Mojo \ 'mo(')jo noun, : a magic spell, hex or charm; broadly; magical powers. Any magic that would turn someone into a cockroach must be bad to say the least. Unfortunately that is exactly what happens to Roger Samms in the opening sequence of this game. Poor old Roger is an entomologist labelled by society at the 'nerd' end of the social spectrum. He lives in a rundown apartment building in San Francisco's waterfront area, home to all sorts of human, animal and insect flotsam and jetsam. So Roger plans to throw off his hapless image by escaping to Mexico, with a case full of money embezzled from his research funds, to start life anew. If only he hadn't picked up that strange antique amulet he might have made it south of the border. Instead, in a blinding flash of eerie light, Roger is transformed into a cockroach lying dazed and unhappy at the bottom of a smelly drain. Life can be cruel, don't you think?
To my way of thinking cockroaches have a special place in the psyche of most people. That's why many roaches end their lives on the sole of a shoe. Witness over the years the supporting role played by thousands of cockroach extras in countless movies and TV dramas, swarming out of someone's drain into their bathroom, crawling in, out and over various human body parts, yuck.I have to stop there. So who in their saner moments (Sixteen Bits Editors aside), would think up a problem-solving adventure game about being a cockroach? I have to confess that I don't give cockroaches even one second's thought, except perhaps when I'm about to instinctively step out and grind one into oblivion with my foot, or to smash one to a pulp with a rolled-up newspaper. And yet, here I am, spending countless hours looking at the world from a cockroach's perspective and trying to figure out a way of becoming human again. Only in the computer gamer's world is this possible.
Bad Mojo is one of those quietly achieving games that gathers a cult following but does not seem to attract the advertising hype so familiar with other titles such as DOOM and Duke Nukem, for example. And yet, in 1996, Bad Mojo has become something of a phenomenon. At the New Media Awards this year, it won '96 Strategy/Puzzle Game of the Year, '96 Best Story/Script, '96 Best Graphics/Title, '96 Award for Technical and Graphic Excellence. In addition, it won Gamesport Editor's Choice Award for the '96 Outstanding Adventure Game, PC Games had it in the '96 Top 20 Rated Games and PC Entertainment gave it Best Art in a Game. So, is it really that good? Absolutely.
Bad Mojo features about 30 minutes of video footage and about 800 scenes through which Roger the roach can travel. The entire game is controlled using only the four arrow keys. If it sounds simple it isn't. At every turn a cockroach must anticipate disaster whether in the form of a dying rat lashing out for its last meal, a cat ready to play mouse or a spider looking to suck out your vital juices. Don't forget the man-made glue traps, fly paper or the humble vacuum cleaner. And then there are everyday objects like a still-smouldering cigarette butt, nasty spills of oil or stove hotplates left on. Through all this you must help Roger piece together why he of all people has been struck by such bad mojo, and what must he do to set things right. And that's it. I can't tell you much more because I'm still working my way through someone's revolting kitchen. I've met lots of other roaches and critters, some that were helpful and others that were out to get me. All I can say is that the picture emerging of Roger is fairly unpleasant, and I'm beginning to wonder if being a cockroach is too good for him?
The reason this game is so much fun is in part due to the problems, puzzles and riddles that must be solved, but mostly it's because the designers of this game have managed to successfully immerse themselves into a cockroach's world. It is fantasy bordering on lunacy, surreal in its simulation and graphically revolting in its depiction. Bad Mojo is one of those games where you know your upbringing should be telling you this is all in very bad taste and yet, its perverse appeal is irresistible. Call me twisted, but I think this game is excellent.
Technically, the game has its good and bad points. For starters, a cockroach's world is pretty dark most of the time, and I keep missing that vital crack in the wall through which I need to squeeze, or I don't see destruction fast approaching until it's too late. It would have been nice if I could have adjusted the gamma settings to suit my failing eyesight. The video was also a bit grainy and the acting in the cut scenes is far from award-winning stuff. Also, the game play is linear; therefore, the scenes do not scroll as you move about. As you scurry to the edge of each screen there is a pause while the next scene loads. But on the whole these are very minor grumbles and should be considered in relation to the program's many strengths.
At first I found it difficult to navigate in a world where your horizon is only a few centimetres away, and a bottle top is a significant feature of the landscape. To get you out of the opening scene and on your way, here are a few clues. When you first climb out of the basement drain head in a north-west direction. Eventually you will see the leg of a hot water heater. Climb to the top where you will find an icon of a flaming eye. Step on the image and listen for the riddle. After meeting up with some other cockroaches, turn right (away from them) and go through two screens, avoiding the blue flame of the water heater in the process. Climb up the pipe and survey the landscape below (notice the smouldering cigarette butt). Climb all the way down to the floor and then move off in the direction of the top of the screen. Avoid the glue traps and fly paper: if you get stuck on either you're dead. Crawl over the dying rat and be sure to avoid its tail. Kill the spider by burning it with the smouldering cigarette butt. Then head south to the next room full of adventure. That should be enough to get you started.
Does Roger the roach ever find his way out of this mess? Will he come out of this adventure with a new respect for cockroaches? I hope you all have lots of fun finding out.
SUMMARY
Title Bad Mojo
Format 1 x CD
Manufacturer
Rapid Pulse Entertainment, distributed by Acclaim.
Genre Adventure/problem solving
Price RRP $89.95. For the month of January, BitStorm in the Canberra Centre will sell Bad Mojo to PCUG members on presentation of a current membership card for $79.95.
Classification Suitable for mature players 15 years and over (see comments below).
System Requirements (minimum). A 486DX/66 MHz processor, 8Mb RAM, double speed CD ROM, 20Mb of hard drive space, 256 VGA colour, 16 bit Sound Blaster compatible soundcard.
Assessment (Out of a possible 
maximum)
Graphics
The detail and thought that has gone into recreating the world on a scale appropriate to a cockroach is quite simply amazing. The video is average but the 800 game scenes more than compensate.
Sound
Sound Effects Speech Music
The sound effects are fun and what little there is in speech is okay. The music is down right scary.
Game Play
The interface in this game is the simplest I have come across in ages - up, down, left and right, that's it! The puzzles are not too difficult and should not be a challenge to seasoned adventure gamers. What makes this game so much fun is the unexpected mixed with the mundane. You would think for example that eating a cockroach would be the last thing on the mind of a rat caught in a trap. Not so, move too close to his jaws and you'll find out.
Violence
The game has a rating of 15 years and over. This is not because of the violence: nobody really cares about a cockroach meeting its demise (do they?), but probably because of the frequently gory scenes. Suffice to say this is probably not a game for the whole family.
Documentation
Bad Mojo comes with one of those lovely 100 page glossy books that is 10 percent English and 90 percent non-English, leaving you wondering if there aren't better economies in making smaller single language books for distribution to specific geographic markets.
Ease of Installation
Well, at long last, I've found a game that loads and runs under Windows 95 without the slightest hint of a problem. I wish there more games as easy to load and run as this one.
Value for Money
I think this game is a collectors' item. Even though Bad Mojo has been around for almost a year, I've rarely seen it on game software shelves. If you have any money left after Christmas, buy yourself a New Year's present and pick up a copy of the most imaginative and intriguing game you are ever likely to play.
Alan Tebb works full time in the Department of Defence. He is also a Director of Adept Word Processing, a desktop publishing and graphic design business in Canberra on telephone (06) 291 9220. In addition he is a partner in EdRev, an educational software review service for parents and teachers available on the Internet at
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