Lemmings
Gameplay:
Since there's really no story behind the Lemmings I guess I'll just cut to the chase. I mean after all, the entire goal is to get the creatures from one end of the stage to the other. The series hasn't evolved too much since the days of the Commodore so if you have played any Lemmings game up to this point the newest adaptation will feel familiar to you for sure.
In case you don't know what's going on in this series then you can start marching in line with the green haired freaks. Yes, the Lemmings (the green haired ones) love marching. They pick a direction and stick with it to the point that they blindly follow whoever is at the front of the line. If one goes over a ledge then chances are good that another ten are going to be right behind him until you figure out a way to make them stop. That's basically the game in a nutshell.
There are no enemies to worry about though there are some traps to be wary of and a timer that loves to tick down to zero. Despite the fact that you play with creatures this is actually a puzzle game along the lines of Tetris or Dr. Mario, but to be fair Lemmings takes a lot more hand eye coordination, patience, and quick thinking.
In order to accomplish your ultimate goal of bringing the critters home safely the game doles out a variety of tools. These "tools" are basically jobs that you can assign to lemmings as you see fit. If you want the whole gang to turn around you'll want to make the guy in front a blocker. If you need them to climb up a wall then you'll obviously want to make climbers. I could go on about the various tasks but to be honest they are very self-explanatory once you see the names. The real trick is deciding what needs to get used where and when. Timing is of the essence and if you want to hope to get anywhere you need to be able to think on your feet.
One of the most important things for a game of this nature is just how long the gameplay will last and you keep you coming back for more. The nice thing about this is that the core gameplay from Lemmings previous has remained intact so you already know that the game is going to play well. As far as the challenge and replay value is concerned there are well over a hundred stages with the ability to download more in the future. Each level offers a unique challenge and helps keep things from getting too stale. My only beef is the amount of trial and error behind the experience of Lemmings is extremely high so it can often get frustrating. Oh, and even though there are as many stages featured in this game it's also worth noting that most of them are ports from past installments.
Fortunately there is a mode available where you can build a stage from scratch. The beauty of this feature isn't just in the fact that you can create alternatives to the pre-arranged levels; it's that you can extend the gameplay to the nth degree. Granted in the end the control and everything remains the same but it's a good way to get more out of an already beaten into the ground game and concept.
Another problem that I ran into was that the difficulty just wasn't there in most cases. It only took a couple of tries to figure out what needed to be done and I found myself having to dig really far into the stage selection in order to feel challenged. Progression through the game isn't the most rewarding either because basically every level is available to you from the beginning. Even so the game is nearly as fun to play now as it was 15 years ago.
Graphics:
Due to the nature of the gameplay, much like Tetris, you can't really improve too much on the original design. The lemmings look nearly the same as they did a decade and a half ago and the layout of the various stages hasn't changed much either. The textures are much better all around and the PSP version sports some stylized 3D environments though the selection isn't the most diverse. There are some lengthy load times at the start of a level but otherwise the framerate stays smooth and there aren't any hiccups to get irritated by.
Audio:
Filled with elevator music, cute "yipees!" and simplistic sound effects like splat and thud, lemmings doesn't do much for the ears. Granted it's not like you could really squeeze voice acting, dialogue, or a sweeping soundtrack into a game like this; you just don't need it. The audio is merely broken down to the fundamentals of what makes this franchise work, so that means there's nothing to get too impressed by.
Conclusion:
In the end Lemmings is a fun game that offers a welcome "next generation" experience for newcomers and older fans alike. The only problem is that the concept hasn't matured much since its original inception and the experience this game offers is familiar to the point that it borders déjà vu. The pricing point is a little too high for my taste considering the "been there, done that" nature of the game, but even so the game is a success on some level. If you're looking for a intelligent and unique puzzle game that you haven't already checked it out before you'll want to try saving the lemmings. The gameplay is as fun now as it was 15 years ago, though your enjoyment will hinge solely on your exposure to previous games in the series.