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What a strange thing to do - feature a game in "Blast From The Past" when the sequel is reviewed elsewhere in the mag.

No, it isn't - not really. You see, there will be loads of you who played (eat, drank, breathed, slept...) this a couple of years ago, but probably just as many again who have since entered the computer game world and are wondering what all the fuss is about.

Since one idea (money aspect aside) of a sequel is to provide further entertainment for fans of the original, then what better way to point Lemmings 2 fans in the direction of more fun that by featuring the classic Lemmings? Makes sense, dunnit?

What's new then? Well, nothing - I mean, it's the original, isn't it, but that doesn't mean that there isn't still plenty of fun to be had.

The Lemmings have just eight skills in this prequel - they can climb, jump, float downwards using an umbrella, explode, block, build and dig across, diagonally or down. Whereas in Lemmings 2, the difficulty of the levels varies from tribe to tribe, the skill level here can be chosen, ranging from the beginners-only Fun level to the tooth-itching Mayhem, and the 99 levels are divided equally into the four categories.

The chaotic music is here; as are the hilarious sound effects and brilliant animation, as you would expect, and more careful thought needs to be put into many of the more difficult levels due to the "lack" of Lemmings' skills.

The Tribes is undoubtedly a classier product - the programmers have had two years to come up with new ideas, after all - but those who discover Lemmings by first playing the sequel and find themselves pining when all the levels have been completed would be well advised to check out this oldie.

Better still, get your hands on the double pack with the data disk, and all your Lem-loneliness will vanish.