Under a Killing Moon | The $2m Interactive Movie from 1994

[@RMCRetro]

Thanks for watching, did you enjoy any of the Tex Murphy series and if so what are your memories? A sad footnote is that only James Earl Jones and Chris Jones are with us at the time of this review, Brian, Margot and Russell all having passed on. It was great to see them having fun in the outtakes. Neil - RMC

[@Petertronic]

I remember "Who Shot Johnny Rock?" on my first multi-media PC in the early 90's. A sort of who-dunnit interactive game with elements that can vary each time you play, if I remember correctly. Fun times!

[@RMCRetro]

@@Petertronic oh yes! I picked that up in the bargain bins a few years after release and it became a guilty pleasure for some time

[@marinedalek]

My first memory of the Tex Murphy series is hearing odd dialogue coming from my Grandad's computer in the next room "Oh, kiss me Rudy and set my lips on fire!" "Ok." I remember being terrified of the rotating eye security bot in GRS. Then we got The Pandora Directive which was so intense and atmospheric in comparison... the Roswell section was so unnerving with its weird atonal music and then gameplay being occasionally interrupted by clips of something forming in a distant room. Definitely some of the most engaging games I've ever played.

[@maxsmarts8210]

I enjoyed all the Tex Murply games, and I finished all, i love it!

[@Rockythefishman]

This was amazing back in 94 if you were not around back then you cannot fully understand how much this blew our minds

[@RMCRetro]

This was part of the problem with the later releases, I was never able to replicate that mind blowing experience with the other games in the series

[@pegcity4eva]

Agreed. It was the most cutting edge you could get back in the day.

[@Ozacostaj]

Somehow well timed video, as 1994 is as close to us as 2042

[@MatVanRhoonVFX]

A fantastic retrospective! Great to watch! A quick note on the graphics quality: I noticed you ran it in "medium" mode for this video. In "high" quality mode, the game would not lower the resolution of the 3D environment when moving. Instead, it remained as clear and crisp as it does when you are stationary (provided you had a recommended system). I know you briefly mentioned this but wanted to provide more detail about that aspect.

[@AndyDo]

One of the producers for this game came up on stage at a con I was hosting and took over (which was good. We were dying). She was amazing! And was Margot Kidder's roommate for a while, so...there were some great stories.

[@theseob]

loved that game. I remember buying a copy of the game when i was working in the summer between school. Played it every night. Going to sleep, trying to figure out what to do next, going to work, still trying to figure out and then comming back home, starting the game and trying the thing i thought off. A few years ago i finally found a big box version of the game and bought it, since my version was in a folding gate sleve.

[@MagicPumpkin]

I discovered Tex with the 2014 game, was awesome, went back and played them all.

[@snorgonofborkkad]

I’m currently reading the novel by Aaron Conners. I’ve had it for 25 years and never bothered reading it until now. It’s a lot of fun because it fills in parts of the story left vague or out of the game. You can also see where they modified the script. For example, the Countess is an old woman in the book, but young in the game.

[@jthorpe4droid]

I bought this game when it launched, I use to buy most of these fmv games in the 90s. Fab memories.

[@Dorelaxen]

Oh, man, I LOVE the entire Tex Murphy series. Great stuff!

[@DavidHarvey-po9le]

Not just nostalgia - this game was - correction IS good.

[@TheTomimt]

As a whole the FMV Tex Murphy games are in my opinion among the best games the tech was used in the 90's. A lot of devs took the wrong way of using it and gave very little actual gameplay ,whereas these games used FMV only as a narrative device as it should have been used.

[@nosferadu]

This game was featured on the cover of the first or second PC games magazine that I ever bought. I was 9 at the time and we didn't even have a PC, I was still playing games on a ZX Spectrum clone. The screenshots printed in the magazine blew my mind, this game looked like the future!

[@Bumbuliuz]

Pandora Directive and this one are my favorite Tex games. I was blown away with Pandora when we got it with our new pc when I was a kid. I even backed the Tesla Effect years later on Kickstarter.

[@zerozebra]

Bumbuliuz props. The tex murphy franchise was my childhood ❤️

[@adamsfusion]

Thank you for not spoiling it. I wanted myself a fantastic RMC review that piqued my interest, and I definitely got that today. I'm on the prowl for this Murphy adventure, corny acting and all.

[@ditroia2777]

Man I have such fond memories of this game. I loved tex’s comments on everything. The others were good and in better technically, but UAKM is jammed packed with charm.

[@TheDeviant88]

I adored this series. I have loved a number of FMV games (including the xfiles game) but I think this was the best series. Really nostalgic for me. Great video, thanks!

[@aeiouxs]

Yep very very fond memories of this game, and series. Definitely a moment in time with the CD tech as it was back then. And yeah the 3D environments were amazing at the time, a bit rough around the edges I guess, but the whole world they created was so fun + immersive. Thanks for re-visiting it!

[@enilenis]

Under A Killing Moon, Wing Commander 3,4,5, Soldier Boyz, Privateer 2, C&C series is practically an FMV, 7th Gues, 11th Hour, Ripper, Daedalus Encounter, Cyberia probably, even though it was full CG, and Ravage DCX, which is a rail shooter, Urban Runner, Phantasmagoria, Silent Steel. Seeing videos on the computer was unbelievable, and even with high compression, this was still better than what television with bunny ears antenna showed.

[@betamax80]

I have this glorious thing! Managed to obtain it new a few months ago - it's incredible.

[@mattuw82]

I played this when it was new, and it was truly mind-blowing. One of my most nostalgic gaming experiences.

[@HebaruSan]

Anyone else keep expecting to hear the sax solo from Careless Whisper?

[@lactobacillusprime]

Back then it was awesome. Knowing about the limitations of the hardware and technical limitations from back then it is more enjoyable.

[@wolvenar]

I played (still own) 2 of these. This was a game that my wife and I really enjoyed when we first met. Good memories.

[@WrestlingWithGaming]

This really took me back to my teens. This is my favorite of the Tex Murphy games. For those interested, it's usually available on steam for a pretty low price. Well worth checking out. Great video as usual sir.

[@WrestlingWithGaming]

@Dalle Smalhals you're right, it's on GOG too, and for the same price as Steam. Doh! Had I known that I would've bought it on GOG.

[@bloodydamnhell]

Interestingly, UAKM was among GOG's earliest releases, certainly within their first year. (Sadly, it's the only copy I currently own since my original box and the discs all disappeared sometime in my early 20s.

[@marsupialpianist1450]

Nice touch running on typical period hardware. Used to play on an ancient 386dx40 and even on that (and low detail) this game was amazing. Never finished it though, too hard for my kid brain. Side note/general gripe, I keep seeing things like Virge graphics cards being tested with Pentium II/IIIs and such, what's the point! put one in a Pentium 75 and watch it increase performance. Great work on this vid 👍👍

[@musclesnz]

Hey, thanks for all the great trips down memory lane. I totally understand what you mean by revisiting the titles. For me it was the late 90s and a title called “the neverhood” a beautiful claymation interactive movie. It spawned a PS1 game that wasn’t quite as good. I’d love to see it again but I suspect it’s amazement may have faded over the years! Keep up the amazing videos . Cheers

[@360Fov]

Normality! Realms of the Haunting! 7th Guest! Monster Hunter World! Zork: Grand Inquisitor! New World: Aterneum! Just some of the classic 90's PC gems

[@MarkTheMorose]

Almost a shame to click 'like', as it's currently on 286 likes. Either no-one else click 'like', or 200 of you click and then no more!

[@RetroKrazy]

Still own my original copy - loved it!

[@gonzo3915]

I really loved this game back in the day, "Hey look a Geiger", stuck with me all these years. I feel old when I think this way and I like it, I remember when the world was sane and people stood up for themselves without having thousands of screaming NPC's behind them.

[@mindphaserxy]

This game and Police Quest 4 were like the first big adventure games I first played when I was like 15 years old. I remember the endless disc swapping needed for this game. Considering the family PC was only a 486SX 25Mhz with 8MB of RAM lol. But this game was awesome as hell. Camera control was wonky but it was a blast.

[@French_Connection]

I remember this movie. It was stunning. I thought it would be the future.

[@ukmk3supra]

I love the pseudo Chicago font in the config, pretty sure Spectrum Holobyte Star Trek games used something similar. Also - loving the 'double spin' on the requirements label :D I'd love to see you do a retrospective of the Blade Runner game from '96 - the last proper DOS game from Westwood, IIRC.

[@SpearM3064]

Lassi Kinnunen You're right, it was for Windows. I don't recall it ever having a DOS executable, although it did come pretty close to the tail end of the DOS era. It was still pretty cool... out of 15 suspects, only two were *always* replicants, and which one of the other thirteen was a replicant varied from game to game. NPC behavior was not scripted; instead, each character was given goals to accomplish based upon whether they are a replicant or a human. How they go about accomplishing these goals was handled by the AI system, and could change from game to game, as most of the goals had several possible methods of achievement. For the time, it was a pretty advanced AI. Getting it to work under Windows 10... good luck! There are glitches caused not by bugs in the code, but because today's computers run so much faster than the ones it was written for. The second-best way to get it to work, ironically, involves running Windows 98 in DOSBox, and then installing the game there! (The best way is to have a VGA retro-gaming rig, like my Windows XP machine from 2001, which is barely capable of 800x600.) And before anyone asks... no, there is *no* chance of a remaster. The source code and assets were lost when Westwood moved its studio from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, thus making a re-release or a HD-remaster impossible. Even if the code was found, to restore almost a terabyte of assets, whether for new pre-rendered backdrops or full real-time 3D, would cost tens of millions of dollars.

[@zoealusa3614]

I loved the Tex Murphy series, Gabriel Knight The Best Within, Phantasmagoria, and a handful of others that I believe did full motion right; really lost myself in them back in the day and Tesla Effect was an improbable gift. Poisoned Pawn looks as if it may top them all, especially given the support for Oculus Rift.

[@K1NGARTH3R]

I remember taking a chance on this when they released the KIXX folder out version of the game, I'd previously enjoyed playing through Phantasmagoria and was hungry for more FMV adventures to sink my teeth into. I have fond memories of playing this, I've only completed it once and don't think I went back to it. Would like to go back to it now though! Enjoyed the video thanks!

[@DonaldPerkins]

Great video! This style of old games is always entertaining to me. If anyone's interested in watching a play through of this game Nostalgia Nerd did a play through of this game over on twitch. Thanks again for the awesome video!!

[@ricardobornman1698]

Ahh - Roland Goodness! Either way this game was kick-ass!

[@wilsvgaddiction4456]

My old man had this game in the 90s. I really enjoyed it and it's campy video clips.

[@nnahoj18]

You have a fantastic voice, good sir. Merry Christmas

[@gilmour6754]

The Tex Murphy series was a blast. I really liked the one that came out in the 2010's.

[@10p6]

Per your title "Interactive movie' I was thinking along the lines of the Atari Jaguars Game Films such as 'American Hero.' This on the other hand is more of a game with movie cut scenes in it.

[@nightmaster5593]

I absolutely loved this game back then! Fantastic lead performance, and some very funny dialogue / writing. Very atmospheric too! I miss playing this

[@marinedalek]

Fantastic to see Tex on your channel! I'd be interested to see you do a Pandora Directive review as well, mainly because of the huge leap in apparent production values it got from Adrian Carr's directing...

[@ClassicTrialsChannel]

my fav was Ripper, music by blue oyster cult with christopher walken,karen allen,burgess merrdith and john rhys-davies, 6 cd and was out in 1996. still have it.

[@RMCRetro]

That sounds well worth checking out thank you

[@klaushergesheimer8602]

Phantasmagoria was THE interactive movie back in the days. 7 discs!

[@Commander64]

I missed the first one, played the second one though, very strange game. I wouldn't mind a higher resolution re-release like they have given Night Trap recently.

[@rebeccaschade3987]

I've always had a soft spot for film noir as well as silly comedy, so Under a Killing Moon was perfect for me when it came out. I did feel that The Pandora Directive improved on it in almost every way though. Tex is one of my favourite game characters and franchises. Sure, it is campy as heck and full of cheesy humour, but it is self aware enough that this just becomes part of the charm. It isn't supposed to be too serious. I would say that these games owe a lot to the classic film noir comedy Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid.

[@LMacNeill]

I know one of these Tex Murphy games was offered with a "requires MPEG Decoder" option, because I still have the 16-bit ISA MPEG Decoder card in a box in the basement. Along with whichever one of these Tex Murphy games required it. But I"m too lazy to go searching through the basement to find it -- I've moved 3 or 4 times since the 1990s, and although I'm sure I never threw it out, I have no idea which box it'd be in. Doesn't matter anyway, because you can purchase all the old Tex Murphy games from GoG.com -- I got them for free when I backed the 2014 release of Tesla Effect on Kickstarter, but you can buy them individually yourself and play them on modern hardware. Running them on modern hardware, with modern optimizations, means you can get the absolute best video quality out of them. No need to compromise because your hardware can't handle it. I never played the first two Tex Murphy games, but I played them all from U.A.K.M. on. Loved the entire series, including the newest one, the Tesla Effect. Yes, it wasn't as cutting edge as it was in 1994 -- in fact it was kind of retro, honestly. But isn't that why we all watch this channel? For the retro gaming? ;-) . I'm looking forward to the next game in the series.

[@Edman_79]

God, I remember all of this. I'm old!

[@slckb0y65]

ah the 90's ... golden age of pc gaming, how much i miss those days ...

[@GuybrushThriftweed]

Never played it back in the days **runs off to evilbay to buy the bigbox** I got excited by seeing Links 386 golf in the catalogue. Played that game soooo much and forgot about it. Time for dosbox!

[@spiderdirt]

One of my all time favourites. Love the Tex series, so much so that I'm in the Telsa Effect ;)

[@Dorelaxen]

Who did you play?

[@travtuck7646]

Blood was its avatar and it's seal. The redness and horror of blood.

[@infinitecanadian]

'Mean Streets' uses 'RealSound', too; I remember seeing that on an LGR video.

[@soulagent79]

The cheesy soundtrack is pure Vaporwave gold. :-D

[@jaxmk1]

Never was a fan of adventure-point and click games, but looking at this It must have been amazing back in the day and the acting compered to allot of bad interactive movies back then this one is quite good. If there is one thing this game offers and delivers quite good is emersion in that world, today a slow pace game like this will not make it but as I was looking at it it needs to be slow paced and with a good sound card it sucks you in the game something todays games don't do anymore. Thank you for showing us this jewel. 🥇

[@simonj48]

For me, it'll always just be 7th Guest as my go to interactive movie game. I probably spent just as many hours getting it to work fully under DOS as I did actually playing it, but when I did... oh boy those graphical movie sequences were amazing at the time. The only other that really stuck with me was police quest, 4 I think, mainly because I thought it was a monkey island style click adventure, and was somewhat pleasantly surprised, but I guess by that point we're all getting wow'ed by mortal kombat actor animations as well.

[@witeshade]

Yeah when I got t7g to work in SVGA mode rather than just VGA... oh man. that 320x200 -> 1024x768 (or was it only 640x480 still?) jump was absolutely mind blowing.

[@thefakemaker]

As a kid I just loved the basketball gag.

[@B3tanTyronne]

I have always enjoyed the tex murphy series and often replay them every once in while.

[@mateuszkwietowicz2470]

I still hold Realm of the Haunting in high regard. I think it's a great game and the movies are great.

[@lordflashheart3680]

I worked in software retail in '94 d this title flew off the shelves that xmas. I of course played it myself but was more of a Wing Commander type in thos days. 😀

[@atari2600b]

The voice acting. It reminds me of The Longest Journey. Good & limited by writing alone

[@Rip-Van-Tinkle]

Somehow Neil, I never played this! Though I was a big Wing Commander fan. Pretty impressed with the visuals for the day tbh, much better than I would have thought. May have to visit this game soon 😁

[@RMCRetro]

Wing Commander was great wasn't it. I had it in my Amiga 500 which was impressive as it was always a bit of a poster child for the PC. Wing Commander 3 was a real sweet spot for me on the FMV and gameplay balance, loved that

[@Rip-Van-Tinkle]

@@RMCRetro It was a stunner mate, and that cast! Mark Hamill, Malcolm McDowell, Thomas "Biff Tannen" Wilson, Ginger Lynn .... OK, maybe not that last one 😀 I know it's maybe a bit shallow to say it, but that cast blew me away and sucked me in at the time. I looked forward to every cut scene, and there was something amazing about just barely surviving a heavy dog fight and handing the ship back battered and broken 😋

[@Rip-Van-Tinkle]

@Dalle Smalhals Nothing "wrong" with her, but she doesn't exactly have to same wow factor as Hamill and McDowell now does she.

[@Charlie-Cat.]

Great choice of a game Neil I remember seeing this at Toys R Us and sadly, I missed out on it. Oh well, but glad to see that you did an informative review of it for others can enjoy it or sure. 8^) Nice work as always Neil. Keep it up. 8^) Anthony..

[@ppsayl1235]

My pet peeve: when content creators (such as this one) state: "I'd love to see your thoughts in the comment section!"...then never respond to a majority of the comments. I mean, it's not like there are thousands of comments here and he's had over two years to respond... Otherwise, great game for it's day. Lost a lot of sleep playing this game. Hey, must have been good - I still remember it 27 years later.

[@RMCRetro]

I try my best! Glad we both enjoyed this game it really is a classic

[@kenkobra]

I had the SB SWE 32 back in the day and it was a huge improvement over the SB16. How much better is the Roland over the AWE 32? One other note...If you were lucky and had 16mb of ram the overall visual was much better.

[@oncameramastery]

Brilliant, I love 90s point and click adventure games, which I guess makes this beauty the pick of the bunch! Gunna have to try and get a copy running first chance I get. Love the vids, #RetroManCave keep up the great work! 😊

[@RMCRetro]

Cheers doc!

[@brianh2771]

I need to try this out on the 1.4GHz Pentium M I’ve recently installed in my Amiga 2500.

[@nickwallette6201]

Was the sound recorded live using the mic built in to one of those early Packard Bell multimedia monitors, and through one of those terrible Aztech SB clones they used, or did it actually sound like 8 bit 16kHz mic'd from 20 feet away in the game? ;-) I guess nobody owned a copy of Cool Edit back then.

[@RMCRetro]

That was captured direct from the 3.5mm output on the soundcard, the audio does sound that compressed, to save space most likely.

[@samwyse2006]

The only Tex Murphy I've played is Mean Streets on the Commodore 64. The only FMV game I've played is the X-Files game (on DVD, no disc swapping). No clunky acting in that one.

[@andrewlittleboy8532]

Still got this as well!

[@thomasandrews9355]

I still go back to this game numerous times. I enjoyed tesla effect. It's campy but that was and is the point

[@juliancresswell]

i used to love interplays frankenstein, quite a similar idea, it starred tim curry.

[@RMCRetro]

I haven't tried that one thanks I'll check it out

[@juliancresswell]

there's a few copies on ebay, i've left a link,quite cheap, but the postage takes the mickey a bit as they're all from th u.s. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Frankenstein-Through-the-Eyes-of-the-Monster-PC-1995-Interplay/263625478894?hash=item3d614d92ee:g:BoMAAOSwRyRa2~pC:rk:1:pf:1&frceupt=true

[@TheLazySamurai]

Still one of my top 10, maybe even top 5 games. I replay it every 2 years at a minimum. Sure its not as fancy as other games today, but I think it holds its own, if you can give its low resolution a pass. Though because it came out, and I played it as one of my first games that weren't aimed at children, back when I was a wee one myself, it shaped my love of noir and that melancholic jazz, for the rest of my life -- so far :P

[@MarkyShaw]

I'm dying over here laughing at these actors. This stuff is hilarious. That awkward time in the 90s with live action video games. This was surprisingly good considering Microsoft Bob came out 2 years later. Tex Murphy is giving me all sorts of ideas for a retro halloween costume party :-)

[@trecaa]

Great Video! Is this game on GoG? I think I saw it on there but I'm not sure.

[@CommodoreFan64]

these are awesome I'm gonna have to keep my eyes open for these games, and give them a play threw, I was more into action racing, wrestling, and FPS games far as PC went in the mid - late 90's. The only real adventure game I played back then was Blade Runner in which I still have a copy of.

[@Atomic_Haggis]

Fantastic review. The first game I bought was Under A Killing Moon, almost on the day it was released. Then I bought Pandora afterwards. I love UaKM, and have bought the entire series again, including Tesla Effect, on Steam. It's always great for another playthrough. Dual CD drives helped a bunch back in the day! I found this making of video that covers the series, over on Big Finish Games' official channel: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qqDSd2dmoNmVmq8

[@naturesinterface6663]

That's enough GOG spam.

[@PierreVonStaines]

There’s that “well sexy” Packard Bell again. 😍

[@chewba2008]

Definitly a classic!

[@Commander64]

I'd like to see what they could do today with a hight budget fmv game in full HD resolution. I've seen some around but not with this kind of budget.

[@kimlebrocqu692]

It's was an interesting concept back in the day. And yes it is very cheesy. A brilliant review as always Neil 😀😀😀 Kim 😀😀😀

[@RMCRetro]

Thanks Kim 👍

[@digiowl9599]

I do believe i have one of those games sitting around where somewhere. Never made it past the second CD or so though.

[@reggiep75]

Hahaha As soon as I heard that sax I thought 'George Michael - Careless Whisper'

[@tHeWasTeDYouTh]

Access Software, Inc. became Indie Built and made a lot of the sport games for the original xbox!!!! (Links and Amped games)

[@jamesleetrigg]

That’s pretty impressive for software rendering

[@travtuck7646]

I had this game on my Compaq. It's a piece of crap compared to today's games, but I really loved it....James Earl Jones narration and it was kinda funny too. Man, those were the days......

[@enzito_sdf6978]

never played much of 90's fmv. i had D from 1995 on MS DOS tho, what a weird game.

[@SMlFFY85]

10:45 Wasn't this guy in an episode of Star Trek TNG as a dim witted alien?

[@MichaelRusso]

My experience with computer games started with Lucas Film /Lucas Arts. Sierra's Leisure Suit Larry . I was not much for the motion picture style gaming of the time.

[@Ginsoakedboy21]

So wait, was that Whelan Smithers in the first clip? I am confused....

[@NStuffGuitars]

Hi do you know if you can play this on a newer computer?

[@peterdoa1]

flying Lambo

[@SoUtHMeMpHis]

This should be rebooted with Chris Elliott from David Letterman as the lead and add a Vr mode 🤔

[@ruzzodac]

4 fuckin CDs later!!!

[@randywatson8347]

Back in the days when pc gaming is getting superior (it still is)

[@raydeen2k]

Very cool. Now do Ripper. ;)

[@FerrariKangaroo]

Confirmed: Xbox One X is the best way to play Read Dead Redemption 2. 4k Native. Awyiss. But that said, Under a Killing Moon is still better. Please build a VGA PC retro gaming rig and experience this masterpiece.

[@atari2600b]

Wasn't there a game just like this (cyberpunk noir, animated) on sega CD?

[@RMCRetro]

You are perhaps thinking of Rise of the Dragon by Dynamix? That and Heart of China had a nice cinematic feel to it

[@FynboenDK]

Can't you make a review of : Tesla effect - A Tex Murphy Adventure. From 2014, cause this is the only game I haven't played so far.

[@RMCRetro]

Honesty I have it in my Steam, I played it for half a day and just wasn't feeling it. I will try the new game in the series when it's released though, there is talk of VR in the game which would put it on the forefront of game tech in much the same way as UAKM was if they do it, and that could be a very interesting experience.

[@mindphaserxy]

Daedalus Encounter had Tia Carrere also