Last edited by texmex82 on May 13, 2014 • 2:04 pm, edited 2 times in total.
I know many of you have supported the franchise for a long time--and indeed played a big role in it coming back. I'm very appreciative of that.
The Pandora Directive was one of my favourite games from my childhood and I was a really excited Kickstarter backer and fan of the series.
That said, I was pretty disappointed by how the game turned out after having played through multiple times (the latter times just to see story changes). It didn't have that Pandora Directive magic. Mainly, the story, endings, and overall writing wasn't up to Pandora's high standard.
The choices in Telsa weren't nearly as meaningful as in Pandora. Tesla's endings seemed to hinge on whether you wanted to stay loyal to Chelsee or sleep with someone else who you didn't even really know (at least as far as Tex's lost memory is concerned). Seemed a bit juvenile to base the paths on that. Based on Tex's memory loss, why on Earth would he (or the player) not choose the Chelsee path? It was the only compelling one.
For a game that really played up the angle of "did Tex change" it was disappointing that he didn't have a chance to go to the dark side. Pandora, on the other hand, let you actually be evil. All of Pandora's endings played out very differently and they were all quite brilliant in their own right.
Tesla, on the other hand, seemed to wrap up pretty much the same way except for which woman you ended up with. They were all fairly happy endings, even the jaded Tex one. And two of the endings were quite cliched and dull--the opposite of what Tex should be. Perhaps a drawback of Conners and co-writers wanting to appeal to a wider casual audience.
So for me: Pandora 10/10 and Tesla 5/10. I guess Pandora raised the bar too high. It was trying to be cutting edge. Telsa was trying to appeal to the mainstream, who wouldn't be content playing a 20 hour game and getting an unhappy ending.
Anyway, rant over, sorry!
I'm probably in the serious minority here. What did you folks think?
The Pandora Directive was one of my favourite games from my childhood and I was a really excited Kickstarter backer and fan of the series.
That said, I was pretty disappointed by how the game turned out after having played through multiple times (the latter times just to see story changes). It didn't have that Pandora Directive magic. Mainly, the story, endings, and overall writing wasn't up to Pandora's high standard.
The choices in Telsa weren't nearly as meaningful as in Pandora. Tesla's endings seemed to hinge on whether you wanted to stay loyal to Chelsee or sleep with someone else who you didn't even really know (at least as far as Tex's lost memory is concerned). Seemed a bit juvenile to base the paths on that. Based on Tex's memory loss, why on Earth would he (or the player) not choose the Chelsee path? It was the only compelling one.
For a game that really played up the angle of "did Tex change" it was disappointing that he didn't have a chance to go to the dark side. Pandora, on the other hand, let you actually be evil. All of Pandora's endings played out very differently and they were all quite brilliant in their own right.
Tesla, on the other hand, seemed to wrap up pretty much the same way except for which woman you ended up with. They were all fairly happy endings, even the jaded Tex one. And two of the endings were quite cliched and dull--the opposite of what Tex should be. Perhaps a drawback of Conners and co-writers wanting to appeal to a wider casual audience.
So for me: Pandora 10/10 and Tesla 5/10. I guess Pandora raised the bar too high. It was trying to be cutting edge. Telsa was trying to appeal to the mainstream, who wouldn't be content playing a 20 hour game and getting an unhappy ending.
Anyway, rant over, sorry!
I'm probably in the serious minority here. What did you folks think?
Yes, Tesla Effect totally did live up to my expectations, and even went beyond them in some aspects. But I'm also a rabid fangirl. 
So it's hard to be critical.
Yeah, I was pretty fixated on Chelsee too. Every time another woman shows up in the frame, I think "Go away
" I wasn't even trying to stay on a track, I was just doing what I wanted to. .
But by looking on other forums I've found some people who didn't get the Chelsee ending and were disappointed. So it actually is possible to miss it even if you're trying.
And Pandora is just a perfect game. What could ever compare to it?
So it's hard to be critical.Yeah, I was pretty fixated on Chelsee too. Every time another woman shows up in the frame, I think "Go away
" I wasn't even trying to stay on a track, I was just doing what I wanted to. .But by looking on other forums I've found some people who didn't get the Chelsee ending and were disappointed. So it actually is possible to miss it even if you're trying.
And Pandora is just a perfect game. What could ever compare to it?
I felt the game did live up to some of my expectations. Not all of them.
Pandora set the bar pretty high. It's their best work but impossible to match given the current budget.
For me it was always about the humor and the mystery to solve. That was all there.
Regarding Cheslee, we have history with her and know her well. New players who have never played Tex will only think of her briefly as an ex-girlfriend. So for them choosing some one else isn't that weird.
I did feel the puzzles were mostly easier. The sticky puzzles wern't necessarily hard but tedious.
Bottom line. I enjoyed it and had fun. And now I can have fun talking about the game with all of you. I'd say mission accomplished for Tesla Effect.
Pandora set the bar pretty high. It's their best work but impossible to match given the current budget.
For me it was always about the humor and the mystery to solve. That was all there.
Regarding Cheslee, we have history with her and know her well. New players who have never played Tex will only think of her briefly as an ex-girlfriend. So for them choosing some one else isn't that weird.
I did feel the puzzles were mostly easier. The sticky puzzles wern't necessarily hard but tedious.
Bottom line. I enjoyed it and had fun. And now I can have fun talking about the game with all of you. I'd say mission accomplished for Tesla Effect.
Samantha
Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.
Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.
You're right, Sam- they had less of a budget this time around, so maybe I was expecting too much
Also, I agree that Pandora raised the bar really high. I guess too high for me to fully appreciate Tesla.
I was looking back at the endings of Pandora the other day and was seriously impressed by the quality of the writing, the chemistry between characters, the creativity, and the boldness of going with some less-than-happy endings.
I guess what disappointed me about Tesla effect was that it was too conventional and didn't take enough risks. The main decision had to do with whether to sleep with Taylor, Ariel, try for a threesome, or reject both to be faithful. It was just...awkward. As if they asked a high school student or soap opera fan what they thought would be a good moral dilemma. It seemed targeted at casual gamers.
I hope they take the money from this and decide to take more chances with the next game.
In terms of my subjective impression (factoring in the disappointment of having high expectations), it felt like a 5/10. But objectively I'd say IGN's 6.8 was fair.
Also, I agree that Pandora raised the bar really high. I guess too high for me to fully appreciate Tesla.
I was looking back at the endings of Pandora the other day and was seriously impressed by the quality of the writing, the chemistry between characters, the creativity, and the boldness of going with some less-than-happy endings.
I guess what disappointed me about Tesla effect was that it was too conventional and didn't take enough risks. The main decision had to do with whether to sleep with Taylor, Ariel, try for a threesome, or reject both to be faithful. It was just...awkward. As if they asked a high school student or soap opera fan what they thought would be a good moral dilemma. It seemed targeted at casual gamers.
I hope they take the money from this and decide to take more chances with the next game.
In terms of my subjective impression (factoring in the disappointment of having high expectations), it felt like a 5/10. But objectively I'd say IGN's 6.8 was fair.
I've said it before in other threads but I think it's worth saying again here. I was more than satisfied with Tesla. I finished it last night and got the Chelsee ending. I've waited sixteen years to help Tex get the girl and I love every minute of it. I've had a big cheesy grin on my face all day. 
~ Member: Tex Murphy's Mutant League, Crazy 888's Chapter~
*Revitalizing Old San Francisco's Chandler Avenue District With Style*
The Unofficial Project Fedora Theme Song
*Revitalizing Old San Francisco's Chandler Avenue District With Style*
The Unofficial Project Fedora Theme Song
It depends on what expectations you mean. During the kickstarter, mine would have been a bit lower, but they definitely pumped them up with the trailers and talking about how huge the game was. If you're referring to my more recent high expectations, then no it didn't quite live up to them, but it still met my original, if that makes any sense.
I haven't played through the different paths, I've only seen the Chelsee ending so far. Pandora and UAKM are superior in my opinion. I'm torn on Overseer vs Tesla Effect. They both have significant pros and cons. But in the end, it's Tex and provided a satisfactory resolution to Overseer. I loved the Chelsee ending, particularly that bit after the credits.
I also think the opening theme is the best in any Tex game and I like the different take on it in the end credits. The rest of the music was okay.
I haven't played through the different paths, I've only seen the Chelsee ending so far. Pandora and UAKM are superior in my opinion. I'm torn on Overseer vs Tesla Effect. They both have significant pros and cons. But in the end, it's Tex and provided a satisfactory resolution to Overseer. I loved the Chelsee ending, particularly that bit after the credits.
I also think the opening theme is the best in any Tex game and I like the different take on it in the end credits. The rest of the music was okay.
While midis didn't exactly wow me, I'd say its more the gameplay that didn't live up to Pandora's standards. Granted some things in Tesla's story weren't easy to believe, but perhaps can still be explained, so I really look to the former. While not inclusive, Travel locations like the Police Station and Beach House were closed off, Ask Abouts were closed off, and path branching and game difficulty were too similar and straightforward. Finally, with inventory items generally restricted to the locations they were found in its no wonder I beat the game in less than a day. Maybe there's an impression out there that gamers don't want to be challenged, but I wholeheartedly disagree.texmex82 wrote:I know many of you have supported the franchise for a long time--and indeed played a big role in it coming back. I'm very appreciative of that.
The Pandora Directive was one of my favourite games from my childhood and I was a really excited Kickstarter backer and fan of the series.
That said, I was pretty disappointed by how the game turned out after having played through multiple times (the latter times just to see story changes). It didn't have that Pandora Directive magic. Mainly, the story, endings, and overall writing wasn't up to Pandora's high standard.
The choices in Telsa weren't nearly as meaningful as in Pandora. Tesla's endings seemed to hinge on whether you wanted to stay loyal to Chelsee or sleep with someone else who you didn't even really know (at least as far as Tex's lost memory is concerned). Seemed a bit juvenile to base the paths on that. Based on Tex's memory loss, why on Earth would he (or the player) not choose the Chelsee path? It was the only compelling one.
For a game that really played up the angle of "did Tex change" it was disappointing that he didn't have a chance to go to the dark side. Pandora, on the other hand, let you actually be evil. All of Pandora's endings played out very differently and they were all quite brilliant in their own right.
Tesla, on the other hand, seemed to wrap up pretty much the same way except for which woman you ended up with. They were all fairly happy endings, even the jaded Tex one. And two of the endings were quite cliched and dull--the opposite of what Tex should be. Perhaps a drawback of Conners and co-writers wanting to appeal to a wider casual audience.
So for me: Pandora 10/10 and Tesla 5/10. I guess Pandora raised the bar too high. It was trying to be cutting edge. Telsa was trying to appeal to the mainstream, who wouldn't be content playing a 20 hour game and getting an unhappy ending.
Anyway, rant over, sorry!
I agree that it should have been more challenging. I played on Gamer and never once wished for a hint. I think they took the Malloy's jeans and Robco battery pack comments too much to heart and just put everything you need right where you need it. The key and battery for the power station in the TSL lobby is particularly bad, with the key sitting in the drawer right next to it.
definitely lived up to expectations though its execution was rather rough around the edges. It could've been graphically better and could've definitely had fewer bugs at launch. But overall its a fantastic game. Ain't no one can fault it as being a bad game.
In hindsight though I wish we'd had more resource gameplay in the form of money like we did with Pandora. I would've liked a lot more puzzles, there was a lack of photo/letter puzzles like we saw in early Tex games and the Electronics Shop felt very useless as a result. But this is just nitpicking. Its a great game rival in quality to that of Pandora if only falling a bit short from the things I just mentioned.
Great game, Looking forward to what comes next from BFG.
In hindsight though I wish we'd had more resource gameplay in the form of money like we did with Pandora. I would've liked a lot more puzzles, there was a lack of photo/letter puzzles like we saw in early Tex games and the Electronics Shop felt very useless as a result. But this is just nitpicking. Its a great game rival in quality to that of Pandora if only falling a bit short from the things I just mentioned.
Great game, Looking forward to what comes next from BFG.