Apparently - and I was as shocked as the next guy - Lemmings do not commit mass suicide. What? Sorry? No? This may well be the final bubble burst. Santa, the tooth fairy, Crispo the magical elf - all fake. Fine. You know what? I can handle that. Something incredibly illlogical about the whole Santa Claus thing anyway - even to a five year old. It didn't make any sense. The whole concept, to me at least, was always suspicious. The tooth fairy - well the tooth fairy I figured was a pragmatic Ivory Dealer - yet i was still a little miffed to descover the whole things a fraud but Lemmings NOT committing suicide? It's like the Pope not being Catholic.
Deep breaths. Deep Breaths.
O.K. Psygnosis and DMA design. What do you know about them? Psygnosis did Shadow of the beast for the Amiga - a game which looked good and was pooh. No sorry, that is actually disrespectful to other pooh games. Shadow of the beast was crammed to the top with 'Dread'. Yep - "Dread-full"
DMA design? Well DMA design, for some inexplicable reason, always remind me of a game called 'Walker' also on the Amiga. Ultimately DMA design became Rockstar - who do the Grand Theft Auto series and of cause, Lemmings - a game written by DMA and Published by Psygnosis.
And as we now know is based on a barefaced lie. Lemmings don't commit suicide. Neither do they produce little umbrellas when jumping from high towers and neither do they shout "Ohh Noes" as they are about to exploded
So - we were lied to again about Lemmings.
The 3DO version of Lemmings was no different to any other version. Some Lemmings would emerge from a hole - intent on killing themselves. Your job is to save them by bequeathing them with super powers and aiding them in navigating the traitorous path ahead.
How much fun can that be? That question, of cause, is directed actually at a small hermit that lives under a rock in the Serengeti Desert - since he will be the only person alive not to have played Lemmings.
Fun? Fun? How much fun is Lemmings? Fun is actually the wrong word. Coming back to Lemmings after 10 years is like the idea of having sex after spending three days digging a ditch single handily around Buckingham palace. Your brain says 'Go for it' - your body on the other-hand says to the brain 'You do and I'll walk you off a cliff - swear to god'.
In retrospect Lemmings is a lot like sex. The first time you play it, you can't stop. Day and night and night and day - best game ever - right? And then? Well then you start digging that ditch (the ditch is a metaphor) and you're too tired sometimes to play. The big difference between lemmings and sex is that after 10 years it's easy to keep saying 'no' to Lemmings, while sex on the other hand...
Lemmings is so rare on the 3DO - I have been informed Crispo the magical elf keeps the only copy in his secret wardrobe.
3DO kid.
I've been reading your blog and think it is marvellous. Although I've never owned a 3D0, my classic gaming nostalgia runs deep through my veins through machines beginning with the letter A. These are the Amiga, Atari Lynx, Amstrad CPC 6128 (the one with the disc drive) and Atari 800.
I also just wanted to confirm that DMA Design did write Walker and Psygnosis published it. It was good fun, but not their best.
All the best with the blog.