Review: Lemmings
The Lemmings are back on the PSP, but has their long video game hiatus taught them any new tricks?
Before Tommy Vercetti was terrorizing the citizens of Vice City, before Carl Johnson caved in the face of his first hooker with a crowbar, the developers over at Rockstar North (back then they were DMA Design) made Lemmings. That was in 1991. Now, after a plague of middling sequels and spin-offs like Holiday Lemmings, the classic puzzle game is reconstructed for the PSP. But does it rekindle its charm or simply make you want to jump off a cliff?
Moth-Eaten Gameplay
If you're a fan of the old Lemmings and you're wondering whether or not this one stays true to its roots, you can breathe easy. The game is more or less unchanged. If you're new to the series, here's what Lemmings games are all about. You are the lord and the Lemmings are your underlings. By using commands, you must get the Lemmings to the exit safely, ordering them to dig, mine, climb, bash through walls, and even blow themselves up. The trick of Lemmings is the order of operations. Like every puzzle game, you can get away with bad decisions early on in the game. But when things get intense, making one wrong move could mean mass extermination for the Lemmings.
In the original Lemmings, there were 8 commands and 120 main levels. In the PSP version, there are 8 commands and 120 main levels. There are, however, 36 extra levels, which look and play exactly like the 120 main levels. Other additions to the game include a level creator, where you can share customized levels with friends online, and a fast-forward feature (that functions the same way the one in The Sims does), which trims down the tediousness of the game. The Lemmings that I played when I was 7 is basically the same game that's in my PSP.
Lemmings is Obsolete
The graphics save this game from warranting a 2.0 GamePro spanking. They are definitely the best of any Lemmings game, but they aren't much different from the last Lemmings game, Lemmings Revolution, which came out six years ago. The game is still fun to play even though it sucks. The little joy that I did get from Lemmings was from a combination of completing levels as well as turning on my green-haired minions, instructing them to march into a lava pit, their gargled cries of agony satisfying me.
Part of the reason that the original Lemmings was such a hit was because back then videogaming wasn't the thriving industry that it is today, thus a considerable percentage of gamers were people playing ripoff versions of Breakout on their PCs. So when Lemmings came out in 1991, when there wasn't a whole lot to play on the PC, NES-less casual PC gamers found Lemmings a more accessible alternative to games like SimCity or King's Quest. It's been 15 years since then and all that has been remade is the graphics, a few levels thrown in, and a useless new mode. Even the level design is weak. There's a Hell theme, an ancient Rome theme, and about two others. They almost seem like they were randomly generated.
Rent > Buy
There is no rule that a videogame remake has to be exactly like the original --add something. Maybe a little story like the one in Lemmings 2: The Tribes. Speaking of that game, it had 51 commands, like telling your Lemming to torch something with a flamethrower or even sprout some Icarus wings so your Lemming can fly. Maybe include some of those. This game is just too bare. Sure, some reviewers will pick this one up, play it for an hour, and slap on a decent score, but not this reviewer. I'm looking out for you, the one who is stuck with the game after actually having to pay for it.
![Screen Update: Speed Racer [PS2]](/screens/141542/205598-1-1.jpg)
![Screen Update: Metal Slug 7 [DS]](/screens/142292/205544-1-1.jpg)
![Screen Update: Lips [Xbox 360]](/screens/142386/205582-1-1.jpg)
![Screen Update: Wanted [Xbox 360]](/screens/142398/205578-1-1.jpg)
