"This Game Makes My Head Hurt"

The Story
Lemmings are blue and green creatures with the IQ of a rock. They will mindlessly walk until they either die or bump into something. If they bump into something, they turn around and continue walking until they die or bump into something. If they bump into something... you get the idea, right? Well, now they're on a mass migration and they won't have a chance for survival without your help. You must make them bash through walls, dig through floors, and explode to take away dirt and/or themselves in order to guide them to their destination. The lemmings may not be very smart, but you're going to need all the brains you can muster to solve the puzzles ahead of you.

Gameplay
3/10 - The concept behind Lemmings is a good one. A trap door opens somewhere on the level and lemmings start falling out onto the level. Then you must solve a puzzle that allows the lemmings to get to an exit than can be anywhere on the level. These puzzles involve you using eight commands to alter the level so the lemmings can get through the exit. For example, give a lemming the Basher command to have it bash through a wall you want the lemmings to get by or a Builder command to make it build a diagonal bridge to the top of a cliff you want to go over. While the Floater, Climber, and Blocker don't directly alter the level, they will help you in doing so. But this version has several problems which make the game difficult to play. First, you've got several control problems. Second, the lemmings can only fall an inch on your TV screen (OK, I'm exaggerating. But not by much) without going splat. Also, many tactics don't work here. When you run into something while building, the lemming stops and keeps going forward whereas in other games it would turn around and then start walking. You'll have to turn them around some other way. And get this; there's 100 levels in the game. 100 levels filled with awful controls and goofs. The game is insanely difficult and long. If you can finish it, you're either insane (or will be upon finishing the game) or are really good. The replay is almost non-existent. The controls are awful and really hinder the fun factor. I have to force myself to play this.

Graphics
8/10 - The graphics are the only good point. The color scheme usually fits in with the environment such as green and brown for a grassy field or yellow blocks for a pyramid. The graphics are also detailed with little pixels of light and dark colors in the grass, soil, rocks, bricks, and so forth. I can't tell how well the lemmings animate because they move too darn fast and almost look like little blurs. There's a little opening movie when you first pop it in (which you have to watch every time you turn on the game, which is annoying) that looks nice and detailed, but the lemming in the movie looks a bit odd with his buttoned up overcoat and his Seen-A-Ghost-White skin.

Sound
4/10 - The same songs repeat every 5 or 6 levels. The songs themselves are pretty dull with few synthesized instruments at a time (I guess that's what they are) and a low tone. Yawn. A few do have tones that go up and down, but when they do that they sound jerky, almost like a Weird Al song played backwards. The cancan tune that plays on Just Dig! and every 5 levels after is kind of catchy. That's the only song that really stood out to me with its happy, bouncy beat. Sound effects? There are no sound effects. This is a bigger problem than it may sound. There's no clicking when a Builder's on its last 3 bricks. So, you'll have to keep giving it the Builder command while it's building if you want it to build more than one set of stairs, because if you wait for the lemming to wave its hands, it does that quickly then runs off the stairs even faster.

Control
2/10 - Bad. You play as a cursor to give the lemmings the commands they need to navigate the level. Easier said than done. For starters, the lemmings move incredibly fast. You'll often find yourself chasing them with the cursor trying to pause. Speaking of pausing, you can't pause while the cursor is in motion. So, here you are trying to chase the lemmings who move like greased lightning trying to stop them by pausing the game only to have them continue, then watch the lemmings go splat. And if you do manage to catch the little booger, you've got to give him a command, right? Say you want to give him a Blocker to hold the others back while another lemming goes forward to build a bridge across a gap. You pause the game and try switching commands, but can't. Only while the game is in full, unpaused motion can you change a command. By the time you get to the right one, the lemming's probably going to be dead. These are really nasty problems alone and even bigger ones combined.

Overall
3/10 - The bad points outnumber the good points. OK, the graphics look good. But the sound is either boring or not well composed, the control is pretty bad, the lemmings seem like they can only trip on a small stone on the ground and fall over without splatting, the lemmings move way too fast and no sound effects make problems with the Builder command. If you want it for collection go ahead and get it, but avoid this if you want something for gameplay.

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 10/13/02, Updated 10/21/02