February 8, 1995

 

 

The Other Press

19

A Moon's chance in Hell...

Hell is just that; Under A Killing Moon

by Jason Kurylo

Once again, it's time to take a look
at a couple of recent offerings of the
CD ROM industry. Once again, all we
have to look at is games, but I promise
you | will find some non-game product
to preview and/or review in the very
near future. Even if it kills me...

Until then, though, let the games...
um... reviews... begin!

UNDER A
wat,

nd vat

Access Software Incorporated
PC CD-ROM on four discs

If every game were as ambitious
as Under A Killing Moon, I could
safely give up on the outside world and
make that dreaded commitment.I could
lock myself in a room with a computer,
a Coke machine, and a Domino’s menu,
and be completely happy with my sorry
existence. Oh sure, the game has the
mandatory dry bits, and some always
friendly what-the-hell-were-they-
thinkin’ parts, but in the grand scheme
of things, Killing Moon is a scream.
Yes, it even has some genuinely funny
bits!

The third adventure of PI Tex
Murphy (a computer version of co-crea-
tor Chris Jones), Killing Moon boasts

“the acting talents of Margot (Lois Lane)
Kidder, Brian (Hardcastle) Keith, and
the voice of none other than James Earl
Jones (as god, for pete’s sake...) Un-

ike several recent games featuring big
stars (see review of Hell below), Moon
actually features big stars acting.

Set in New San Francisco after

eWorld War Three (don’t worry, typical
post-apocalyptic fare it is not...), Kill-

“ing Moon is populated by the ugliest
and weirdest of mutants and the best and
most beautiful of humans. It starts with
a rather tame search for a pawn shop

 

New San Francisco in Under A Killing Moon: Humans, mutants,
the Golden Gate Bridge... Who could ask for anything more?

cat burglar, but soon balloons into a
somewhat original save-the-world-
from-the-really-bad-Naziesque-cult
saga. Take Bladerunner, put it in a
blender with The Maltese Falcon, then
add a little Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
just for the heck of it, and you’ve got
Killing Moon.

The biggest selling point for me
though, has to be the full three-dimen-
sional environment. Upon entering a
room, Tex can look at the ceiling, floor,
or any wall, from a standing, crouch-
ing, or prone point of view. This allows
for a tremendously realistic feel,
especially when searching for clues in
a stranger’s house or office. (No matter
how rich or intelligent a person is, they
still need a place to hide their spare
key...)

Characters are excruciatingly real.
Although it suffers from a mild case of
the dreaded Single Solution Sickness
(so many games lost to this awful af-
fliction...), this game is successful in
dragging the player into the interface.
At times, lost in the thick of things, I
actually thought I was Tex... (the edi-
tors of the Other Press would like to
interject here for a moment, and men-
tion that the OP in no way encourages
the use of mind-altering substances for
any purpose, let alone for enjoyment of
a computer game...)

All in all, I highly recommend
Under A Killing Moon. Give it a
chance, and it will give you the world.
Or something like that.

 

 

The droll, dry adventures of Tex Murphy... Not necessarily the most fun one could
have on a Saturday night, but it beats the shit out of He//.

pressive.

player to count

ties (Dennis Hopper,
Grace Jones, and Steph-
anie Seymour) are
wildly uninspired, un-
imaginative, and unim-

The video seldom
blends successfully with
the audio, leaving the

sets pace for other games to follow

from Too Much Hype Syndrome, and
thus can’t help but fall short. Perhaps
this reviewer is being wholly unfair, and
should try looking at things through a
less cynical lens.

Nah.

Perhaps a game with an eighty
dollar price tag and an unheard of ap-
petite for memory should at least be en-
tertaining.

 

mistakes. A sup-
posed “transcript”
of past discussions is available to
keep facts straight and allow
perusal of vague clues, but cus-

 

tomarily mismatches quotes and
characte

  
 
 
   
 
 

All of these points
ae
trate, and eventually
e player to note int
acks on their com

Take2 Interactive Software

PC CD ROM
Wow, was I disa,

 
 
 
 
 

 
   
     

ation: it’s B-O-R- :
his game suffers

As a player, you step into the
of Gideon and Rachel , a pair of
ernment agents who suddenly,
themselves targets of the Hand. An in-
vestigation ensues, with the protago-
nists of course trying to avoid demons
and police alike. Eventually, of course,
the quest leads to - you guessed it - the
bowels of Hell. Unfortunately, the tech- .
nology doesn’t even begin to keep up
with the ambitious storyline.

 

     
   

   
   

WATCH IT
FOR THE KIDS
, TATA

i) i aK
FEBRUARY 11 & 12
on BCTV

FOR MORE INFORMATION
CONTACT:

VARIETY CLUB OF B.C.
669-2313 or 669-7770

 

 

Graphics here are sadly lacking in
quality. Most characters are slow, re-
petitive, and unrealistic in appearance.
Even the characters based on celebri-

 

1996.

Education Council.

 

Student
Representatives
on College Board
and Education
Council

Two nominations were received from students
for the six available seats on the College Board
and Education Council. Therefore, both students
win their seats by acclamation.

Ken Gracey is the new student representative
on the College Board.

Mandeep Bhuller is the new Thomas Haney
Centre student representative on Education
Council. He will serve until August 1996.

The second seat for students on the College
Board will remain vacant unless a by-election
is held as will the three unfilled seats on

 

A ‘Crraaition of CG xcettence

 

He will serve until August