Mean Streets

Mean Streets is a video game in the adventure genre developed by Access Software, Inc. and published by Access Software, Inc. originally released in 1989. It is currently playable on DOS.

Private detective Tex Murphy is hired to investigate the murder of a university professor. It turns out he was one of eight scientists involved in Project Overlord, a mission to remotely control people. Tex soon learns of the deaths of other related figures. Among the suspects are the head of British intelligence, the owner of a surveillance company and the professor's daughter.

Tex's first adventure takes the player through the seedy world of the West Coast of 2033, a setting that combines futuristic elements with noir and hardboiled detective fiction styles. The main parts of the adventure are icon-based, and object puzzles are less important than detective deduction and character interaction. The characters are represented by digitized photos.

Mean Streets features dozens of characters with whom you can interact by asking questions or offering bribes. Fights often break out, but a diplomatic approach is more successful with characters whose guilt is not proven. Although largely an adventure game, travel between cities involves piloting Tex's Lotus Speeder in a flight simulation section. The game also contains side-scrolling action sequences in which Tex has to eliminate a series of enemies before he can advance to the destination.

Mean Streets is available at a reduced price on the following websites and is no longer abandonware.