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Weekend Game(s): SHIFT & SHIFT 2

By EAN ⋅ March 22, 2008 ⋅  Email this Post ⋅  Print this Post ⋅ Post a Comment

Borrowing heavily from Portal’s script, SHIFT and its sequel, SHIFT 2, are a couple of enjoyable 2D, black and white, platforming puzzle games with a unique twist. You get to control whether or not your character is black on a white background or white on a black background. And you do it all with, wait for it, the Shift key.

A bit confusing at first, the controls are simple and easy to master. By the time you’re done with SHIFT, you’ll be a master at running, jumping and shifting between black and white. Like Portal, SHIFT really is exceptionally easy to pick up and play.

The only real problem with the gameplay is that its too short. Expect to finish off SHIFT in about five to ten minutes if you’re playing it for the first time. But as you dive into SHIFT 2, you’ll quickly find that things have changed greatly since the first time around. The levels are longer and more complex. And you’ll be collecting more items than just keys. Multi-directional level rotators and checkerboard unshiftable floors make an appearance to impede your progress. Needless to say, SHIFT 2 really ramps up the difficulty that SHIFT was so greatly lacking.

To top off all the puzzling goodness, the GLaDOS inspired omnipresent voice in SHIFT is there to provide a bit of comic relief. If you’ve played Portal, the story in the SHIFT series is practically the same and you’ll get a couple of chuckles here and there. Alas, the only thing missing from the adventure is a Weighted Companion Cube.