Urban Runner

About

Urban Runner is a 1996 point-and-click adventure built around full-motion video clips. You play Max Gardner, a journalist in Paris tangled in a drug conspiracy after a botched meeting turns deadly. The game leans heavily on pre-recorded video for dialogue and action, with players choosing responses or actions to advance the plot. Puzzle solving and investigation drive the story as you navigate murder charges and political cover-ups. The game stands out for its early use of FMV to create a gritty, cinematic vibe. Community reviews note its ambitious blend of mystery and action, though aging video quality and limited interactivity show their time. Its tense chase sequences and branching choices keep the pace tight, focusing on figuring out secrets with a partner caught in the same web.

Storyline

You are Max Gardner (Brandon Massey), an American journalist in Paris, investigating a story about a big drug dealer who is covered by some influential politician. To get the dealer talking, you offer him incriminating photographs in exchange for some information. When Max arrives at the meeting point, the drug lord is dead and Max is mistaken for the killer. While evading the authorities, Max continues his investigation and finds an ally in Adda - the murdered drug dealer's lover - and the two of them work to uncover the conspiracy behind the murders.