The Uncertainty Machine

The Good
The Uncertainty Machine takes place in an unnamed country in an unnamed city in the near future. Cities are separated between upscale, relatively crime-free citizens' areas for the rich, and "off-limits" areas where the poor live and no police patrol. Then, one day, reporter Susan Gant is given an assignment to investigate a robbery of a politician. But she soon learns it's no petty robbery...it's part of a dark conspiracy to prevent something...something that could be good for the poor, and very bad for the rich.

This story is very riveting, and it's hard to walk away from the game when the plot is revealing itself. Most freeware games don't have very much in the way of a good story, but to call The Uncertainty Machine an exception to this rule would be a horrible understatement. It's crafted extremely well, with every aspect seeming to fit logically in the puzzle, and every plot twist surprising you head on. It's better than a lot of novels I've read.

The gameplay is similar to most point-and-click adventure games, with TUM clearly playing in the style of Beneath a Steel Sky (except you can't die in the game). The interface is quite similar to BASS, with the right mouse button used to look at objects and the left used to manipulate them, while clicking either button on anywhere else makes Susan walk to it. Your inventory is displayed from a window at the top of the screen, which also includes the various options, saving, and loading menus. Dialogue is also displayed in a similar manner.

The puzzles would be considered easy for die-hard adventure gamers, but they were somewhat of a challenge for stupid me. But they are extremely well designed either way. One particularly ingenious puzzle involves figuring out the code for a keypad. Since nobody will tell you it, you need to wipe nail polish on all the keys and the next day see which ones are smudged. Wouldn't it be great if you could do that in all adventure games?

The graphics are very nice. They are rendered in a colorful comic-book style, and are extremely well done. Eduardo Campos is clearly a very talented artist, with the characters looking very realistic and the backgrounds looking even better. These graphics are a clear example of the true potential of the AGS engine.

The music is also very well done. It can range from calming to creepy, with the latter sometimes literally sending a chill down my spine. The music fits the atmosphere of what is going on very well, and helps to heighten the suspense when needed.

The Bad
There's really very little I didn't like about this game. The animations aren't as smooth as other adventure games, but that's a minor complaint for an amateur freeware game. There is also no voice acting, but that's an even more minor complaint.

The Bottom Line
The Uncertainty Machine is definitely one of the best games I've played in a while, let alone the best freeware game. With some smoother animation and voice acting, it could probably do well as a retail game.