
INFO
The popularity of the original version (Amiga) of the game, led to immediate ports to many other platforms: Panasonic 3DO, Acorn Archimedes, Amstrad CPC, Apple IIGS, Macintosh, Atari Lynx, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Amiga CD32 Amiga CDTV, MS-DOS, Nintendo NES, SNES, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, MGT SAM Coupe, Sega Game Gear, Sega Master System, Sega Mega Drive (Genesis), Sinclair ZX Spectrum!
STORY / GAMEPLAY
The game is divided into a number of levels featuring both destructible landscape elements such as rocks and indestructible sections such as steel plates. There are also numerous obstacles including gaps, high walls, pools of water or lava spots and several traps. Each level includes one or more entrance points and one or more exit points. The goal is to guide a certain percentage of the little blue-shirted Lemmings, from the entrance to the exit, by clearing or creating a safe passage through the landscape. Each lemming will walk in one direction ignoring any other lemming in its way unless assigned to a special task (available in the bar at the bottom section of the screen) to help making a path to the desired destination. Those tasks mainly involve: Climbing, Blocking, Manufacturing, Punching, Digging, Mining and the most impressive: Blasting! Those skills are available based on the level design (not all of them are always available). Note that, the little green-haired Lemmings will die if they fall from too high, into water or lava, off the map, or get caught in a trap; they also die after being assigned to perform the blasting/bomber skill.
The control system is great and entrusted to the mouse that proves, as always, perfect for this type of games. Unfortunately, a two-player mode is missing in the MAc version, and the Amiga will remain the only system that can boast of a two-player mode.
Lemmings is an excellent puzzle game that will keep you interested for many hours, and the Mac owners shouldn't miss it back in 1993!
GRAPHICS / SOUND
The graphics, which even show a hundred of these little guys, make this game a hit on the Macintosh. Even on the black and white Macs, the Lemmings don't let the fun of the game take away! Each level is well designed with several static objects while occasionally there are a few animated scenes (like lava, water, flames etc). The color version of the game uses the exact colors of he (Amiga) original version.
The sound here is accompanied by several pieces of music, all taken from the original, as well most of the original sampled sound effects (like the tiny lemmings' scream “Oh No!” when they die) but in lower sampled rate of course.