Bad Milk

The Good
Bad Milk is...well, you see it's...uh, it's this...this thing. Okay, so it's February 3rd, 2000, and the milk you put in your coffee expired on October 25th, 1999. Wow, smart. And so, you wake up floating in the middle of nowhere and there are a bunch of flat video images floating in front of you. Now, isn't that just the most logical, coherent thing you've ever heard of? No, in fact, it's not. That's what makes the game so much fun.

Apparently, you are told by an ominous voice on the phone which just so happens to be floating in the middle of nowhere that you can escape this place if you're clever. If you're not, muahahahahahaha and all that. Each of the images floating around is an interactive video puzzle. Each puzzle has a unique solution, and many of them are quite entertaining to solve. They are controlled quite ingeniously at times, such as one where you must drag a man across the screen to decipher a message. Depending on where your mouse is, the man will be standing erect, standing slightly lower, crouching, waddling, or squatting. It's a very well implemented and innovative control scheme. The graphical effects also wow in other places. One puzzle has a head which has more or less hair depending on where your mouse is on the y-axis.

The audio is extremely well done, especially in the sequences where you are blinded and have to stumble through the dark. All you see on screen are four arrows which you click to walk in a direction. The sound really pulls through here, letting you get the idea of exactly what is going on around you. One of the more entertaining things you hear is when you appear to stumble through glass windows and break them, and then when you walk forward the glass crunches under your feet. It's no wonder this game won Innovation in Audio at the 2002 Independent Games Festival.

Lastly, the interface is pretty innovative. Different puzzles are inside different...rooms? Yeah, that's the word. Each puzzle is represented by a flat polygon textured with a frame from the video, and a door to a different room is represented by a small circle. When you move the mouse left and right, these rotate around, and when you click, the puzzle or door in front of you is activated.

The Bad
I honestly have to say I really enjoyed myself while playing. That is to say...while playing. The game ends very quickly. I think I finished it in two hours. I enjoyed those two hours enough that I don't feel cheated by the twenty dollar price tag, but still, it should be noted.

Also, if you miss one crucial detail at the end of a puzzle, you have to complete the entire puzzle again to hear it again, which is annoying despite the fact that it extends the play time. I also saw another review that criticized the lack of a save feature, though there isn't really one required. The game world is relatively small and all the puzzles are open from the beginning, so all you need to do is pick up where you left off.

Lastly, the main character sometimes speaks. His voice is really annoying.

The Bottom Line
Gameplay: I really can't find a single thing wrong with the game design. It's pure, pure fun! 1000/1000

Graphics: The minimalistic graphics emphasize the videos, and they do their job with that. The videos themselves are pleasing to look at, but some of them are a little grainy. 980/1000

Sound Effects: The voice acting is very nice, except in the final scene. But the way the acting is used in one puzzle, where playing it backwards reveals a message, is just great. 960/1000

Ambient Sound/Music: The ambient sounds in the darkness puzzles are excellent. I have no criticism at all, they just work so well. 1000/1000

Programming: Bad Milk has no bugs, and the video manipulation is extremely smooth. Quicktime has its advantages. 1000/1000

Originality: I honestly can't think of another game like it. Really, I can't. It's just so different. 1000/1000

Emotional Impact: While it doesn't really need any, the game doensn't have much to tie you into characters or things to care about. Even the character you play isn't so well developed. 800/1000

Story/Presentation: There isn't all that much story in there, but the game does just fine without it, and the little bit that's in there really works. 990/1000

Replay Value: This is where the game falters. 2 hours for 20 dollars. That's about 16 cents a minute. Less than your phone bill, but for a game...no. 400/1000

Personal Slant: Despite the length, Bad Milk is a work of art that needs to be recognized. 1000/1000

OVERALL: 9130/10000