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I really liked this. You are Foreman Fred, charged with maintaining the pipeline which carries water from the top of the screen to the bottom for the purpose of filling barrels. Not that it's a straight pipe! It twists and turns like a plumber's nightmare. In order not to get your hands dirty, you collect workers as they troll about the site, and when you do, they follow you.

Unfortunately, the place is beset with flaming blowlamps, electric drills, spanners, showers of tacks, the six-legged Venusian pipe spider, and, in a crawl-on role, the Hard Case Lobster which can only be shot from behind. All these meanies cause breaks in the line which must be repaired by leading one of your workers to it. Touch the marauding meanies and it's (shower?) curtains. But you can fight back with your laser, and use the workers as shields. Keep the pipe running, and you get promoted to an even more complicated tangle.

All of this frantic action is accompanied by rather tasteful music, perhaps a spring quartet playing (watering-can) Handel, and the pipe-work is drawn in clever shades which give the impression of depth. The characters, though rather flickery which is disappointing, are very amusing. In fact, humour permeates this game, down to the C5 and lecherous worker in-between screens.

A demo-mode is provided, as are keyboard, joystick and multiple life options. I would have flipped had the movement been up to Sorcery standards, even so, I'm swamped!

D.M.