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Lemmings
Now this is definitely a game that’s going to catch a few people by surprise with its addictive gameplay. Trust me behind its deceptively simple looks Lemmings hides some of the most fiendishly challenging gameplay you’ll ever find. The idea is very simple really, a bunch of lemmings drop from a trapdoor in the sky and it’s up to you to lead them to the safety of the exit. On their own these green haired little idiots will simply keep walking in a straight line, usually off a cliff or into a trap. It’s your job to use the tools at your disposal to lead as many of them to safety, a few will have to be sacrificed along the way but as long as the required percentage reaches the exit it’s ok. There are only eight different skills you can assign your lemmings and not all of them are available on each level. You only get a limited amount of each skill so careful planning is needed not to waste any. You can command your lemmings to become blockers, climbers, diggers, floaters, builders or simply make them explode after a five second timer counts down. With four different skill levels each with their own levels it will take you ages to play through this one and I’m sure a lot of people will never even get half way before they’ve torn out all their hair. As if all the traps and puzzles on each stage wasn’t bad enough you also have to complete everything within in a time limit although fortunately the game can be paused allowing you to plan ahead somewhat. After completing a level you’ll also receive a handy password.
As I’ve said lemmings is a very basic looking game and each level only use about 16 colors. Theirs is no backgrounds, very little detail and everything is made up out of large pixels. Some levels have very bizarre themes and there are a few very cool looking ones but the emphasis is firmly on gameplay and not graphics. If everything gets too much to handle there is a “Nuke” button which will blow all your lemmings up in a spray of pixels. Very satisfying but it won’t solve your problems. At times levels can seem virtually impossible and some require extremely quick reflexes not to mention loads of brainpower to conquer but there’s nothing like the feeling of triumph. This is definitely one of those games where you can play for hours and not even notice the time go by. The audio was an unexpected highlight and they’ve definitely gone for the “everything but the kitchen sink” approach. You’ll be hearing so many catchy tunes it will take you days to stop humming the damn things. Expect to be bombarded with everything from classic tunes to “how much is that dog”, “she’ll be coming round the mountain” and the can-can. The music fits the game perfectly and make up for the rather feeble sound effects. Everything is mouse driven and easy to control although it can be a bit hard to target a specific lemming in a crowd. All you need to do to control the game is click on the skill you want to use and then click on the lemming you want to give it to. Most skills can’t be stopped or interrupted once you’ve assigned them so think carefully. The game can become very hard and frustrating especially on the larger later levels where one wrong move can cause you to lose up to seven minutes of planning. Some levels need to be done exactly right to progress although there were times where I used very unorthodox methods to reach the exit. Some of them weren’t pretty but who cares as long as it worked. If you want a fun and addictive game that will keep you playing for ages then nothing will beat Lemmings. This is definitely a classic that will be remembered for years to come. Just goes to show that you don’t need flashy graphics to make a compelling game. |
System Requirements
TAGS: Lemmings, Psygnosis, DMA, Blocker, Climber, Floater, Nuke
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