Review: Lemmings Touch (PS Vita).
It is said that in some circles the Lemmings series is considered the favorite production of the electorate of the currently ruling party in Poland. I do not know how much truth in this, but I know that 23 years have passed since the debut of small, nice and silly creatures. The series, being almost my same age, found another piece of equipment. This time for PS Vita.
During these 23 years of the game’s presence on as many as 25 gaming devices, the production mechanics have not changed an iota. Following the erroneous and common opinion that the lemmings go ahead to throw themselves off the rocks into the sea – we get a large group of creatures dressed in green coats on each board. Our task is simple – bring as many of them to the exit as possible. A seemingly trivial matter becomes more difficult in subsequent locations. Lemmings do not react to our commands in any other way than by marching forward, and when they reach the wall – they turn back and shuffle in the opposite direction. We need to protect these cute little bum creatures using abilities we can assign to them.
There is a digger (not to be confused with Mrs. Marshal) who will dig through the obstacles. There is a miner who will take out the pickaxe and “feed” at the right angle. There is also a worker with a shovel that will dig horizontally down. Let’s add paratroopers with umbrellas, a lemming that blocks movement in a given direction, a builder who puts stairs or a kamikaze at the end of a lemming – the range of possibilities is quite large. It is worth remembering that the “profession” once chosen does not change, but fortunately, on each board we have an appropriately selected limit of lemmings to be saved, so you can sacrifice some of them.
Bearing in mind that the creatures are in constant motion, a pause button has been added, which will allow us to rest from tactical action. However, during a paused game, we cannot give any orders, so we must treat it as taking “time” a ‘la volleyball match. We can then take a calm look at the board and plan our next moves. And these not only have to be well planned, but also executed without delay. And here we enter the field of the greatest (and probably the only sensible) novelty – touch control.
The last time I played Lemmingi at the beginning of my PS3 life, the pad controls irritated me. In a production like this, where every second counts, it was inconvenient. Controlling the toe gives us great freedom and ease in conducting subsequent actions of the charges. Of course, in a huge crowd, it’s hard to choose the right lemmings, but nothing prevents you from bringing the screen as close as possible and “touch” the lemmings. Sometimes it happens that the game reads our intention with a minimal error, but it can easily be the fault of my big toes.
There are many boards. I would say – even a lot. 4 difficulty levels, 3 groups of challenges each with 5 boards. After lightning-fast maths, this gives us 60 boards, where the farther into the forest, the more often we will tear our hair out. Yes, Lemmings are difficult in the later stages. Initially, they prepare us for the wall at a moderately slow pace so as not to alienate us too quickly. However, the game’s problem is something else. This title is exceptionally designed for short meetings. 3-4 boards at the same time in my case were the absolute maximum. Of course, I am aware that the game is therefore perfect for short meetings for which handheld consoles were created. Still, it shouldn’t tire you that quickly.
However, if you are looking for a good and cheap puzzle game for PS Vita, I recommend Lemmings Touch. The presence of the Polish language in the game helps, especially since the lyrics strike a playful tone and are far from Strasburger biscuits. Take, play and touch.
