Anyone old enough to remember Lemmings will be delighted to know it’s now available to play on your smartphone. Unfortunately, the classic puzzle game has been somewhat ruined by in-app purchases designed to wring money out of nostalgic gamers.
Lemmings was a massive hit on the Amiga in the 1990s, and ended up being ported to countless other platforms. It has since been remade for Sony consoles including the PSP and PS3. And now a new mobile-friendly version has been released for Android and iOS.
Lemmings Find a Home on Mobile
On the PlayStation Blog, Serkan Hassan of developer Sad Puppy explains the thinking behind Lemmings. The Lemmings have ventured out into the universe looking for a new home, but invariably end up settling on hostile planets with hazards galore.
This is where you come in, as it’s your job to guide the Lemmings to safety. As with the original game, you do this by instructing them what to do and where to go. In this case that means helping them “dig, climb, build, block and fall through levels”.
Everything has been designed with smartphones and tablets in mind. So Lemmings can be played in portrait mode, allowing you to hold your device in one hand and touch the screen with the other. Unlike the original you don’t need to worry about controlling the camera.
Download: Lemmings on Android and iOS
Ruined By In-App Purchases
The mobile version of Lemmings is free-to-play, but quite limited unless you make use of the in-app purchases. Essentially you get a certain amount of “energy” to expend, and when it’s gone you either need to wait for hours or pay real money to unlock more.
This isn’t cheap, with $ 7 buying you unlimited energy for two hours. Seeing as there are great mobile games with no in-app purchases this is expensive. Especially when you still see ads. Lemmings is a decent game ruined by the need to make money at all costs.
Read the full article: You Can Now Play Lemmings on Mobile
