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Mirage's latest puzzler is set in the stone age. Tony Dillon discovers that he looks rather good in a loin cloth. (The very thought...).
SOUNDS FAMILIAR
Humans is a game in which you control a lot of small, unintelligent, but undeniably cute characters around platform-dominated levels with the aim of getting them to the exit before the clock runs out. Yes, it's another game that (very) loosely falls into the 'it's-a-bit-like-Lemmings-really-isn't-it?' category.

THE DAWN OF TIME
These are no ordinary humans, however. This is prehistoric man, the first animal ever to discover personal modesty before fire. You are in charge of a tribe of these barbaric warriors as they wander aimlessly through eight of the most taxing levels I've encountered in a puzzle game. To begin with, you only have eight men to control, but as the game progresses, you can gather more by rescuing them from traps and other predicaments. But what exactly do you have to do?

The game is split over six different types of terrain: Caves, Summer, Winter, Desert, Forest and Marsh. The aim of each level is one of three things. You'll either have to get one human to the exit, discover a particular object such as a spear or fire, or rescue a prisoner. Each of the levels is a huge scrolling affair riddled with platforms, and you begin each one with only enough men to solve the puzzle involved.

CAN'T DO MUCH
Each human begins with only two abilities. Picking up objects is an obvious one, but the other allows you to stack men on top of each other. This is the only way to reach higher platforms, and the more men you use, the more unstable the tower of bodies becomes. As you discover the various objects within the game, the humans become more proficient. For example, picking up a spear adds three new skills to a player. He can throw it to other humans, he can use it as a weapon of he can pole vault with it, allowing him to cross gaps between platforms.
SIMPLE CONTROLS
The control system is simple enough. The joystick controls all the walking about, and pushing up automatically puts the current man into a stacking position. On the keyboard, the function keys transfers control over the humans on screen, and the space bar and return keys are used, respectively, to cycle through the menu options at the bottom of the screen and to select an option. Only the available options are shown, thankfully, so you don't have to trudge through a lot of useless icons. There are only three things that can kill you: dinosaurs will most certainly eat you sooner than you blink, and falling too far smashes you to a pulp. Finally, the evolutionary clock hurrying you along each level, is enough to wipe out your entire tribe in one fell swoop.

Humans is a hell of a lot of fun to play, even if most of the levels require repeated endeavour to crack them. With each level made up of a number of screens, it is never immediately apparent what you are supposed to do or where you are supposed to go. Because of its similarities with Lemmings, the game will probably be slagged off by a number of magazines, but that is being incredibly short-sighted as the gameplay is decidedly different and very challenging. The incidental humour and brilliant animation only add to what is already an above average game, and I heartily recommend Humans to anyone who enjoys a challenge.

CU Amiga, September 1992, p.61
Bonus Animations
If you're lucky enough to have a Meg, and let's face it who isn't, then you will be interested in the animations that pop up between some levels – usually after you've discovered a particular item. First, you'll be greeted with a newspaper headline celebrating your deed, followed by Mirage's interpretation of how it all happened. I won't spoil it for you, but the caveman who discovered fire and then wondered what it tasted like had me laughing for ages..

buyers guide
release date:
genre:
team:
controls:
number of disks:
number of players:
hard disk:
memory:
September 1992
Platform Puzzler
Imagitec
Joystick, Keyboard
3
1
Yes
All Amigas



MIRAGE £25.99
A heady mix of platform antics and strategic thinking

GRAPHICS
SOUND
LASTABILITY
PLAYABILITY
86%
84%
89%
88%

OVERALL 84%