In 1995, there weren’t many games that allowed you to use your own bodily fluids as a weapon. Ever committed to pushing the form forward, Interplay released "Boogerman: A Pick and Flick Adventure," a game centered around the exploits of Snotty Ragsdale, a stubbly, eye-masked schlub armed with nothing more than the contents of his own nose. Before I launch into a review full of nudge-nudge jokes about "hanky-panky" and "you might think this sentence is going to end with an original or clever play on words, but it'snot," I should point out that "Boogerman" is a fine illustration of how a lot of half-hearted puns and lowbrow humor can't make a mediocre platform game into a good one.
There's a fairly elaborate backstory to "Boogerman," involving one Professor Stinkbaum and a parallel universe known as Dimension X Crement, but the basics of what you need to know are that Boogerman is a caped crusader, and he defeats his foes by flinging his own mucus at them. As you advance through a series of gross-out levels, collecting snot and toilet plungers, you periodically have to jump on enemies that emit a loud farting sound when killed. Remember that episode of "The Simpsons" where Martin plays an arcade-game version of "My Dinner with Andre"? This isn't that.
The gameplay is pretty simple, and the graphics, while decent for their day, aren’t what you would call noteworthy. The character animations, which are actually quite well done, have a hand-drawn quality to them. Beyond that, there isn’t much to say. The levels mesh together after a while; they're picked out in a color palette of biological greens and browns that's not only hideous, but bland by today's standards.
The controls, though straightforward and fairly accessible, still handle somewhat loosely, causing you to miss jumps or slide off the odd ledge after you’ve landed on it. This is a cardinal sin for a platform game, and it becomes a more serious issue as you advance: players will find themselves struggling in the later levels, when the game’s difficulty can be overwhelming.
It's not all bad: the music, for example, is actually quite decent. Thankfully, Interplay didn’t go for a wacky soundtrack to accompany Boogerman’s ridiculous snot-shooting antics. Instead, the tunes groove along smoothly as you make you way through the filth-covered worlds. The sound effects, though, are an endless cacophony of farts, burps and squishing sounds. This might have helped boost the game's sales numbers in the fourth-grader demographic, but chances are you won’t appreciate the humor even as a guilty pleasure.
At the risk of incurring the wrath of nostalgia-soaked gamers who also have "Roll To Me" playing on a loop in their bedrooms and live in a house shaped like "The Adventures of Pete & Pete," I would have to say that "Boogerman" just isn’t worth your time. Fans will know what they’re stepping into, but newcomers will be far from amused. I know I said I wouldn't cram this review full of puns, but this one's unavoidable: if you're thinking of getting a copy of "Boogerman," I have to recommend that you pick something else.
