Recently, I dug into my archives and pulled out some old adventure
games from years past. No, this was not a nostalgia trip, but a necessity. My
computer’s main board had blown, and to assuage the gaming beast within me, I
had to revert to my old backup Pentium 200 and play some old-school games while
waiting for my new parts to arrive.

In an old box, nestled amongst Phantasmagoria,
Myst, and The 7th Guest, was a game called Bad Mojo–a game
that for some inexplicable I reason never finished. In case you don’t remember
this title, think cockroach. Ah, that helps, doesn’t it? No? Hmm, well, read on
anyway.

Story

In Bad Mojo, you play Roger Samms, a scientist
who, after being involved in some questionable research, has decided to skip town
with the riches he recently reaped. Of course, the night before your departure,
something happens that drastically alters that plan. As you are packing up your
things (after being harassed by your sleazy landlord for this month’s rent), you
grab your mother’s antique locket, and it magically and mysteriously transforms
you into (gasp) a cockroach.

Your only option is to navigate the various
rooms of your apartment building and try to find a way to correct your current
situation. Along the way, you find clues and information about yourself and your
landlord. The plot thickens, as they say, and a deeper and more complex story
evolves. You are aided by a woman known as the Oracle and given hints via your
newly found friends, the rodents and the insects. As usual, the story builds towards
a climactic ending, but I’ll leave it at that so as not to ruin things for you.
The one major complaint I had with the game’s storyline was an all-too-convenient
coincidence that is alluded to early on and that acts as a primary element to
the story. But hey, this is a game about a man turning into a cockroach. I think
you might want to look elsewhere for realism.

Graphics

The
graphics in Bad Mojo are very interesting–it’s rather hard to say how
they stack up today, considering that this game is four years old. The view is
top-down, and you move through a 2D world, but it’s done in a very convincing
and realistic manner. The graphics are crisp and clear, and the quality is high,
but to say they are pleasing to the eye–well, let’s just say that beauty is in
the eye of the beholder. Your journeys through the building are not on recently
steam-cleaned carpets or beautiful marble floors. Your landlord is sleazy, and
his building is a dive. You will wander over dead rats, through broken peanut
shells, and around cobwebs and wet paint. This game is not for the easily queasy–it’s
downright disgusting in parts. But if you can handle the gross factor, you’ll
find it is fairly interesting crawling around such unorthodox surroundings. And
its not all gross–one of the coolest parts of the game is crawling across the
kitchen counter, with chili bubbling on the stove nearby. Of course, there are
those maggots munching on some raw steak as well. Yum, I think you get the picture.

Gameplay

The
interface in Bad Mojo is ridiculously simple. There is no inventory, there
is no notebook–there isn’t even an “action” or “use” button.
Don’t bother with the mouse, either–all you get here are your four standard arrow
keys–up, down, left, right. You affect things in the game by bumping into them
or running over them. If you really think about it, this makes perfect sense–you’re
a cockroach after all, not a space marine or well-endowed archaeologist. This
doesn’t take away from the game either, quite the opposite. Exploration is key
here, and you will be amazed by some of the places you can navigate and investigate.

The
puzzles in Bad Mojo aren’t all that logical, but they are fun. I guess
logic goes right out the door when you’re talking about being turned into a cockroach
by a magical locket. Still, most of the puzzles are very solvable, and overall
the game is not that hard. As a novice, you may get stuck here and there, but
any expert adventure gamer should have no trouble with this game. It’s a bit short
for my liking, and I finished it in just three quick nights. There are six “sections”
in the game, and I think it could have used at least three or four more. Also,
there isn’t exactly an abundance of things to do. Many times, you’ll find yourself
just moving along with the story and not really doing all that much.

Sound/Music

I’ve
heard complaints that the music in Bad Mojo is too repetitive. I checked
the CD and found that most of the music samples were 20 seconds or less–they
are simply looped in the game. Personally, I didn’t notice this at all, and found
the music to be rather eerie and kind of creepy (exactly what you would expect
from a game of this type, I suppose). The sound effects were nothing that will
win awards, but they were effective. The most memorable sounds for me are the
ones you make as you maneuver over different surfaces in the game. You get a nice
gooey, sticky sound when you walk over a big hunk of meat and then a slippery
rubbing sound as you traverse the edge of the toilet bowl. Again, it’s not revolutionary,
but it paints the intended picture.

Finale and the Verdict

The
endgame wraps up cleanly, and there are four possible endings. I thought the video
sequences and cutscenes throughout the game were very hot and cold–some were
extremely well-done and interesting, whereas a few were downright lame. The sequences
that run while the oracle speaks to you, however, are extremely clever, if a bit
odd. I found myself replaying them even if I didn’t need to. Some of the dialogue
she speaks during these sequences serve as clues and have double meanings. Overall,
they are the highlight of the entire game.

Bad Mojo is a unique game
and a nice change of pace to the “standard” adventure template. It puts
you in a very strange scenario, one you won’t see in many other releases. Some
will find it disturbing, some will find it intriguing, and I’m guessing that almost
all will find it just plain different. Because of this, I think you’ll discover
the initial addiction factor to be very high. Despite the fact that it is rather
short, and not very difficult, I think the ride is fun, and Bad Mojo will
provide some solid entertainment. This title won’t necessarily be one you put
in your trophy case, but it definitely will be a game you will remember.

Final
Grade: B

System Requirements:

PC:
Windows
3.1 or Windows 95
486/66 MHz or higher
8 MB RAM
20 MB available hard
disk space
2X CD-ROM drive
Super VGA graphics (256 colors)

Macintosh:
68040/33Mhz
processor or Power Mac
8-bit color monitor
8 MB RAM
Double speed CD ROM
drive or faster
System 7.1 or higher