C&VG


Night Shift
By Lucasfilm
Amiga 500

 
Published in Computer & Video Games #109

Night Shift

Getting a job at Industrial Might and Logic (a wee joke on the name of Lucasfilm's special effects company, Industrial Light and Magic, methinks) is no easy task. Take Fred and Freda Fixit, for example. They've been trying to get a job there for ages, and only now has the hard-nosed boss given them a trial run.

Their task is to run the Beast - a massive machine which churns out toys of famous Lucasfilm characters by the lorryload. Sounds easy, yes? Guess again! Running the Beast involves pedalling a bike to bring the machine's energy levels up to scratch, then turning all manner of switches and dials to ensure the right parts appear for the right toys in the right colours! And if that isn't enough, a couple of mischievous lemmings get in on the act and try to throw a spanner in the works! Erk!

Success will be rewarded with some very nice bonuses, but if Fred or Freda fail to meet their quota (by either not making enough toys, or making too many rejects), they'll be given their cards, and get the receiving end of a boot!

Amiga

Night Shift

The easiest thing that can be said about Night Shift is that it's a platform game with knobs on - literally! At first glance, Night Shift looks like a lot of fun, and it is - for the first few plays! But once you hit the later levels, you find that there's just too much to do at any one time - keep the bike going, turn this dial, hit this switch, stop the lemmings, arrrgh!

Everything goes into maximum overdrive, and reject toys seem to appear from every nook and cranny! Having to race around again rectifying the situation is more frustration-inducing than fun, and so the playability level suffers quite a bit. The graphics and sound are very nice, even if everything seems to appear a touch squashed, and there are some very entertaining sequences, featuring the cigar-chomping boss, and the lemmings (one of which has a bright red nose!).

If well 'ard platform action is the one for you, have a gander - you may like this, you may not. Be sure you're up to the challenge, though - this is no game for novices!

PC

Depending on the graphics format used, PC Night Shift is similar to the Amiga version in most respects, but with larger graphics and poorer sound.

Unfortunately, it's just as flippin' tough as the Amiga game, so the same criticisms apply. Again, take a look, but this ain't for the faint of heart.

Robert Swan

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