Post by Graedius on Jul 11, 2004 16:20:27 GMT -5
I recently remembered an anceint game that I once played so much when I was little, and decided to get it again. I recently found a slightly upgraded version with more levels and such to it, and felt I should share this wonderful game with you, in the case that you've never played or heard of it (which should be a federal crime, IMO)
This game, is DMA/Psygnosis's "Lemmings".
Now, this game does seem kind of hard to explain. I'll try to explain it the best I can. It's an old 2-D view game that consists of a bunch of terrain, and 2 (or more) different kinds of doors.
The point is, that a bunch of these little chaps called Lemmings (Loosely based off of the real-world creatures, it seems) have a job to do; They must get from the large trap door from which they fall to the safety gate somewhere else in the level. While this sounds like an easy task, it isn't for them; See, these guys aren't exactly the smartest. They just walk. Walk, walk walk. They walk until they're forced to turn around, or get themselves killed be it by fire, lava, drowning, traps, and the likes. They've no fear, and no intelligence. So on their own, they're a hopeless cause.
But lucky for them, there's you, and you hve 8 special commands that you can give these Lemmings in order for them to reach their sanctuary -- Alive! To use the command, you simply click the desired command on the bar at the bottom, and then click the Lemming you want to perform that task. In most cases, he'll stop walking and do something useful. While they're dumb, once given a command, they work with all their might, to the best of their ability.
The special commands are:
CLIMBER:
Gives a Lemming the ability to scale vertical walls, rather than just aimlesly hit it and turn around. This can be useful to allow the Lemming to get to higher ground, or get to an area to help the rest of the Lemmings get to their goal. However, at even the slightest obstruction, he'll lose his grip and fall. If he's too high, the fall could be fatal. A climber can be made into an all-powerful Athlete by giving him the Floater power as well.
FLOATER:
Give the desired Lemming an Umbrella, so that when they fall, they can use it to slow their falls. This is particularily useful in a place where a fall would spell certain doom for the poor little guy. A Floater given the Climber Power becomes the all-powerful Athlete.
EXPLODER:
Sometimes a Lemming must be sacrificed for the greater good. This tool is the embodiment of that idea. When used on a Lemming, they get a 5 second timer until the end of their rather dull life. At that point, they get a rather terrible headache, grasp their head, scream "Oh no!" and then blow up, taking out nearby surroundings. Note that an exploder's explosion will not destroy metal. This is one of the only ways to eliminate a Blocker Lemming.
BLOCKER:
This tool is used to help concentrate a bunch of Lemmings in one area, usually to keep them out of harm's way for a whle while a few other Lemmings create the safe path for the majority. A blocker stands still with his arms outstretched, bouncing Lemmings off of him, making them reverse direction upon contact. In most cases, the only way to get rid of a Blocker is to use the Exploder command.
BUILDER:
A Builder Lemming is given a pack of 12 bricks and begins the buid a diagonal-up bridge using them. These guys are nessesary to cover otherwise dangerous gaps and traps. At the last three bricks, a sound can be made to warn you that he's gonna stop soon. After that, he shrugs his shoulder, and resumes his normal duties -- Aimlessly walking around. when he shrugs his shoulders, you can give him the command again to keep building.
BASHER:
Now, looking a these guys, you likely wouldn't guess that they had the power in them to crush rock, soil, brick, and crystal alike with their bare fists. But they do, and will if you tell them to. The basher command does just that, and makes them do it in a straight line in front of them. they'll only stop if they run out of mateiral to bash through, or hit metal. Try as they might, they just can't bash through metal.
MINER:
Thsi command gives our Lemming a pickaxe and a ne trade in life; Using this, the Lemming will dig a Diagonal-Down hole that can be used as a passageway through some otherwise un-safe terrain. He will only stop if he runs out of material to dig through, or hits metal.
DIGGER:
By now, you sould know the power these guys have. Usin their bare fists, they can dig straight down through any material but metal, and will do so until they hit metal or run out of land to dig into. Just be wary not to dig a hole so deep that other Lemmings can't survive the fall!
you're given a limited amount of these tools on different levels, sometimes you get all, sometimes you get only one. Sometimes you get 10 of each, sometimes you get 5 Exploders, 5 blockers, and 3 Builders. It's all in the strategy. For each level, you have a certain percentage of Lemmings that you must have saved, an a Time limit to do it in.In the latter levels, you must be wary of how many Lemmings perish in the quest... each one may be too costly to lose.
On some levels, you'll use blockers to single out a few Lemmings to build a safe path, while the rest stay in the ranges of safety during it's construction.
On some, you have to do the work with all of the Lemmings available, keeping the workers doing their job while other keep the rest safe as they bumble aimlessly about.
All-in-all, this game is a classic Gem. If you've never played it, then download the version I've hosted here! you'll surely not regret having done it!
Get it HERE:
home.ripway.com/2004-7/140442/LemmingsWin9X.zip
You will not regret it, I assure you! If you even remotely like puzzle/strategy/thinking games, you'll surely love this!
