key to make the cursor move to the right hurt my brain) and while not having a USE action didn’t stop me from achieving my goals, it made the game far more basic than it would have been otherwise. This is where we get to my biggest issue though, which is the inability to access the inventory when not in the speeder. This was very annoying, particularly as there were quite a few times where picking up a container while in a room meant I couldn’t see what was in it until I departed the room. I had to remember to try opening everything before I picked it up or it was too late. An example of this was Big Jim Slade’s hit list, which wasn’t available to view once I’d picked up the binder. Even ignoring that issue, the inventory itself wasn’t particularly user friendly, so I can’t be very generous here either!
Rating: 4

Picking up the binder removes the hit list as an option to look at, but there's no sign that one is contained within the other

Story and Setting
As is likely obvious when reading the gameplay posts for the game, Mean Streets’ story is revealed bit by bit, with lead’s answers and notes found in rooms gradually giving the player enough information to piece together what’s really going on. Putting it all together was nowhere near as difficult as it was in the almost indecipherable Manhunter 2, but it still required being thorough and trying to understand character’s motives to progress. Some people seem to have an issue with the amount of red herrings that delayed this progress, but I personally think they added a nice realistic touch, and would likely have had a more positive effect if it wasn’t for the amount of time it took to travel to useless locations.

They're not always as obvious as this one mind you

The downside for this category is that the player is repeatedly given the same information over and over again by multitudes of leads, meaning you’re basically sifting through the same stuff hunting for something new to act on. The plot is also often contrived and corny, but it wasn’t always clear whether that was intentional or not (it certainly was in some instances but I can’t give it the benefit of the doubt all the way through). Finally, I should point out that I broke the story flow on a couple of occasions, visiting leads in an order the game wasn’t expecting. I guess the static answers given by each lead (regardless of what you already know or where you’ve gone previously) is the reason why the designers were forced to be so repetitive, making things much more linear than they initially appear. Overall, the story kept me coming back, but the implementation of it was far from perfect.
Rating: 5

It's also pretty obvious who the target audience for Mean Streets (and adventure games in general back in the 80s) was.

Sound and Graphics
Mean Steets is renowned for pushing the boundaries of technology for its time. The sound quality is reasonably high, with recorded effects and a few instances a voice. There’s not much of it though, with only occasional effects and one repeating music piece that’s at first quite catchy but tiresome after a while. The graphics are also quite advanced and the introduction of quasi-video and real life actors was a bit of a surprise for a game released in the eighties. As mentioned earlier, the outside world is also reasonably impressive for the time, but shouldn’t really be there to begin with. The room sequences are quite detailed and attractive, despite being mostly labs, but the animation quality isn’t the best. Watching Tex walk around the room is like watching a one-legged penguin trying to prove they're not inebriated. He doesn’t look the least bit comfortable, and it doesn’t resemble his fast walk towards enemies in the side on shooting sequences in the slightest. I won’t be too harsh here though as overall the game looks and sounds pretty damn good.
Rating: 6

It's not a big thing, but it also annoyed me that items I'd already picked up still appeared in the room (the metal pole leaning against the wall in this instance)

Environment and Atmosphere
Mean Streets was highly influenced by Blade Runner, yet the actual world doesn’t feel like it in the slightest. Flying my speeder around should remind me of it, but the colour scheme and the lack of any other life whatsoever mars the affect. I guess it’s too much to ask for other vehicles to be flying around, but that sure would have made things less boring. The backdrops to the questioning sections are much more convincing, bringing the San Francisco landmarks to life in a way Manhunter 2 couldn’t achieve. For the most part I felt like a detective, having to deal with many of the things a real detective would have to do. One cool feature that helped on this front was being able to call on my secretary Vanessa and my informant Lee Chin whenever I needed to find someone. As mentioned earlier, I feel the dead ends are also a plus rather than an annoying negative, and I didn’t mind them at all. The atmosphere is certainly strange, which is mostly due to the futuristic setting containing many things we now consider to be retro, as well as the oddball characters (the two-headed Larry, the obese Delores, the one-eyed Ron) and humour. It all adds up to a unique and surprising experience, despite the repetition in the gameplay elements.
Rating: 6

Their purpose was very limited, but I still really liked having Vanessa and Lee Chin just a video call away

Dialogue and Acting
There’s more dialogue in Mean Streets than any other game on the playlist so far. That’s probably a sign of things to come, so I may have to alter my posting approach if I don’t want to get bogged down for a month at a time. Given the volume and how important dialogue is in the game, it’s testament to the writers that it remains interesting for the most part. This was achieved by giving each of the characters distinctive personalities and quirks, and by injecting heaps of humour into the mix. I was consistently surprised by how funny the game was, and the completely unnecessary yet rewarding details that were incorporated make the whole thing more satisfying than it would have been otherwise. We’re not quite at the point where I can actually consider acting as part of this category, since the real life actors are really just made up of repeating, cartoonish frames. It certainly beats static images, but shouldn’t be judged the way future FMV games in the series no doubt will be. In the end I think this category is one of the game’s strengths, despite the repetition of information that occurs as a result of the game mechanics.
Rating: 6

All the characters have their own wants and fears, and the images reflect their emotional state adequately

So that's 4 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 6 + 6 which equals 31 divided by 60 equals 51.6666, which is 52 when rounded up. I'm happy to see that Mean Streets has cracked the 50 mark despite having many aspects that deserve criticism. Since I personally took a lot of enjoyment out of the experience (probably more than some of the higher rated games), I'm also going to add another mark to the score.

Did anyone out there predict 53? Hmmm....yes! In fact, we have another tie on our hands between TBD and Alfred n the Fettuc. It's time for a draw to see who wins the first Space Quest Collection (containing Space Quest 1, 2 and 3!) I'm off to the Random Number Generator. If the result is odd, then TBD wins. If it's even, then Alfred n the Fettuc wins. And the number is...4! Congratulations Alfred n the Fettuc, the prize is yours. I've got your email address, so I'll send it across. Now, what the hell is Neuromancer all about!?

100 CAPs for Lars-Erik
•    Sponsor Award - 20 CAPs - For sponsoring the blog with free games
•    What’s Your Story Award – 20 CAPs – For answering the What’s Your Story questionnaire
•    Legend Award – 20 CAPs – For playing the game with me and finishing it without assistance
•    Sleep Deficiency Award – 10 CAPs – For correcting my Earthrise category error
•    Technical Assistance Award – 10 CAPs – For finding a solution to my screenshot issues
•    Kickstarter Award – 10 CAPs – For announcing a new adventure game on Kickstarter
•    Bad News Award – 5 CAPs – For informing me that I was going to have to put up with DOSBox again
•    Genius Award – 5 CAPs – For doing the obvious when I hadn’t even thought of it (checking reviews for release dates)

60 CAPs for Deimar
•    Mistress of the Dark Award – 30 CAPs – For solving my Elvira riddle, even if I didn’t realise it
•    Legend Award – 20 CAPs – For playing the game with me and finishing it without assistance
•    Mistress of the Dark Award (The Sequel) – 5 CAPs – For reminding me to include Elvira on the playlist
•    Attempted Help Award – 5 CAPs – For trying to help me with my screenshot issue

55 CAPs for Laukku
•    Death Gate Award – 30 CAPs – For solving my Death Gate riddle
•    Bloody Helpful Award – 10 CAPs – For alerting me to the fact I could check game files for release dates
•    Police Quest 2...no...1 Award – 10 CAPs – For alerting me to my complete stuff-up
•    Attempted Technical Assistance Award – 5 CAPs – For trying to help me with my screenshot issue

45 CAPs for Ilmari
•    Legend Award – 20 CAPs – For playing the game with me and finishing it without assistance
•    Bug Alert Award – 10 CAPs – For alerting me of potential item disappearance bugs
•    Les Manley Appreciation Award – 5 CAPs – For reminding me to include Les Manley on the playlist
•    Serious / Silly Evaluation Award – 5 CAPs – For categorising the playlist into Canageek’s language
•    Schimming Correction Award – 5 CAPs – For correcting my error...twice

30 CAPs for Canageek
•    Genre Support Award – 5 CAPs – For commenting about an adventure game sale on GOG
•    Genre Support Award – 5 CAPs – For commenting about an adventure game sale on Steam
•    Genre Support Award – 5 CAPs – For commenting about an adventure game sale on Steam
•    Genre Support Award – 5 CAPs – For commenting about an adventure game sale on Steam
•    Genre Support Award – 5 CAPs – For commenting about an adventure game sale on Steam
•    Serenity Denialist Award – 5 CAPs – For denying the existence of Serenity, for personal reasons

20 CAPs for Aperama
•    Legend Award – 20 CAPs – For playing the game with me and finishing it without assistance

20 CAPs for Reiko
•    What’s Your Story Award – 20 CAPs – For answering the What’s Your Story questionnaire

20 CAPs for Jarikith
•    True Companion Award – 5 CAPs – For informing me that Deimar had answered my riddle
•    Another Monkey Island Award – 5 CAPs – For posting about a Ron Gilbert rant
•    Genre Support Award – 5 CAPs – For commenting about an adventure game sale on Steam
•    Genre Support Award – 5 CAPs – For commenting about an adventure game sale on Steam

15 CAPs for TBD
•    Tex...Lower Award – 10 CAPs – For informing me of what Sylvia really said at the end
•    Genre Support Award – 5 CAPs – For commenting about an adventure game sale on GOG

10 CAPs for mpx
•    Genre Support Award – 5 CAPs – For commenting about an adventure game sale on GOG
•    Genre Support Award – 5 CAPs – For commenting about an adventure game sale on Steam

5 CAPS for boukensha
•    Non-Prediction Award – 5 CAPs – For not predicting I would need assistance

5 CAPs for Zenic Reverie
•    Genre Support Award – 5 CAPs – For commenting about an adventure game sale on GOG

5 CAPs for Corey Cole
•    Physics Beatdown Award – 5 CAPs – For telling me to stop my whinging over flight speeds of 1340 km/hr

5 CAPs for Draconus
•    Granny Smith Award – 5 CAPs – For starting the war to end all wars

5 CAPS for Josh
•    Kentucky Fried Movie Award – 5 CAPs – For picking the reference to Big Jim Slade

Game 31: Mean Streets - Won!

Tex Murphy Journal Entry 11: “I’m not going to waste too much time writing in this journal. Why would I when Sylvia waits for me in the bedroom! Things didn’t go exactly to plan today, but the end result couldn’t have been better. After getting the nav code for the MTC computer facility out of Bazil Mallory, and witnessing the deaths of Robert Knott and Big Jim Slade en route, I was taken captive by J. Saint Gideon as soon as I arrived. It was a great challenge, but I eventually figured out a way to escape, found the computer room, and set the Overlord project system to self-destruct. Sylvia got her million dollars and I got her, making us one very happy couple! Now, I have some…business to attend to.”

Yeah, well we'll see about that!

Well it took a total of sixteen and a half hours play time and no less than eleven gameplay posts, but I’ve completed Mean Streets. I think it’s safe to say that my tendency for thoroughness and the time it took to manually take 860 screenshots added at least two, probably three hours to the play time. My last post ended with me getting a solid lead that would likely lead me to the secret MTC computer facility, but I still had some detective work to do before I could follow it up. I now had a nav code for Melba Wiedbush, Stanford Demille, Harry Rice and even Robert Knott, but I was going to have to pay Sonny Fletcher a visit to find the one I really needed. Chief Security Officer and Law and Order Vice President, Bazil Mallory. It was he that could tell me where the facility was! Unsurprisingly, Sonny wasn’t willing to talk to me about Bazil, but $700 changed his mind: “Ya, I know where you can find him. He’s at NC 2713.”

Haha...I knew you'd talk! There's not much money can't buy.

Ignoring my excitement about finishing the game, I decided to visit each of the remaining nav codes by taking the shortest routes possible. That meant Melba Wiedbush’s home was my first stop, but it turned out to be a short one. Tex quickly realised Melba was “a complete airhead”, and apart from telling me that the mutants are “contaminating the water supply and that they’re bad dance partners”, offered nothing of value. My next location was Stanford Demille’s house, who turned out to be Law and Order’s corporate attorney. He made it clear that he wasn’t to be messed with! “Let me assure you that if you continue to invade and harass my client, with the wild and unfounded accusations, you’ll find yourself, your agency, and your client, though I do not know who would hire such a dirty, low life, blood sucking, private detective such as yourself, in court. Am I making myself clear?” Apparently he was, despite using way too many commas in one sentence, as Tex departed quickly with no further questions! The next lead on the list was Bazil Mallory, and after another standard shootout, I found myself face to face with him.

Melba: A dead end in more than one way

Bazil was completely unwilling to help me, but answered all of my questions after I threatened to punch his lights out. In the end he only had one useful thing to tell me: “MTC has a secret laboratory located on Alcatraz (NC 4550). We are developing a Mind Control Device which will help us rule the world!” So that’s two games in a row where the game’s climax begins on Alcatraz! What are the chances? It seemed very clear that the secret lab was where I needed to go, but I wanted to tie up the last remaining loose ends that I had. The first one I crossed off the list was Harry Rice, whom had appeared on Big Jim Slade’s hit list. This lead turned out to be another dead end though, as Harry had clearly suspected he was in trouble and left town. That left Robert Knott, the boss of Law and Order, who I really hadn’t expected to find at home. I fought my way past his goons and was indeed given the opportunity to question who I’d assumed would be behind project Overlord (although I did have a feeling that J. Saint Gideon was somehow involved after a few comments leads had recently made).

Another fan of Melba it seems!

I began questioning Knott about various things, but he wasn’t giving me much. I then asked him about J. Saint Gideon, to which he answered: “Gideon? Ask me about Gideon Enterprises, if you want to know the whole story. Then you’ll know who the real Mr. Big is!” I obliged, and was stunned when the sound of a gunshot spat out of my speakers. A shocked Knott now had a bullet hole in his forehead! Wow, I hadn’t expected that! It seemed that someone didn’t want me to find out what was really going on. I restored my game and asked different questions, but the result was always the same. Knott would be shot and killed after a few questions or even after the first one if I asked about certain topics. Therefore, with no other locations to check out, I made my way to the secret computer facility at NC 4550. I saved my game outside the building, and then unexpectedly received a fax from an unknown source: “If you’re looking for Big Jim Slade, you’ll find him at NC 4921. Come alone or there’s no meeting!”

Missed opportunity! It could have said: "he locates the trouble and shoots it."

I had a decision to make! Should I fly over to face Slade, or enter the facility to try to reach the computer system? It seemed pretty likely to me that I wasn’t going to be leaving the facility without completing my task, so probably wouldn’t get a chance later to see what Slade had to say for himself. For all I knew I’d get some required information out of him or even an item? Thankfully, Slade’s location wasn’t too far from the facility, but as soon as I exited my speeder, I found myself in a shootout. Once I’d fought my way through it, it quickly became apparent that the last guy I shot happened to be Big Jim Slade himself! “Slade stands in front of me with 6 of my slugs in him. He’s bleeding heavily, but he’s still got a smirk on his face. I notice he’s smoking a Camel cigarette. I walk up to him slowly, keeping my gun aimed at his heart. Looking at him makes me wonder when I last received a rabies vaccination.” I began asking Slade questions, but as well as offering me nothing I didn’t already know, he kept dying on me after only four of five questions. Eventually I decided the scene was only there for closure, and made my way back to the facility.

Big Jim Slade: Smiling right to the end!

“As I step out of my speeder, two Law & Order thugs jump out of the shadows. One of them slams the butt of his weapon against my head, and turns out my lights.” Well that wasn’t a very good start to my awesome triumph! When I woke up, there was a silhouette of a man in front of me, and a voice spoke the words: “Welcome Mr. Murphy. You were expected! I’m afraid I’ve been playing a game of chess with you. I knew someone would try to stop us from purifying this sick society, and I needed the passcards and passwords to make sure that didn’t happen. I ordered Knott and Slade to kill the scientists when their work on Project Overlord was done, and gather up the passcards. They didn’t have much luck finding them. I used you as a pawn to locate the cards for me. Now that I have them, nothing can stop Overlord from being implemented. We’ve planted microchips in key officials throughout business and government and they’re under our control. They, in turn, will control the population. We’ll rid society of all undesirables and purify the human race, and I’ll control mankind’s destiny.”

Oh yes, there will be blood!

I already figured the man in front of me was J. Saint Gideon, but his mention of chess made me sure of it. When I’d visited his mansion I’d found him sitting in front of a chess game. As is typical of any story involving the capture of the protagonist, Gideon decided he wouldn’t kill me. “Perhaps there could be a place for such a resourceful individual in my new Order...under my control of course. I’ll store you in a safe place until I decide what to do with you.” I was then taken to “an old, musty boiler room” that must once have provided all the heating on Alcatraz when it was a prison. I was going to have to find a way out of there, but there didn’t appear to be a time limit. I began by checking out the huge furnace at the back of the room, where I was able to interact with a sprinkler head, a furnace door, a door opener, a temperature gauge, and the furnace itself. I wasn’t able to reach the sprinkler head or open the furnace door, so I tried using the door opener. “You open the blast furnace from this close and the intense heat burns you to a crisp...game over.” Oh...shit...time to restore!

Now that's a serious furnace!

I went straight back to the furnace for my second attempt, but wasn’t able to do anything with the temperature gauge or the furnace either. I moved down to the boxes and found that looking at them revealed some piping and flanges, neither of which I was able to interact with. I had a bit more success at the table in the centre of the room, where I found a note reading: “Furnace safety instructions: 1) Use remote control panel to open furnace door when in operation. 2) Never leave furnace door open for extended periods; this constitutes a serious fire hazard.” So there was a way to open the furnace door that wouldn’t fry me! The only other item I found on the table was an apple core, but there was a floor grate next to it that I tried opening. To my surprise, Tex used the power drill I’d collected in the Law and Order office to remove the grating from the floor, but the resulting six inch hole was far too small to crawl through. With that part of the room explored, I walked over to the control panel in the bottom right corner. The panel had a switch labelled “Open / Close”, causing me to assume that it was the way to remotely open the furnace door. It was, but once again it didn’t end well!

 Um...get hole in the floor...ah...taste hole in the floor...no?

Even opening the furnace door remotely resulted in my death as the noxious fumes overwhelmed me. I restored again, and made my way over to the computer system on the right side of the room. There I found a panel and a view screen, so I tried opening the panel. It was locked, and I didn’t have the key, and looking at the view screen merely told me that it displayed the efficiency of the heating system. I wasn’t having much success at this point, but I made my way to the vent on the back wall to the right of the furnace, where I also discovered another panel. I tried to open the panel, but was told that I didn’t have the right tools to open it. Hmmm...that was concerning! Was I supposed to have collected a tool somewhere else in the game that would open the panel? I continued on, hoping that wasn’t the case, and found that I could open the vent with the slot screwdriver I’d found in Cal Davis’ apartment. Unfortunately, this opened up a shaft that was once again way too small to climb through!

Can you give me an idea what the right tools might be?

What was I missing here? I realised there was a section to the left of the furnace that I might be able to explore, and there I found a switch, a vent, and the door that separated me from the outside world. The switch was supposed to open the door, but unsurprisingly it was broken. I wasn’t able to interact with the door itself, so I tried opening the vent, hoping that this one would reveal a hole big enough for me to escape through. I was able to open it using the Phillips screwdriver I’d found in Ron Morgan’s cabin, and while the revealed 24 inch shaft looked promising, it soon narrowed into an unpassable 12 inches. What the hell? I’d explored the whole room and opened up three separate vents and gratings, but wasn’t able to get out. Doing anything with the furnace killed me, and the only things I hadn’t been able to do was open the panel on the computer system and the one on the back wall. It appeared to me that I needed whatever it was that would open that panel on the back wall, but where had I missed it! I considered visiting every location in the game that I could investigate and comb it for the missing tool, but before I set out on such a time consuming effort, I thought I would try exploring the room over again.

Oh you big tease you!

I’m thankful that I did, because this time I discovered that I could get a key by "moving" the boxes and an adjustable wrench by "opening" them. This might seem like a big oversight, but it was actually quite tricky. Once "looking" at the boxes had revealed the piping and the flanges, I’d not even considered that I would be able to move them or open them. I guess I’d thought looking at them had shown me what was in them in the first instance. Anyway, I took the adjustable wrench over to the panel on the back wall and removed it. There was some fire info inside that stated: “In case of fire, the thermally-activated control system will engage, turning on the sprinkler system and enabling automatic emergency fire fighting systems.” That didn’t really help me, so I went over the other panel and opened it with the key. Inside was a small box, within which I found an atmospheric purification mask! This was the solution I was after, and I now assumed that I would be able to open the furnace door while being unaffected by the noxious fumes.

So there was a key in the boxes. Is this like a quantum mechanics type of thing?

This assumption was correct, and flicking the switch caused the furnace door to open without killing me. Shortly afterwards the sprinkler system kicked in and a large robot entered the room. It very quickly rolled over to the furnace and switched it off, then left, leaving me to ponder what I might be supposed to do. I opened the furnace again and tried positioning myself close to the robot in the hope that I would be able to interact with it, but that idea fell flat. I then noticed that the robot briefly sat beneath a portion of the shower spray, and I then figured out I could make the robot pretty much sit still by continually opening the furnace door as soon as the robot closed it. Surely the idea was to keep the robot under the shower of water for a period of time until it malfunctioned! After keeping it there for about a minute, I gave up on that idea too. Long story short, after wracking my brain for ages, I eventually just tried flicking the switch then walking past the robot and out the door before it could leave and close it. I made it on my second attempt! So all I’d really needed to do to get out of the furnace room was get the key from the box, get the mask from the panel, turn on the furnace, and walk out! It’s strange, but I don’t appear to have been the only player that didn’t try what was actually pretty obvious, instead making the “puzzle” much more difficult than it really was.

I was very upset that future robots appear to be waterproof

At this point I was given a description of Tex fighting his way to the computer room, which was “a converted cell block filled with electronic equipment”. There was a large control panel and display screen, and the eight passcards that had been taken from me were very nicely just sitting on the table. Apparently “Mr. Big wanted them checked for authenticity”. Ignoring this far too fortunate to be true turn of events, I pressed the big red button labelled DESTRUCT, and four laser cannons dropped down from the ceiling and pointed at my head. I was given 60 seconds to insert all eight cards into the computer system and then enter the passwords. This was pretty straightforward, as I had all the passwords listed in my excel spreadsheet next to their respective colours. While I was typing them in, J. Saint Gideon appeared on the screen, begging me not to destroy his life’s work. He even promised to make me his partner if I stopped, but I finished the job and witnessed a satellite exploding in Earth’s orbit. With the satellite destroyed, Law and Order would no longer be able to control the people!

Gideon's life'S work is not to be underestimated. What is he, about 100?

A newspaper article was displayed onscreen with the headline “TEX SAVES WORLD”, and I was then told that the FED’s captured Gideon as he tried to flee. There was apparently a big parade in my honor, and President Michael J. Fox invited me to the White House as his special guest. Even better, I was given a private screening of Back to the Future 17! As good as all of this was, I was then told that Tex was feeling a bit down since Sylvia had been upset by his initial suspicions that she’d killed her father for the insurance money. He went to her house to apologise, topping it off by asking whether there was anything that he could do to make it up to her. A sultry looking Sylvia appeared onscreen to suggestively say “Yes, you can take me for a ride.” Mean Streets finished with Tex and Sylvia flying into the sunset, and I audibly heard the words “Oh Sylvia!” “Oh Tex...more!” “Oh Sylvia!” A rather corny way for the game to finish, but it’s all well in line with the intentionally cliché and silly occurrences that pervaded throughout. So there you have it! Mean Streets is done! Final rating will be up in the next couple of days, and I'm really not sure what to expect.

It was very satisfying to watch the satellite explode into a thousand pieces.

Why I thought you'd never ask! (Damn, Tex has done well for himself!)

The proverbial sunset wasn't merely proverbial in this instance!

Session Time: 2 hours 00 minutes
Total Time: 16 hours 30 minutes

What's Your Story? - twaitsfan

While you all wait patiently for me to finish Mean Streets (at least that's what I keep telling myself), I've got a little line-up of What's Your Story submissions. The first cab off the rank is twaitsfan. He may not have made his voice heard in the comments on the blog at this point, but his emails to me have shown a strong passion for and knowledge of the adventure genre.

 

twaitsfan: Knows how to combine good beer with great gaming!

 

My home country is… USA

My age is… 35

The first adventure game I played was… Police Quest

My favourite adventure game is… Tough one... My original favorite was Police Quest 2, but these days I'd probably have to say The Longest Journey

 

The Longest Journey: A fantastic game that everyone should play!

When I’m not playing games I like to… Write (amateur novelist), Read, Philosophize, Drink good beer

I like my games in (a box, digital format)… In a box!  With a big, thick manual.  I miss manuals...

The thing I miss about old games is… Manuals!  But also, the focus on gameplay.  Many modern games are more like modern action movies.  The plot, consistency & characters (gameplay) don't matter as much as the action and effects.  I can't get invested in things like that.  I need a believable, consistent world (even if it's in 8 bit) with characters that I care about.

 

They don't make them like this anymore! Probably with good reason though.

The best thing about modern games is… Lack of load times (I remember playing Codename:Iceman on my 8088 and having to switch disks three times to walk into another room), production values, cinematography, controls, achievements, atmosphere (when done right)

The one TV show I never miss is… Not many these days. With an hour commute, 2 year old daughter and 2 month old son, my games take up my free time instead of TV.  Though when I watch on demand/hulu, I('ve) watch(ed):  Community, Parks and Rec, Lost (oh you evil betrayer!), Firefly...

 

The cancellation of Firefly was a travesty, and Serenity proved the point nicely.

If I could see any band live it would be… I've seen most of the ones I've wanted to see, but Dire Straits escaped me being slightly before my time

My favourite movie is… You're not going to ask this are you?  Hmm.  Star Wars probably, but I really loved The Prestige.

 

I too really enjoyed The Prestige. Magic, mystery and Scarlett Johansson. What more could you want?!

One interesting thing about me is… I just finished my first novel, Dardenfall.  It's part Game of Thrones, part Ursula Le Guin, part Bernard Cornwell.  Or at least I would like to think so!

Game 31: Mean Streets - Top Heavy Beach Bimbos From Mars

Tex Murphy Journal Entry 10: “I’m very close to finding the secret MTC computer facility where I can put a stop to the Overlord project. I now know that the Vice President of the company, Bazil Mallory, is also the security chief, and that he knows the navigation code for the facility. Not only that, but I’ve also managed to collect all eight passcards that are needed to shut down the project, and I know all eight passwords to go with them. Tomorrow I will pay Bazil a little visit, and I will also approach the other major Law and Order players that I now have locations for, including Robert Knott himself! I'm really close now...I can feel it!!!!”

It's time to visit the suitably named Lola Lovetoy. She even has her own establishment!

I arrived at Lola Lovetoy’s establishment feeling like whatever I uncovered there was likely to lead me to Mean Streets’ closing stages. After all, it was the first time I’d only had a single navigation code to visit left on my spreadsheet. Tex’s description of the prostitute was once again hilarious: “She looks like the kind of woman you could score with, even if you played your cards wrong.” It quickly became apparent that Lola wasn’t going to give up any information for free, so I had bribe what I needed out of her. It took $500 to get anything out of her regarding Frank Schimming, but the information was well worth the money! “I was introduced to Frank Schimming by Tom Griffith. Griffith paid me to keep an eye on Schimming and keep him occupied. Griffith gave me a key to an apartment (NC 4605). He told me to take Schimming there. The old guy was an egotistical bore who loved to talk about his favourite subject – himself. Several weeks ago I told Tom I was fed up with Schimming, and called the arrangement off.”

Don't worry lady. You're just not my type!

Little did Lola know that her decision to call off the arrangement led to Robert Knott adding her to Big Jim Slade’s hit list, but clearly he hadn’t arrived to take her out yet. After a few other questions that gave me nothing I didn’t already know, I left Lola ad made my way to the apartment her and Schimming had stayed at. After fighting my way through another shootout, I opened the door to find that someone else had moved in. I began my exploration at the dresser near the entrance, where there were also a switch, a jewelry box and a mirror to interact with. The draw was actually unlocked this time, and inside I found women’s lingerie from Fredericks of Hollywood, size: medium. There were also some matches on the dresser, and looking at them revealed a bus locker key. The number of the locker had been filed off, but the bus station nav code was still there (NC 5194). I picked up the key and tried turning the switch on and off. It was a standard light switch, so I moved on.

They really thought that TVs would just continue to get chunkier and chunkier

The jewelry box was locked and I didn’t have the key, so I turned my attention to the mirror. In it I saw a “tired, haggard face of a down-on-his-luck P.I.”, and moving it revealed a button. I pressed it, and was informed that “a panel opens in the side of the holographic projector unit.” I wasn’t even sure where that was in the room, so I moved to check out the section containing the bed, a cushion, and some art. Looking at the bed uncovered a small panel in the head board, within which was an ashtray with cigarette butts in it and a small box. The cigarette butts were unfiltered Camels, confirming that the man staying here was Big Jim Slade, the hitman. The box contained an “inflatable companion”, which popped out and inflated when I opened it. “A plastic woman in a polka dot bikini. She rates a 9.5. You seriously consider getting one for yourself, but decide that another one would just clutter the closet.” The inflatable woman appeared to be there for humour purposes only, so I ignored it and looked at the cushion.

Well at least something improves in quality during the next couple of decades!

Underneath the cushion I discovered some more cigarettes and a bottle of Russian vodka, which I added to my inventory with no real purpose. Moving the art revealed a switch, which seemed to control a “pressure sensitive burglar alarm”. Switching it on or off didn’t seem to do anything, so I figured it must turn the alarm off if it was activated, but otherwise do nothing. I moved to check out the table in the bottom left corner of the room, finding a suitcase, a mood globe and a book in the near vicinity. On the table I also found a sign which read “Danger – Electrical Field”, so I knew I was going to have to be careful what I touched. The suitcase on the floor had a tag on it saying: “Property of Big Jim Slade, touch this and I kill ya.” What a lovely fella! I ignored the threat and opened the case regardless, finding some shirts, ammo and another tag inside. Inside one of the shirts I discovered a note: “Los Angeles air bus station (NC 5194)”. I already knew that code as it was written on the locker key, but this undeniably connected the locker with Slade.

Somehow I think he meant it too!

I picked up the 50 rounds of ammunition, and after finding that the tag had the same message as the one on the outside of the case, I closed it and looked at the mood globe. It was an “antique Radio Shack mood globe, late 20th century. Very valuable, worth 2000 dollars on the street.” Wow! If I’d only realised back in the eighties how valuable those globes would become one day! I tried to pick it up, knowing that I was likely to get zapped by the electrical field. “You reach into the electrical field to get the mood globe and 300,001 volts of electrical energy surges through your body, killing you instantly.” Well, I had to try right!? I restored and got myself back to where I was, this time leaving the mood globe alone. The book turned out to be “An Elderly Man’s Guide to Picking Up Chicks”, by Dr. Ron Morgan. It looked as though Big Jim Slade was very thorough in getting information about his potential hits. Either that or he needed a hand in the lovin’ department! There was still quite a bit to explore in the room, so I walked over the desk with flowers on it.

Invaluable advice that I wish I'd known in my teenage years.

The desk held a binder, an ashtray and a hit list! The binder had the Law and Order insignia on it, and on opening it I found that someone had written “N.C. 5037 – Los Angeles” on the inside. Could that be the nav code for the Law and Order Party? It seemed likely! The ashtray was once again just filled with Camel cigarette butts, so I picked up and looked at the hit list. “Law and Order confidential hit list. Names not crossed off: Harry Rice; Lola Lovetoy; Tex Murphy; Sonny Fletcher. Good job, big Jim! I need to talk to you. Come to my house at NC 0132 --- Robert Knott.” I wasn’t at all surprised to find my name on Slade’s hit list, but I didn’t expect to have Robert Knott’s nav code so soon.  I added Harry Rice to my spreadsheet of leads, and finally put a code next to Knott’s name. Before I could even consider rushing off to any of the new locations on the list, I still had one more section in the apartment to check out. The top right corner contained a cabinet, a V.C.R. (just as with fax machines, it appears V.C.R.’s come back into fashion sometime in the future), a holographic imager and a panel.

Top Heavy Beach Bimbos From Mars involves a large breasted woman throwing a ball endlessly

The cabinet contained a satchel with $5000 in it, which I eagerly took! When I turned on the V.C.R., Tex automatically put “Top Heavy Beach Bimbos From Mars” into the machine and pressed play. I had to turn on the holographic imager as well, but eventually sat down to watch some of the action. “While the scenery is excellent, the acting leaves much to be desired” was all Tex had to say about it. The panel contained a button, which had an inscription saying “Don’t push unless you wish to turn off the protective field around the valuable mood globe.” Well at least the game designers know how ridiculous it is to label buttons that turn off alarm and security systems! I turned off the field and then went straight back over to the table and collected the mood globe. “You lift the globe from its pad and it sets off the pressure sensitive alarm and shuts the exit.” I had five minuted to turn the alarm off, but that wasn’t a problem since I knew exactly where the switch was (behind the art at the back of the room). With another apartment fully explored, I now had a choice to check out either the bus station in Los Angeles or what I assumed would be the Law and Order head office. I really wanted to know what was in the bus station locker, so I travelled to NC 5194.

I assume this was Bosworth Clark's passcard?

What I found there exceeded my expectations! “I use the key on about 50 different lockers before I find the one it fits. Inside the locker is a leather wallet. I open the wallet and find a black passcard and the word “koro” written on a piece of paper.” Awesome! Now I had seven of the eight passcards, along with their passwords! There was only one left to get, and I knew from Larry Hammond that it would be found somewhere inside the Law and Order building. I travelled to 5037, fought my way through the expected security, and entered a room marked “OFF LIMITS – OFFICIAL CLEARANCE ONLY”. Typically, this set off an alarm, and I found myself with ten minutes to shut it off or pay another visit to the police station. I quickly got to work, beginning with the file cabinet, flag, book case and garbage can that were situated in the top left corner of the screen. It probably goes without saying that I wasn’t able to open the file cabinet, as I didn’t have the key. I wondered (and still wonder) whether it’s even possible to open some of these drawers and cabinets spread throughout the game!

Subtlety wasn't part of the interior decorators instructions

The flag appeared to be decorative only, so I moved onto the bookcase. There I discovered various “texts on violence and bloodshed”, and I was able to open one entitled “An Experts Guide to Spite, Malice and Revenge.” I read “about a number of incredibly rude and vicious party tricks, including the crazy-glue on the toilet seat trick, that Law & Order party members are invited to try on people they dislike.” This raised a smile, but I was down to eight minutes and needed to keep looking for the alarm switch. There was nothing of interest in the garbage can, so I moved down the screen to the work station where I could also check out fax and answering machines. The workstation also had a printer, a monitor, a cabinet and a control panel, so I began with the printer. Looking at it revealed a letter which read: “Interdepartment letter...as Oct.5 will be the day that we officially control the world, may I be so bold as to propose that this day be the 1st official holiday of the new order. Have a nice day...Robert Knott.” Well, the man sure has confidence!

The designers put quite a bit of effort into pointless yet humorous touches throughout the game.

I wasn't able to do anything with the monitor, but I found a very important memo within the cabinet. “Coporate minutes from last meeting. Officers are: Robert Knott - President, Basil Mallory – Vice President and Security Chief, Melba Wiedbush – Secretary, Stanford Demille – Attorney.” There were three new names for my lead list, right when I’d expected not to find anymore! I then discovered a switch on the control panel. “Flipping the switch makes a small clicking sound near the closet in the corner of the room.” I couldn’t see anything visually change, but assumed I’d find out soon enough what I’d just done. Strangely, looking at the answering machine revealed a file cabinet key, which I immediately used to open the file cabinet door. Inside was a memo that read “Please send Big Jim Slade 5000 dollars for the liquidation of Professor Clark.” That would be the $5000 that I now had in my possession! Conscious that I only had just over three minutes remaining, I made my way to the back of the room where there was a firearms cabinet, a desk, a picture and a closet. I collected 100 rounds of ammunition from the cabinet (it appears all guns take the same ammo in the future), but I didn’t have the right key to open the desk drawer. Behind the safe I discovered a large black metal safe, but I didn’t have the combination for that either!

Story of my life it seems

It looked likely that I was going to run out of time at this point and have to restore, unless the alarm switch was in the closet. Within the closet were a coat, some shoes and a shelf. Rather fortunately, I found a pad of paper in the coat that had the combination I needed for the safe (37-16-36). Before I went and opened it, I checked out the shoes, which were uninteresting, and the shelf, which had a hat on it. I picked up the hat, and then tried moving the shelf out of desperation. This revealed a button, which shut off the alarm and opened the door when pressed. I’d managed to turn off the alarm with around 30 seconds left on the clock!!! With that sorted, I used the combination to open the safe, collecting another $5000 in cash and Larry’s grey passcard in the process! The final part of the room left to investigate was the table in the bottom right, which had a tool box beneath it. The table also held some “hate literature detailing plans to move against the mutants” and a paper shredder that I found no use for. The tool box proved to be useful though, holding a drill and a “mutant masher” hammer (both of which I picked up), as well as some plans that talked about a secret MTC location: “See security chief for navigation code to secret computer facility.”

I wasn't stressed at all. Had it completely under control!

So the security chief knows the nav code for this secret computer facility. I also happened to know that the security chief was a guy by the name of Bazil Mallory, who also acted as Vice President for the Law and Order Party. I didn’t know where to find him though, but perhaps Vanessa or Lee Chin could help on that front? Vanessa informed me that “Melba Wiedbush lives in Ford City at NC 4122” and “Stanford Demille has an office in Santa Barbara at NC 3199”, but she couldn’t help me with Bazil Mallory or Harry Rice (the unrecognisable name on Big Jim Slade’s hit list). Lee Chin came up with the goods though (for a total of $700): “Talk to Sonny Fletcher. He may know where to find Bazil Mallory.” and “Harry Rice lives in Pasadena at NC 1231”. It appears there is still quite a bit more to Mean Streets, which is a surprise given that a few readers have been suggesting the end is nigh for a while now. I’m off to see Sonny and hopefully I’ll get what I need from him without giving an arm and a leg in the process!

I just might do that!

Session Time: 1 hours 30 minutes
Total Time: 14 hours 30 minutes

Note Regarding Spoilers and Companion Assist Points: I've written a set of rules regarding spoilers and companion assist points. Please read it here before making any comments that could be considered a spoiler in any way. The short of it is that no points will be given for hints or spoilers given in advance of me requiring one. Please...try not to spoil any part of the game for me...unless I really obviously need the help...or I specifically request assistance. In this instance, I've not made any requests for assistance. Thanks!