Although Lemmings is being marketed as a reworking of a timeless classic, your reaction to this new dawn all depends on how fond you were of the game in its original 1990 form. It caused, if not a ruckus on its debut, at least a ripple or two due to the fact that at no point were you actually controlling any of the characters directly. Your control was, and still is, limited to issuing instructions like dig, mine, climb, block or float which affect a single Lemming until it either dies or is told to do something else. It was kind of like playing as a middle-manager somewhere.

In one sense this sets Lemmings apart from other games, in another it makes it fairly tedious. You have such a limited number of actions that even the game’s developer has sheepishly admitted that watching these mindless creatures marching blindly towards death is, at times, unendingly tedious. This surprisingly candid admission hints at the inclusion in this game of a function allowing you to fast-forward the stupid little Lemmings as they tread slowly and inevitably towards disaster. The very inclusion of such a function is a little strange. Think about it: if any other game admitted "Sorry, this bit’s horribly dull, let’s just skip it, shall we?" no one would be impressed.

Although Lemmings’ appearance has been suitably spruced up for its appearance on PSP in terms of backgrounds and detail, the game is largely the same as it was in its first incarnation. When taken purely as a puzzle game rather than a nostalgic look back at the early Nineties and endless hours spent on cranky old PCs, Lemmings lacks the characteristic and essential element of the puzzler: the build-up to a crescendo of panic. It all happens too slowly and predictably to offer that crucial, button-jamming moment.

Each level is entirely separate from the previous one, making the experience rather disjointed, and while this is how the game has always been designed, it stops it becoming a top-ranking puzzler. That said, for a puzzle game with a bit of a difference which may stir a few fond memories to boot, this does an adequate job.

Nerys Coward