ST Format


Sleepwalker

Author: James Leach
Publisher: The Hit Squad
Machine: Atari ST

 
Published in ST Format #58

Sleepwalker

Any game "big Steve" likes has got to be good, especially if it's cheaper than it was before. Actually, seeing as the proceeds of its first release went to various charities, perhaps that's not very politically correct thinking. Anyway, let's continue before this becomes a moral morass, shall we?

You play a dog whose master, a fellow called Lee, is a somnambulist. This is a situation you find intolerable, and every time he indulges in his sleepwalking antics, you must endeavour to gently steer him around the landscape so that he avoids falling off walls, down holes and into long-forgotten Victoria ha-has. Luckily, your poor doggy frame is capable of withstanding a vast amount of punishment, and indeed, has to as you guide the slumbering pedestrian across the city and to the waiting exit. As well as making sure no harm comes to him, you've got to watch Lee's sleep-state.

Forget REM and alpha-waves and just concentrate on his sleepmeter. If the boy should weaken, he goes mad or something. Isn't that what they say about people who wake up when they're sleepwalking? And strangely, considering he walks past extremely loud traffic and things, the one external influence guaranteed to bring Lee to his conscious form is water. Rain. Precipitation. Blame this glaring inconsistency on the programmmers.

Sleepwalker is a great game. It's wacky, controversial, unafraid to tackle political hot-potatoes and it's lots of fun to play. Staleness is avoided by the inclusion of loads of bonus levels, hidden blocks and weird puzzles. And also by being sealed in shrink-wrapping. Stencil "Sleepwalker" on the windscreen of your car and next time you're out shopping for software, you'll be sure to remember it.

Highs

  1. Nice idea, nicely executed and nice to play.
  2. Nice all round, in fact.

Lows

  1. Rather linear, and the graphics won't make your eyes bulge.

James Leach

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