88 lines
5.3 KiB
Plaintext
88 lines
5.3 KiB
Plaintext
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NIGHT SHIFT
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Over the past dozen years, George Lucas's employees have been busy working
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overtime, churning out (among other things) cute little robots for movies,
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amusement park rides, and computer games. Where do all these come from? We
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thought it was ILM (Industrial Light & Magic), but what do we know? It turns out
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they come from IML (Industrial Might and Logic), all stamped out by one
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humongous machine affectionately named "The Beast." Someone has to keep The
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Beast running day and night -- and now it's your turn! (This review is based on
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the IBM-PC version of the game.)
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In NIGHT SHIFT, you can choose to be either Fred or Fiona Fixit. At the
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beginning of your shift, stop in at the boss's office to find out your quota for
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the night, and then get to work! In the early rounds of NIGHT SHIFT, your job is
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simply to keep The Beast running. Plugs come unplugged, bolts get unbolted, and
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fires go out. Ride the bicycle to generate power and make certain that all of
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the conveyor belts are running in the correct directions. With each round,
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something new is added to The Beast -- usually a process that was previously
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automated is now tacked on to your task list. So go ahead and paint the robots,
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pack them, ship them off.
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To aid you in your job, you have a toolbox, your "Toolie." Some tools are here
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in unlimited supply (such as your hand!), but others run out, and you'll need to
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find more, which randomly appear all over The Beast. Learning the fastest routes
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up and down The Beast is a task in itself. There are no ladders or clearly
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marked paths, and some landing places are not immediately apparent. Jump from
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conveyor belt to various ledges or onto pieces of equipment to get around. If
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you're in a rush, you might find an umbrella (for going down) or a balloon (yep,
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for going up) in your toolbox.
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All of this is sounds frenetic enough, but there's even more. You see, there
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are lemmings. Lemmings are sort of gremlin-like. They love to loosen bolts, but
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more than that, they love you! They'll grab on to your legs and hug you, slowing
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you down to a crawl. Lemmings can be kicked away (it's really painful to have to
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kick these loving little tykes, too), or can be dealt with more permanently
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using venus flytraps and vacuum cleaners (again, both are in your toolbox). As
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the levels progress, your boss will also be running after you. If he catches
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you, he'll stun you by bashing you over the head with his diploma! (And that's
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one of the wonderful things about this game -- you get to kick your boss! A
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lot!)
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There are no "lives" to lose here. Each round is timed, indicated by a burning
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candle. After every couple of rounds, there's a charming intermission scene,
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where you can see what your character has done with his earnings (Mr. or Ms.
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Fixit buys a house, buys a car, fixes up the house, etc.). Of course, if you
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haven't met your quota, your boss has no heart: You're fired, out on your
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keester, and the game is over. You can play a practice, untimed round on the
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first shift, to get the hang of things.
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While NIGHT SHIFT might sound vaguely like the classic "Hard Hat Mack" game,
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what's clear is that a lot of imagination went into this. The Beast is a
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wonderfully unique, um, beast. Part Rube Goldberg contraption, yet also somewhat
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reminiscent of those giant gears that Chaplin dealt with in "Modern Times." I've
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managed to advance to the 15th level, and each level has added something new --
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like the Quality Control device (a TV set and a giant boxing glove), or the huge
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fans for drying the paint.
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In a nice touch, each level beyond the first has its own "security code," which
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remains the same for every game. If you keep track of these codes, you can
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re-start at whatever level you'd like. That's good, because NIGHT SHIFT is the
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kind of game where once I've "conquered" a level, I feel little desire to go
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back. I want to see what's coming up next, and figure out how to deal with it. I
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should admit that I'm also the kind of player who, once things get too frenetic
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(as they're starting to become by the 15th level), tends to tire of playing and
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thinks about moving on to something else.
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NIGHT SHIFT comes on three 5-1/4" diskettes (two 3-1/2" diskettes are available
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separately), and an install program is included for setting the game up on your
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hard drive. NIGHT SHIFT uses a code wheel for protection. The game can be played
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with a joystick or from the keyboard, and this is one of those rare instances in
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which I found using the keyboard worked just fine.
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Graphics support is provided for EGA, MCGA, VGA, and Tandy 16-color modes; note
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that no support is provided for mono or CGA. I guess that's because The Beast is
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so highly detailed that too much of the game would be lost at CGA resolution.
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The rear of the game box shows a VGA screen and, believe it or not, the actual
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VGA graphics are better than depicted -- brighter and sharper, and more colorful
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than the dim little photo would have you believe. AdLib and Sound Blaster cards
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are also supported.
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NIGHT SHIFT is a great arcade-style game for all ages. It's inventive and funny
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enough to charm adults, while parents will appreciate the fact that this is not
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one of those shoot-'em-up games that make you fire at anything that moves.
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NIGHT SHIFT is published by Lucasfilm Games and distributed by Electronic Arts.
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*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253 |