It's about time!
I came across Mean Streets and Martian Memorandum about 6 or 7 years ago as a budding teenager in a CD compilation of some Access Software classics called "Private Eye Mysteries". It came with Mean Streets, Martian Memorandum, Countdown and Crime Wave, all classic games. Mean Streets is where we first encounter future adventure game icon Tex Murphy, a down-on-his-luck private investigator from a futuristic San Francisco who's itching for a case.
He got more than he bargained for. A dead man and a blonde. Tex must look into the apparent suicide of Dr. Carl Linsky, a scientist involved with a secret project. He was seen jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge and the police are determined to stick it as a suicide. But after poking around, Tex sees what they're selling and he ain't buying. So it's up to him to uncover the real truth and to save the world.
Mean Streets was pretty groundbreaking for its time. It's split into three phases. The first phase you'll encounter is close to that of a flight simulator, where you have to guide Tex's hovercar to the proper destination. You can also get some leads by calling your secretary or your helpful informant (Lee Chin, I believe her name was..) which will lead you to more locations to land and look at.
Depending on where you go, you may or may not encounter the next phase and that is the shooting phase. You must go from one side of a scene to another, alive. There's baddies rushing you with guns and you got a limited amount of ammunition. Good luck! But if you succeed (or don't have to engage in combat at all), you'll reach an all too familiar phase. The adventure phase, where you ask questions, examine and grab objects, solve puzzles, and bypass obstacles. Sound was accomplished through a technology known as RealSound, which'd rear its head in other games. Basically, RealSound made close to realistic sounds and music through that scratchy 4.77 MHz PC speaker. Graphics depended on what mode you set. There's 16-color EGA, CGA, Hercules and I believe Monochrome as well.
Martian Memorandum on the other hand, is a bit easier on the eyes and the ears. So in Mean Streets, you saved the world and got the girl. Well, unfortunately for you, the girl ran off on you and..yep...you guessed it, the rent's due and you need a case. Well my friend, consider yourself lucky because the tycoon of a Martian terraforming corporation wants you to find out where his daughter ran off to. Jackpot! That is, until he winds up dead. Time to take a vacation to Mars, where you'll be on the trail of his daughter and the priceless artifact she possesses that a madman is burning to get. And if he gets ahold of it, the Red Planet is doomed, and the Blue one may be next. Martian Memorandum is a point and click adventure. No flight sim phases, no fighting scenes except for what you have to do to accomplish an objective, but there's still the good old adventure game formula of poking around, moving objects, conquering obstacles and talking to people.
Speaking of which...if you have the likes of a Sound Blaster, you'll get digitized speech, though unfortunately its not for every instance like in later Tex games like Under a Killing Moon, but it does a good job. All in all, I strongly suggest that you take a walk down Lombard Street (and Memory Lane) and pick up Mean Streets and Martian Memorandum from GOG. It's cheaper than what I paid for from that CD compilation (5.99 compared to close to $12 is always good). Now go on, grab your trenchcoat and pay the rent!
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