Lemmings (PSP) - PlayStation Portable

In a nutshell:
The lemmings are back and once again you’re called in to save them from themselves and help them to safety. Using a range of gadgets and tools you’ve got to stop them plummeting over cliffs and into bear traps in one of gaming’s most beloved puzzle games.

The lowdown:
One of the few puzzle games to owe absolutely nothing to Tetris, Lemmings finds you trying to save the lives of dozens of green haired mammals whose disregard for their own safety has them walking mindlessly from left to right across the screen. Each of the hundreds of different levels gives you a limited range of tools to help them, from bridges to floating umbrellas. Without a mouse the controls are more awkward than they used to be but there’s a useful zoom option and the ability to pause the game at any time. There’s also an online multiplayer mode and the chance to design your own levels.

Most exciting moment:
Blowing up your lemmings when you fail a level and watching the fireworks.

Since you ask:
Lemmings debuted on the Amiga in 1993 and has since gone on to appear on twenty different formats, although now that Sony owns the license future will games will only be on PlayStation consoles.

The bottom line:
A very welcome blast from the animal endangering puzzle past.
HARRISON DENT