Lemmings 3: The Chronicles

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Name: Lemmings 3: The Chronicles Year: 1994 Publisher: Psygnosis Developer: DMA Design Platform: PC Genre: Puzzle Total rating: 71.4% - rated 28 times rate now: please log in to rate Submitter: Res Added: May 25 2004 Warez status: Abandonware

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Author: Bokkie Date: May 10 2005 - 14:52 Score: 85 points

Picture this, the year is 1995, you've just got a copy of Lemmings- The chronicles and are really itching to get it installed and start playing. Why does your stupid 486 take so long to load stuff. Come on come on. Twenty minutes later it's finally done. You run memmaker for good measure and start lemmings 3 up. Ok... there's only 3 tribes... thats wierd let's choose hmmm.... shadow lems. Level loading. What!!??! What happened? Where are the little lemmings? What are these big critters? Why are there only 5 different skills? And whats that? A monster or something? Lemmings never had real enemies. I think I got ripped off.

So as you may have guessed this is what happened to me. In my twelve year old naivety I thought that lemmings 3 would be more of the same brilliance of Lemmings 1 and 2. Sadly I found out the hard way that not all sequels live up to expectations.

However, I didn't throw it in the bin, (what can you expect after I went to all the trouble and expense of getting it), and persevered with it a bit to find out that, taken on it's own merits, Lemmings 3 really is a great game. In fact if you weren't prejudiced by the other lemmings games you'd think it was really cool. So lets take lemmings 3 entirely on it's own merits and try not to compare it to the first 2 for the rest of this review, as tough as that's going to be.

STORY/PLOT
The story of lemmings 3 is that your lemmings have arrived in an ark on a new land (after their old land blew up or something) and have split into three tribes. Each tribe has taken over a different area and they are all happy and keen to get their tribes re-established. But there are problems in the future for the little guys, as the promised land they want to occupy is filled with giants and, being basically stupid, they can't eradicate these inhabitants without a little help from a higher power. Thats where you come in of course.

Your mission, should you choose to except it, will be to lead these cute, but helpless, lemmings through all the obstacles until they have claimed full possesion of the land while keeping as many alive as you can.
As I always say, nothing wrong with a nice little story like this one to add character to a game. Full marks for coming up with a plausible reason for saving the lemmings.

GAMEPLAY
Gameplay is pretty easy to grasp. Controls are mouse- based and so everything is just a click away.
There are three skills any lemming can perform, anytime and they are linked to the first 3 buttons at the bottom of the screen. These are the walker (clicking it on a lemming will make him change direction), the stopper (do I really need to explain this one?), and the jumper (see last brackets).

Then there are several other skills that have to be picked up and then used with the fourth button or thrown away with the fifth button (only the lemming that picked up the skill can use it). These include things like bricks, wall climbing suckers, diggers, swimmers and weapons for dealing with the bad guys. A big part of the gameplay is planning in advance how you are going to get the skills you need without getting stuck later on. This makes the gameplay that much better.

(One thing you should note is that any skill you use will only come into effect at the end of the brick the lemming is current walking on which means you can be very precise when building, or really mess things up if you're not careful. You have been warned.)

The challenge level is really tricky. There are about thirty levels for each of the three tribes and while the first few levels are easy it quickly settles down to a tough grind for even the most hardcore puzzler. None of the levels are particularly big and if you get your planning straight, time limits will not be a problem (of course getting your planning straight is the problem).

In terms of gameplay, the most similar game I can think of, is "The Lost Vikings" (also avaliable on CGA, check it out). There you also have to take control of an individual and send him ahead to do something that will help the others while planning your next move. You can pick up things and use them and you have bad guys to strategically deal with just like in this game. If you like the gameplay of "Vikings" you'll love Lemmings 3. If you don't know what on earth "vikings" is then you'll still like the gameplay because its simple enough to get the hang of but hard enough to really challenge you. Not for the feeble minded puzzler.

GRAPHICS/ SOUND
By 1995 1mb graphics cards were the order of the day and games became a whole lot better looking. Lemmings 3 is no exception. The lemmings themselves are big and well drawn with each tribe having different walking and action animations. The different bad guys have all been uniquely created (no re-skin jobs here). The levels are drawn based on tribe and again the graphics are good. Nice bright colours and little animations all over. Even the menu has nice drawings and animations. Long live better graphics cards.

Sound is average. No hit soundtracks or dolby surround effects but they do the job nicely, accentuating little details in the game.
Nice graphics, decent sound, always a good reason to enjoy a game more.

OVERALL
I did it. I finished the review without mentioning "you-know-what" and "you-know-what" 2 again. So looking at Lemmings 3 like I have, without the example set by what went before, you have a pretty decent game. Similar to "The Lost Vikings" in terms of gameplay and with a high challenge level, it will appeal to those who like a bit of arcade action and tricky puzzles mixed together. There are good graphics and a mini story to add to the interest with passable sound rounding the whole thing off. I'm glad I persevered with this game and didn't just dump it after my initial disappointment. Download it for it's own unique merits and if you enjoy having your brain work while you play.

FINAL CHALLENGE
Just finish the whole thing. Lemmings 3 - The chronicles is tough enough as it is...

	Type / Title	Downloads / Views	Action
	Download full game	2868	Download
	CD ISO	149	Download

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By Gung_krisna - May 08 2010 - 00:45 DosBox doesn't need hardware virtualization

By Eragon0605 - Aug 01 2007 - 16:04 use Dosbox to run lemmings my freinds

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