Well, it ain't SO bad....

While far from polished, this is a sweet little shooter with loads of potential for greatness. For one, it isn't a zombie TDS, and on yoyogames that makes it stick out from the rest of the conformists. It also has decent graphics that feel consistent and appear to be original.

For another, it's not a linear blast-fest or a survival game: the maps are labyrinthine asylum blocks that require a bit of brainwork to get through. Brainwork as far as Doom is concerned, sure, but it's better than shoot things, fix barricades, repeat; or bumbling around a shoddy map, wondering where the crap I'm supposed to go next because I can't tell what is a door and what isn't. The maps I played were made pretty well: where I could and couldn't go was clearly defined, and some exploration (read as: combat sweep) was required before the exit could be reached.

There are lots of fun toys in Bad Seed, too, which aren't usually found in your typical alpha-level yoyogames TDS (or if they are, they aren't as nicely implemented). Colored doors require matching keys to open, and they slide aside like star trek doors, which is cool. There's also collapsible walls and exploding barrels.

I was fending off bloodthirsty crazies all the while, of course. Inmates chase you down and strangle you, and the guards are rather trigger happy. I was a little disappointed, though, that the two parties never fight each other (not from what i saw), and that they simply stand in messy clusters and wait for me to happen by -- I was hoping to at least find the inmates tearing the place apart in rabid frenzy. Maybe some twitching and giggling to themselves, off in a world of their own.

Now for the things that need improvement:

- It's a BITCH to hit anything because the crosshair is considerably off-center. Better sprite adjustment and maybe even a redesign are needed.

- Pushing barrels is an exercise in tedium because they don't follow your exact path of travel: they tend to lurch to the side and then slip out of your grasp.

- Bounding boxes are too big, and some spaces way too narrow. Combine this with the fact that it's easy to get stuck on walls, and you got a recipe for some very tight squeezes that shouldn't be. Some offices feel like walk-in closets, they're so cramped. Once all these issues are fixed, bullet sprites may need to be enlarged to compensate, which might actually make them easier to see.

- Enemies have a helluva tough time following me around corners. Something stops them and sends them walking the opposite direction, probably another bounding box issue.

- Some sounds play multiple instances at once or just seem a bit too loud (like the door sound). Also the weapon switch sound plays in a noisy stream if you hold the number keys down, when they ought to play the sound only once. This is a nitpick compared to the rest, but fixing it and any other instances of this will make the game more professional.

- The magnum bullets don't make enemies bleed. Like, at all.

- The main menu options' sprites are set to precise collision checking, and shouldn't be. It's tough to pick an option when I have to click exactly on a letter for my choice to register.

- I thought the blue floor tiles were walls and avoided them 'til I realized enemies could shoot "through" them. Maybe they're too detailed or have too much of a wall-like edge to them, but they clash with the other floor tiles so much they looked like obstacles.

- The story could be polished a bit more. The premise isn't bad -- locking a god-fearing schizophrenic and the devil incarnate together in an asylum and watching them duke it out -- but doesn't quite hit its mark the way its written or presented. Maybe open the game with a skippable screen of scrolling text?

- The GUI could use a teeny bit of work, mainly the weapon icons. They're very badly shrunken and cropped.

- Would be nice if my weapons carried over to the next map.

Despite its flaws, Bad Seed is worth checking out. It's exciting to think about what it'll become when the developer spends more time with it, but even as it is, it's a good way to burn a few minutes. I lost track of the time a bit, myself; so Bad Seed can't be SO bad, can it?