Lemmings Revolution: Rebirth of a classic

My shortest review ever...hey, it's a really simple game which deserves a simple review...

I've always believed that sometimes the best games are the simplest: simple graphics, simple sound, simple but extremely fun gameplay... Long-term console, PC, and arcade games fans could think of games like Pong, which definitively fall into this category. This is exactly the case with Lemmings. Who could ever thought saving mindless Fraggle Rock-looking creatures from impending doom could be so much fun. I can't forget the hours I spent playing this addictive and fun game when I was a kid.

Real fun is never outdated; only graphics and sound grow old. So why not bring back that same fun factor which made the classic Lemmings such a hit, by giving it a facelift with new graphics and sound? Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, I present to you this revamped version of the classic, Lemmings Revolution.

Graphcis: 4/5

What can I say when the original was in 2D and now it is 3D? The graphics simply look great. Instead of having the side scrolling 2d landscape, now you control your Lemmings through many "tower-like" (more like big cylinders) puzzles (over 100). Every level also has its unique background which adds to the atmosphere of the level: farms, industrial, dark and scary, etc. Compared to today standards, graphics aren't the best, but they fulfill their purpose flawlessly.

Sound: 4/5

Sound FX are great. The music is a lot better than the original (of course). I especially like the techno beat some levels have. The only problem is that if you stay too long on one single puzzle, you will start to get annoyed by it...it's a little too repetitive. It may be a cool beat, but they could have added a little more variation to the melody.

Gameplay: 4/5

The controls are simple, but they do take a bit to get used to. This game, like many other games, suffers from Mediocre Manual Syndrome. It doesn't give you much info. For example, you will have to figure out the controls on your own.

The camera controls on the other hand aren't that bad. You rotate the tower by holding down the right mouse button, and dragging the mouse. The only problem is that you may often find yourself running out of mousepad because of all the dragging.

All the classic commands (bash, bomb, dig, etc) are here and look great on 3D graphics. If you have played Lemmings before, you will immediately know how these work. I would have liked to see more new commands though. When I first tried the game I noticed that it can get a bit hard to assign commands when you have a lot of Lemmings at the same time on the screen. But this problem is solved by the handy ZOOM tool which lets you get close to the action (another point in favor of the camera controls). And if things get a little out of hand, you can always use the Pause button.

The new features really add to the game's fresh looks: different varieties of Lemmings (lava and water-walking), more traps, switches, gadgets, more ways to die, etc. You will find yourself enjoying every new way that your poor Lemmings can die....although it can get very frustrating at times.

Conclusion

Short and simple: If you loved the classic like I did, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't grab a copy. If you have never played it and want to try out a fun brain-busting puzzle game, you should definitively try it. I haven't seen in a while a puzzle game that gave me so much satisfaction when I solve a puzzle as in Lemmings Revolution. The Demo really gives you a good sample of what the whole thing is about. I would recommend though that you try to get it at price lower than the usual action/rpg/RTS games (~$50) because you might feel that a game this simple isn't worth the high price. In my case I got a great deal at ebay.com.