I played a lot point-and-click adventure games in the ’90s, with Quest for Glory IV, The Curse of Monkey Island, andSpace Quest IV being among my favorites. But I generally stayed away from FMV (full-motion video) adventure games such as The Beast Within and 7th Guest. Live actors filmed and then superimposed into low resolution 3D environments produced a distasteful juxtaposition I had no interest in. To make matters worse, these games typically featured mature themes and content, which didn’t fit with the cheesy production values of FMV. Perhaps if I had given the Tex Murphy series a chance instead of fixating on the mature rated FMV adventures, I may have grown to appreciate this style.
Earlier this week I started playing Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure. Funded with donations from Kickstarter backers and released in May of this year, Tesla Effect is the sixth entry in the Tex Murphy series of adventure games and the first since 1998. Based on the game’s artwork and screenshots, I expected a hard-boiled detective story, but Murph—as the titular detective is affectionately called by friends—is better described as “soft-boiled.” Reprising his role as Tex Murphy, Chris Jones—who also served as the game’s co-designer—brings equal parts gruff detective and campy folk hero to the part. Camp is a difficult style of humor to perform, but Jones approaches the role with such gusto that I couldn’t help but be charmed by him. The supporting cast, for the most part, isn’t really up to par with Jones, unfortunately. Kevin Murphy—who Mystery Science Theater 3000 fans will recognize as the voice behind Tom Servo—is woefully underutilized as the voice of Smart Alex, Murphy’s sentient PDA that chimes in with helpful advice, and a quip or two, on occasion. The hammy performances of the rest of the cast fit the B-movie presentation of Tesla Effect, though fail to live up to the nuanced campiness of Chris Jones’ Tex.
Chris Jones’ performance as Tex Murphy, equal parts gruff and silly, elevates the game’s story and is a real highlight of Tesla Effect.
If at this point you’re a little confused as to the difference between camp and B-movie, consider the difference between the hilarious performances of talented actors like Adam West, Cesar Romero, Burgess Meredith, Frank Gorshin, Julie Newmar, and Vincent Price in Batman to the laughably bad performances of B-movie “stars” like Casper Van Dien in Starship Troopers, Ian Ziering in Sharknado or Sean Patrick Flanery in Mongolian Death Worm—the former requires wit, comedic timing, and panache, while the later is merely intentional overacting that just about anyone can accomplish.
The gameplay of Tesla Effect can be divided into three types, each based around Murphy’s investigation.
The gameplay of Tesla Effect can be divided into three types, each based around Murphy’s investigation.
- Exploration in a fully 3D environment. Players must follow leads, track down clues, and combine clues as needed to further the investigation. Unlike many modern adventure games which feel as though the player is “on rails,” Tesla Effect challenges players to come up with their own solutions using their ingenuity and observational skills. Unfortunately the low poly models and washed out textures produce an admittedly ugly aesthetic. Thankfully, the atmospheric music coupled with Tex Murphy’s monologues help to color the sci-fi noir environment. Sometimes interactions in the 3D space can get pretty rough though, particularly climbing ladders.
The environments are, admittedly, kind of ugly, but clever sound design manages to mask it.
- Conversations with non-player characters. These scenes are presented as an interactive movie and produce many of the funniest moments in the game. The player is presented with three choices which determine the next live action video sequence that will play. Unlike in TellTale’s adventure games like The Walking Dead and A Wolf Among Us, Tesla Effect offers only a hint as to what Tex might say next. Personally I enjoyed this presentation method as it made the following lines feel more spontaneous and thus funnier, but I did feel as though I had less agency than in TellTale’s efforts.
The dialog choices aren’t always clear.
- Puzzles scattered throughout the environment. Reminiscent of the sort of challenges adventure games in the 90s were known for, I felt right at home deciphering safe combinations from a set of obscure clues or solving math puzzles to unlock secret compartments. Puzzles of this sort have been an unfortunate omission from most modern adventure games, aside from the Professor Layton series which is aimed primarily at a younger audience.
Part of the challenge of each puzzle is figuring out how to approach them.
Having only just begun “Day 4: Saints & Sinners or The Usual Suspects” (chapters are divided into “days” and begin with a noir-inspired title card) I feel that the plot of Tesla Effect is only just starting to switch into top gear. The first couple chapters focused primarily on exploring and questioning residents of Chandler Avenue with little story progression, leaving me about as confused as Murphy seemed to be. But a few important plot twists revealed in chapters three and four, along with the development of a couple femme fatales, have piqued my interest. With nearly five and a half hours of FMV footage filmed for the game, I’m only about halfway through. Next week, after I finish the game, I’ll continue this analysis of Tesla Effect and offer my perspective on the game’s second half and the ending.
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