Previous Next

Well, I'll go to the foot of our stairs. Peace and prosperity have once again been shattered by the presence of an evil dictator who has killed a vast number of people and intends to rule the earth. This time he goes by the name of King Crimson (who's rumoured to be 'Red' Ken Livingstone bearing a grudge because his autobiography was an almighty flop). According to the tabloids, by using his powerful mutated body and telepathic powers (it's definitely Red Kenneth) he has amassed an army of bio-mechanical fighting machines called the Crimson Corps (formerly the Greater London Council). The six remaining survivors of this massacre are being held hostage, so all in all the situation seems pretty hopeless.

Oh, but hang on: it looks like the single remaining member of the now vanquished Midnight Resistance is making a solitary stand against the teeming hordes - and that hero, matey, happens to be you.

Your task then is to battle your way through nine levels of manic massacre in order to free your fellows from the evil clutches of King Crimson (CF, the mag that gives you more clichés for your money than any other).

At the start of the mission you're armed with a weedy rifle which you must use to cleave your way through the first, horizontally scrolling level. Members of the Crimson Crops (CC from now on) attack from front and rear but are easily trashed with a single bullet. Blue CC members serve only to get in your way, but the orange ones drop a key when shot. These keys should be collected immediately as they allow you to obtain weapons and ultimately free your chums. At the end of level one a rather mean looking tank awaits which must be shot several times (whilst simultaneously avoiding its firepower) before it disappears in a mish-mash of explosions. Once disposed of, you can climb the ladder and go through the door to an adjacent store room.

If you've collected enough keys at this stage (you can carry a maximum of six) you can unlock the various cases in order to obtain a 'bonus' item. Each one costs a different amount of keys so choose wisely. There are sometimes extra lives to be had at a cost of one key which, incidentally, is a total bargain as you're likely to lose lives like they're going out of fashion [Rather like your haircut, Andy! - Ed]. Also available are weapons such as three-way firing, nitro packs, scatter-guns, superchargers (which increase the potency of your current weapon), and homing missiles. Again thoughtful choice is a must as the wrong weapon on the next level may well cause unnecessary loss of life.

The amount of moves that your character has at his disposal is incredible. There are no hand-to-hand combat moves but he can shoot in all eight directions while standing, running, jumping, crouching and crawling (wot a hero!). So why am I telling you this slap bang in the middle of the review? It's because the crawling mode comes in very handy on level two - handy in that you can't get through without prostrating yourself. This time the screen scrolls upwards allowing you to crawl and drop down through the platforms, destroying humongous circular saws which threaten to turn you into a crimson corpse (ha, ha, geddit?). As before, once the level is complete, you can enter the store room to replenish or replace your weaponry.

On later levels the scrolling changes yet again so that by the end you will have travelled in all four directions, thus allowing you to be murdered from every conceivable angle. One level sees our hero leaping skyward and trading shots with jet-packing CC members before reaching the clouds and firing hopelessly at wave after wave of jet aircraft (this game is so true to life it's unreal). This is, in all probability, the most difficult level of all.

When (and if) you complete the final level you can release the hostages, but only if you have retained six keys - and less and poo creek is your new home.

The gameplay throughout Midnight Resistance is challenging and relatively fast. The agility of your character is immense allowing you to leap and spray bullets about the screen to your heart's content, which is just as well in view of the density of attackers. The end-of-level nasties are particularly vicious, leaving little or no room for mistakes. Yes, the game is incredibly difficult, but because it's split into well-defined sections with an opportunity to power-up and obtain extra lives, there is always a desire to have one more go and progress a little further.

The game's main downfall (though it isn't a major one) is in the graphical department. Visually it's bold and colourful, and serves its purpose - but that's about all. The sprites are adequately drawn and animated, with the end-of-level jobbies being only slightly better. All in all, a rumbustious rose-coloured romp. Take that King Crimson... or should we call you Kenneth?

1. Varied and imaginative opponents and considerable interest.
2. Highly manoeuvrable character increases playability.
3. Separate levels with individual goals provide the urge for 'just one more go'.
4. Choice of weapons adds to the strategic element.
5. Extra lives helps to make the mission less daunting.
6. Multi-way scrolling sections require different playing techniques, and provide a more varied challenge.
7. Hectic blasting action really gets the blood pounding.

1. Some visuals could have been better.
2. High difficulty level could prove off-putting for beginners.