The Pandora Directive: A Tex Murphy Interactive Movie

by Access Software Incorporated

Product Features

• The Most Interactive: Virtual World engine allows full freedom of movement. No rendered paths!
• Play It Again! Story line follows three different routes leading to seven totally different endings!
• Mind Bending: Intriguing mysteries and brainteasers that stretch the imagination.
• The Most Playability: Two levels of play--complete on-line help of master level with no help.

Product Details

• ASIN: B0002SLAYA
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 2.2 x 9.4 inches ; 1.3 pounds
• Media: CD-ROM
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,028 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best of the best -- BUT ..., November 13, 2005

By 

Lynn S. Hendricks "Wordmama" (Carson City, NV USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: The Pandora Directive: A Tex Murphy Interactive Movie (CD-ROM)

Let me get to the BUT first: This game was originally released in 1996. That means it will run under Windows 95 or DOS ONLY. You can play it on a new machine, but only if you have a program like DOSbox or the like to simulate DOS.

That being said, it's worth whatever you have to go through to get Pandora Device to run on your machine. They didn't make them any better than this, and I hardly have the words to tell you about it. Acting and directing are professional and first-rate, graphics are stunning, writing is brilliant, puzzles are intelligent, interface is intuitive, music is staggering -- I could go on and on.

The game is looooong (several days, even the second time through) and also has great replayability. You can play so Tex, the main character, is a nice guy in a rotten world, or you can play it so he's a cynical crumb, with completely different scenes and interactions depending which path you take. There are a total of about eight different endings possible. There's also an easier puzzle level available, plus there are in-game hints (for a point price).

I play this game over and over (though I admit, partly that's because I have a huge crush on Tex -- what can I say, I love tall gorgeous men with self-deprecating humor). I may have to buy it just to replace my worn-out CDs.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why aren't there more rave reviews?!, August 2, 2005

By 

D. S. Douglas (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: The Pandora Directive: A Tex Murphy Interactive Movie (CD-ROM)

You must understand - I've played many adventure/mystery games over the years, but this game...

The main character is a pathetic offbeat PI. In spite of being down on his luck and sarcastically pitiful, he's actually a pretty decent gumshoe. He stumbles upon his first case in months and then you're off.

Although the basic framework is linear, taking place over 10 days, the gameplay within and between each is astonishingly non-linear. The puzzles aren't even of the annoying type seen in so many other adventure games.

With its unprecedented 6 CD's, this game has many twists and takes hours and hours of gameplay. The best part is that it has some of everything: he tries to get the girl, he saves the world, you laugh, you cringe, your heartbeat quickens, and you can't come away without loving the whole experience. NO ADVENTURE GAME, and that includes The_Longest_Journey, compares to the scope and ingenuity of this game.

The only problem is that it does not run on XP without VDMSound and a couple of other tweaks you can find on the web. It's worth the effort, though. It's even worth just buying an old Win98 PC for. I swear to you: as far as I know it's the most underrated game in gaming history.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You can make this compatible, January 20, 2006

By 

Kimberly Horlacher "Kimah72" (Orem, UT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: The Pandora Directive: A Tex Murphy Interactive Movie (CD-ROM)

These are great games. They can be made compatable by right clicking on the properties of the .exe file and choosing the platform. I run XP but choose the Windows 98/ME option and it installed just fine. Had to install one of their required files but it's all good! This is a well done game with a lot of fun scenery and characters. I remember starting out with Mean Streets back in the day. This was also created by a local software company but was bought out later. So I recognize some of the screen shots. =)