Liftboy

It's easy to see the attraction of some games as they enable you to experience things that you'd otherwise never have the chance to. Maybe you want to be a fighter pilot, bulldozer driver, or star striker for Arsenal (hey, someone's gotta do it).

But we're not sure being a lift attendant is quite in the same league. After all, it does seem to lack the same kind of adrenaline rush as strafing an enemy, crushing stuff or heading a curving cross into the back of the net. But if a mobile phone game can turn waitressing into an entertaining experience, we're willing to keep an open mind.

After all, Liftboy has been put together by the people responsible for Beershooter and Flitzer, so it will come as no surprise to hear that there's more to Liftboy than ascending and descending the pricey hotel in which you work.

Well, a little bit more. You see, Liftboy really does emulate the tedium of what is otherwise a pretty outdated profession. Set in the 1930s, you're a minimum wage employee who controls the lift by collecting people on one floor and then taking them up or down, depending on their destination.

Your success depends on several factors and is measured in the size of the tips that you're given. Keep your passengers happy and they'll reward you handsomely – in 1930s terms, at least – but fail to satisfy them and you'll walk away without a gratuity and even a job, as you can (and will) be fired.

The first of the considerations to bear in mind is time. If you pick someone up, you need to drop them off on the floor they want in the shortest time possible. Keep them waiting and their happiness declines, as it will if you pick up another person who gets dropped off before them.

You can keep your charges sweet, though, by engaging them in conversation. This introduces a social-simulator aspect to Liftboy that's reminiscent of Miami Nights, though it's far more limited in scope.

With a range of passengers including the hotel manager, cleaners, guests and superstars (there are the occasional celeb caricature cameos), you have to tailor your conversation topics to your audience. Whispering sweet nothings into your male boss' ear won't get you very far but it will earn you the well wishes of the maid, for instance.

But while this will save your interest for a while, it's not enough to overcome the enormous boredom that soon sets in. It's enough – early on, at least – to just deliver your fares to their floors without uttering a word, as long as you're timely. And later on, well, you're not likely to play that far, but it soon becomes repetitive.

Balancing the conversation topic among a lift with three or four people in takes some figuring as you can only talk about one thing to every passenger, but still, it's not enough.

Nor are the visuals or the sound effects; while they're crisp and well-presented (the jaunty jazz sound track works well in evoking the era) they're not amusing or varied enough to keep you playing for longer than ten or 20 minutes.

Which means you'll be hoping for a promotion or looking for a career change before too long.