Lemmings

Copyright : Psygnosis | Reviewed by : Patrick Furlong

If you don?t know what Lemmings is, you haven?t lived! Basically the aim of the game is to guide a group of Lemmings to the exit to proceed to the next level, making use of 10 skills including digging, bashing, building, climbing and the ultimate extreme - blow up a Lemming or two.. but it?s not as easy as that. You guide your lemmings through sixty levels of Fun, Tricky, Taxing and Mayhem levels and they can prove very difficult. Originally released on the Amiga and Atari ST (where yours truely discovered the game), it was a game people wanted released on the CPC and Psygnosis delivered the goods. Lemmings has appeared on just about every machine under the sun ranging from the faithful CPC, Spectrum, C64 to the Megadrive, SNES, Gameboy(!) and even the new PSP handheld. When Amstrad Action announced it was coming to the CPC, I refused to believe it, thinking it was a joke, but I was forced to eat my words when AA82 came out with Lemmings on the cover, a two page review AND a demo on the covertape. I played this for years until I got a disc copy with my second hand 6128.

Graphics

The best the CPC has to offer. Each level is very clear and very very colourful. The Lemmings themselves are very cute and shows how games made using MODE 0 should be done. It?s a pity the animation showing the Lemmings leaping from a balloon and finishes with one climbing up the letter L of the Lemmings logo from the 16-bit versions wasn?t included, but there was probably a good reason for this. However, the loading screen and the Psygnosis logo is very well done - the logo in question is one of the best logos done on the CPC. It?s also a pity the cute looking title screen which graced the 16-bit versions and strangely the Spectrum version with menu icons and scrolling text also wasn?t included - they must have run out of memory.

Sound

Just like the 16 bit versions. Tracks like Can-Can and London Bridge is Falling Down is translated just as well the CPC although I miss the "Oh No!" voice when you set the self destruct when you have to quit..

Gameplay

Lemmings is the most addictive game I?ve ever played. The levels start of easy but as you go through, they get harder and harder! For instance, the first few levels have you just using one skill but it progresses to using many to get through. The programmers missed a chance to use the AMX Mouse with this game, instead sticking with joystick and keyboard controls. The cursor when controlled by these can get sticky at times and sometimes goes fast. To select a skill, unlike the 16-bit versions where you used the mouse and cursor, you use the numbers at the top of the keyboard.

Lemmings is a clear example of what can be done with the trusty CPC when care and attention is given. Download at once, and if you get a PSP handheld, GET IT AT ONCE!