Lemmings 3D

Summary

Genre: Puzzle
Number of players: 1

Review

Ah, lemmings! Those adorable, suicidal simulated rodents who think nothing of walking blindly off cliffs and into deep water, despite being able to build bridges, dig tunnels and bash through walls. There has been at least one Lemmings game for just about any gaming platform you can name, but this particular Lemmings game is a little different, in that it is 3D. As you may have guessed from the title.


Gameplay: As is standard in Lemmings games, you control an omnipotent being whose job it is to get a group of the eponymous rodents to the exit of each level, after they are dropped in one by one at an entrance or entrances. You are given a finite number of various lemming skills, such as 'builder', 'climber', 'miner', 'blocker' and 'floater', which you must assign to the little fellows at the appropriate time to get them past an obstacle in one piece. It's a straightforward premise, but it made for some hellishly challenging and addictive gameplay in earlier titles.

Lemmings 3D throws in an extra skill, the 'turner', who works exactly like the 'blocker' - who stands still and forces the lemmings coming up from behind to turn around - except that the turner makes the lemmings turn left or right instead. For in this game, you aren't limited to going forwards or backwards, instead being required to move in all directions to get to the goal. Other features which utilise the extra dimension are the triangular blocks, which pretty much work like a turner apart from the fact that you don't control them, and the splitter, which adds a new twist as it sends alternate Lemmings left and right as they enter.

The gameplay is made simpler and confined by the dividing of the whole level into what are basically units of fixed areas. What this means is that the ground area is divided into squares, and the skills are used accordingly. For instance, the 'digger', which digs a vertical hole, will take effect once the lemming reaches the centre of a square; the blocker and turner will reach the end of a square before it performs its function. This makes it a lot easier to follow what's going on, and to plan out a strategy.

Gameplay is still enjoyable and addictive, and the extra dimension provides for a whole new style of play. It's highly enjoyable to successfully implement a strategy and see it pay off, though it can be highly frustrating when a mistake in timing or planning sends entire streams of lemmings to their doom. However, a great feature is the 'replay' mode, where the game runs through your previous attempt at a level, allowing you to jump in and take control at any point. This avoids the problem of having to redo extremely taxing sections of a tricky level.

Gameplay is fun, but there are one or two problems. The 3D premise, while adding a new level of depth, can sometimes get a bit confusing. Having to keep track of multiple streams of Lemmings all going in different directions, and occasionally having to leap from one part of the level to another to deal with another group can be quite annoying, and it's not always easy to see what's going on. While being potentially more rewarding than 2D play, there's certainly a lot more 'work' involved in working in three dimensions, and this may not be to everybody's tastes.

All up, though, fans of the Lemmings series, or of puzzle or strategy games in general, will find this game a lot of fun, and would be well-advised to try it out.


Challenge: The game is very tough in places. There are 100 levels to attempt, although 20 of these are mere 'practice' levels, where you can try out the various skills and game features. The other 80 levels are divided into four difficulty settings: fun, tricky, taxing and mayhem, with the levels getting progressively more tough as you go up. Because of the challenge of keeping track of your minions throughout the levels, as mentioned above, the game can get extremely hard, although most of the challenge comes not as much from the problem of keeping track, as from the need to actually work out a plan to solve the level. This is a good thing, but not as easy as it sounds.

You can pause the game at any point and explore the level freely with the free-moving camera, allowing you time to work out a strategy, and sometimes it's really challenging to do. With a finite number of moves to use, a tight time limit and sometimes quick movement required, the game is not for the faint-hearted or easily-frustrated. There's plenty to do, and it'll take you quite a few sleepless nights to clock the game, although replay value is poor, since once you know how to do a level, there's not much more you can get out of it.


Graphics: The graphics are so-so. The levels themselves look solid enough, although the 'block' premise does tend to make them a little restricted in appearance. The lemmings, however, look very flat, pixelated and 2D, which is a shame and lets the game down badly in the visual department. There are a few cinematic sequences which do look quite good, though, which is nice. But overall, the graphics aren't really that great.


Sounds: The music is actually rather good, with a wide assortement of both catchy and upbeat tunes, slower melodic themes, and some sinister and atmospheric ones as well. There are a few speech sounds, mainly restricted to the lemmings crying 'Yippee!' upon reaching the exit, or 'Oh no!' upon blowing up, but this is in keeping with all other Lemmings games and is a nice touch. There are no other sound effects worth mentioning, and overall the sound complements the game well, if not stunningly.


Summing up: An addictive and fairly original puzzle game, which contains some very tough challenges, cute, if suicidal, protagonists, and potential for some deep strategy. A bit harder to get into than other similar titles, but definitely a good choice if you enjoy having your brains taxed. So it's not for Tangycheese, anyway.


Gamesmark: 82%


Reviewer: Maverik



Tangycheese's opinion: Anyone who hasn't heard of Lemmings by now must have been living under a rock for the past couple of decades or so. It's been hugely popular, but I think L3D tries to be a bit too clever for its own good. The 3D aspect doesn't work nearly as well as when the game was in 2D. That said, if you liked Lemmings on any other format you will probably like this too. But there are far better games out there on the PC than this one.