Bad
Mojo is a re-release of an almost decade-old game,
but one that is definitely a classic. It's an old-school
trip and although it's been updated somewhat to play
on the newer PC systems it still retains the old charm
with little change in the gameplay.
Known
as the "cockroach game," Bad Mojo lets you
explore the seedy side of life in a dilapidated building
from the perspective of a cockroach. But you're not
just any cockroach, you're a cockroach with a human
mind. It appears that the protagonist of our story
has been turned into a cockroach while checking out
his mother's enchanted talisman. Since he's a bit
of a thief, we can sum this up to bad karma. I won't
spoil anything because you'll learn more about Roger
Sam throughout the game as you come across various
icons which will trigger cut scenes.
Bad
Mojo is a point and click puzzle game that relies
heavily on exploration and forward thinking. While
the gameplay itself is simple the puzzles are anything
but. There is no inventory system. There are no other
characters to chat with. All you can do is more around
like a cockroach. You have to think like a cockroach.
You can't jump, fly or gain magical powers. The arrow
keys determine your directions. To solve puzzles you'll
have to push things around to get things to work for
you. Sometimes you'll have to push something over
to make a bridge so that you can crawl from one platform
to another. Other times you'll find that you have
to push things into other things to create a something
new. For example, there is a puzzle in which you might
consider pushing a knock-out pill into the drink of
a particularly threatening patron.
Crawling
around this building can be very gritty at times with
its run-down, decaying, creature infested perspective.
The building is not abandoned by any means it's just
that as a cockroach you try not to run into anyone
that might want you killed. Often you'll encounter
signs of life such as a burning cigarette and a boiling
vat of grease in the kitchen. There is a killer cat
on the loose so you'll always want to bear that in
the back of your mind. You'll run into other cockroaches
that will show you the tricks of the trade such as
how to crawl through walls and appliances and over
furniture.
The
straightforward nature of this game should be embraced
and not condemned. It's a different pace than today's
game and it's very refreshing, not to mention challenging,
to use so few controls. What you will be using is
your mind.
With
such highly detailed graphics it's hard to imagine
this game is almost ten years old. If I had never
seen it before I would think that this was one hell
of a great budget title, if not the best one I've
ever seen. At twenty bucks, puzzle fans should be
all over this one. Even if you've played it before
there are some great bonus features. There is an extra
disk on the making-of the game. It's full of interviews
with the developers, all of which are witty and somewhat
wacky. I guess you have to be to put a game like this
together.
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