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For once, a game with a storyline which actually ties in with the game! The Industrial Might and Logic company have the unenviable task of producing the small plastic Star Wars and Indiana Jones figures sold to parents at extortionate prices at this time of year. And you've got to help them (Back out now, if you've got any sense!).

The machine to make 'em is called Beast, a monolithic engine capable of automatically turning resin into said dolls, as long as it's attended to and gets a steady supply of electricity. It's very tall, so as you may expect, reaching the top of it involves jumping up a series of platforms and conveyor belts.

When you start work you have to hope that the earlier day shift have left Beast in good working order, but invariably (and more so as you move up the levels) they haven't - bolts are loose and plugs are left hanging out. So, your first job is to put all of these right. Each half of Beast makes either the head or the legs of the dolls, so you also have to make sure the conveyor belts are going the right way to make the dolls the right way up - otherwise you end up with two-headed Imperial Stormtroopers...

Jumping on the bike, then waggling the joystick left and right creates electricity for Beast - the faster you pedal, the more electricity flows through the machine. You have a quota of dolls to make in each level, and the faster the machine produces them, the more bonuses you receive.

So, Night Shift is a bit like the spinning-plates trick - as you put one thing right with Beast, something else goes wrong. You have to keep your eyes peeled for warning lights, resin being dumped in the waste bin, deformed dolls and broken bolts. But no matter how hectic things get, the control system acts beautifully - you won't find frustration with the joystick or keyboard commands.

The one niggle is that disk one is labelled Disk B, and disk two is Disk A; while the program sometimes asks for disk three which is Disk A again - come on Kixx, get your act together!

Aside from that, Night Shift is a polished and highly playable program, exactly what you expect from LucasArts.

1. Plenty of variation keeps you on your toes.

1. Finding parts of the machine can be difficult.