Um Jammer Lammy

"Fantastic cartoon musical experience!"

Lammy, the heroine of Um Jammy Lammer is the most instantly endearing character I've ever encountered in a video game. She's a ewe (yes, a female sheep). She's polite, self-effacing, blushes and stammers. But she plays electric guitar with a vengeance! In the Clark Kent/Superman style, you just lob a guitar into Lammy's hands to transform her into a musical juggernaut.

Um Jammer Lammy is wild fun, a cartoon musical where you take on the role of Lammy and jam with your guitar to incredibly catchy tunes under a variety of tutors. I don't think anyone has come up with a really good name for this genre of game yet. 'Timing' games, 'Simon Says' games.. these terms are just too belittling. Especially for Um Jammer Lammy, which for me, is breaking new ground and becoming truly musical, a fantastic creative experience.

Each song that you jam to is a musical setpiece, and represents a totally different style of music, amongst them pop rock, funk and some grungy metal. They are definitely varied enough to please and challenge almost anyone. At the core, gameplay consists of pressing the buttons on your controller to accompany musical riffs dealt out by the teacher in each level. Goof up too much in your timing or selection of guitar riffs, and your rating will sink from GOOD to BAD to AWFUL. If you know that you have absolutely no sense of rhythm, you're gonna have problems with this game. If you jam real good though, you can even climb above GOOD to COOL, where you take over from your teacher and play the whole song solo! You're not only rewarded with the music, but the sight of Lammy wielding the guitar like a demon and the crowd going wild. The 2D cartoon graphics are completely cute and charming, not to mention pretty psychedelic.

This game is definitely a challenge. After a few rounds of 'Jammer' you'll start to have the workings of your playstation controller imprinted permanently in your mind in a way you never did before. Some of the later stages took me dozens of attempts to complete. And then something began to happen. A revelation was dawning on me.. and Yes I really mean that! Instead of trying to precisely mimic the teacher, and thinking of the game in terms of 'which button do I press when' and timing, you start to let go and have a more purely musical experience. You think of the controller as an instrument. You start to improvise rhythms, just listening to the music and getting into the groove. You start ignoring the guide at the top of the screen. It's like Luke Skywalker turning off his targeting computer and using The Force. It's like Chop Chop Master Onion says in this game, 'Dojo, Casino, it's all in the mind.' When I realised I was really a musician in this game, and I really started jamming and making up my own music while keeping to the beat, my scores soared thru the roof. Many players of this game complain that they just can't clear levels if they stick to the score, and I guess in some ways, this is true. This game really rewards you for being creative! And it's not often that happens in its truest sense in videogaming, is it?

If you play music in real life, you're in the best position to get maximum fun from this game. I'm definitely not saying I wouldn't buy this game if you're Not musically inclined.. if anything, it encourages you in music. The songs are fantastic, and gameplay options increase in scope as you complete levels. You can play solo, as a team with your friend, or with the computer as your teammate, or competitively. Have a jam-off for points.

This game is probably now my favourite for the Playstation. It's endlessly replayable in many different modes, the music's great, and the cartoon graphics are truly refreshing in this age of 'I demand everything in 3d' philistines. The story is cute. It's pyschadelic. And you will fall in love with Lammy, and I mean that in a really good way. Get Um Jammer Lammy, you'll have a blast!! I give it 9 out of 10, deducting only 1 point from perfection because it's true that until you really get into the spirit of the game, the arbitrary difficulty of some of the later levels can be offputting. Just get into it!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/13/00, Updated 02/22/01