It's hard to believe that DMA's Lemming creations are now approaching their fifth birthday. Way back in the days when the Master System was considered state-of-the-art, Psygnosis unveiled a puzzle game for the Amiga so simple, so ingenious and so playable that, within a year, it would appear on every format known to man, and within three years give birth to sequels of every description - Christmas Lemmings being the perfect example. As with all the greatest puzzle games to date - Mean Bean Machine, Tetris, etc - the idea behind Lemmings was a simple one. 100 of the green-haired critters will quite happily wander into the traps left in each of the scrolling levels unless the player does something about it. Using a series of icons to endow them with climbing, digging or explosive capabilities, the player was left to help steer the stupid creatures to the level exit. See, simple.

Now, however, in the world of the 32bit mchines, the tiny Lemmings sprites are deemed unacceptable, so Psygnosis are set to wow Saturn owners as they propel the Lemmings into the third dimension. As such, whereas the stupid creatures once wandered quite happily from left to right, the player now finds them wandering in and out of the screen, making things doubly difficult. 3D Lemmings is a conversion of both the PC and PlayStation versions, but mercifully without the Jelly Bean sponsorship which plagued the Sony version. 'Let's Go', as our Lemming friends are prone to say...

A Saturn conversion for the latest instalment in the saga that is a puzzle game phenomenon.

Prevent the hordes of green-haired rodents from marching to their doom... in glorious 3D!

Initially, the Lemmings are brainless fools who will quite happily wander to their doom unless prompted otherwise. At the bottom of the play area, though, are a number of icons which have a number overlaid on them. This indicates the number of moves available to steer the Lemmings to safety and include:

1. Blocker:
   Stands still with his arms out to prevent any Lemmings from passing. Particularly useful to stop the rest of the herd dropping off the edge of a cliff or some similar hazard.
2. Basher:
   Similar to the Miner, the Basher can pound his way through the toughest obstacles using his fists! As demonstrated by some of the world's greatest boxers, though, the Basher is limited in IQ and can only be used when directly next to the object he is to demolish.
3. Floaters:
   Falling too far is the greatest cause of death amongst the Lemmings fraternity, but these guys have the perfect cure. As a Lemming falls, selecting this icon arms the falling fool with an unbrella which duly shows their descent.
4. Digger:
   If you can't get over something, go under it! Diggers are superb tunnelling experts, but their skills are a little lacking in that they can only dig straight down. Which brings us to...
5. Bomber:
   If something is the blocking the way, Bombers will willingly give their lives to open the way for their colleagues. On priming a Bomber Lemming, a countdown appears about their head - giving the user valuable time to clear away any others in the area before they blow!
6. Miner:
   Whereas a Digger can only go down, the Miner is a more versatile fellow and uses his trusty pick axe to dig a horizontal path. If he comes across anything too tough to dig through, however, the Miner will down tools. Just like the real thing.
7. Builder:
   Breaching seemingly impossible gaps is this fellow's forte. If the edge of a gap is close to a nearby pathway, the Builder can be nudged into building a bridge between the two areas. Be warned, though, his creative urges only last a short period.
8. Climber:
   Sheer rock faces prove no problem to the Lemming equivalent of Chris Bonnington. Simply endow the Lemming nearest the wall with this power and he'll pull himself up any surface. Simplicity itself.
9. Turner:
   A new addition to the 3D world. A Turner acts like a Blocker but as opposed to stopping his colleagues, the Turner will urge them to take a different route. The Lemming equivalent to a traffic cop.

The levels in 3D Lemmings are tortuously designed affairs which take the little creatures into seemingly inaccessible areas. However, to the right of the pay area lurk a number of icons which allow the user to view the play area from virtually any angle imaginable. It has to be said, however, that combining the control over the Lemmings *and* the assorted views proves a little confusing, and some of the more distant views are pointless in the extreme.

Updated, or 'enhanced' versions of classic concepts always seem a bit unnecessary. This updated and 'enhanced' version of Lemmings simply clutters up a brilliant idea with an unwanted 3D view. Great, so the action can be viewed from any angle.

But what's the point if the majority of the levels can be viewed from afar? Similarly, when there is a need to change the view, it normally coincides with when the player needs to make a Lemming perform a special move - thus making things ridiculously picky to play.

This is a quality conversion, but a game that nevertheless frustrates in all the wrong ways.

Lemmings is a genuine classic - like that other great, Tetris, it has proven an enduring success on just about every other platform. Like Tetris, Lemmings' charm is due in no small part to its simplicity. I loved the original Lemmings - all you had to do was select an icon, and then arm one of the small sprites with that skill.

The 3D element in this new Lemmings instalment does more damage than it does good and, hard as it may seem, almost ruins an otherwise great idas. A disappointment.

Graphics 76%
P. Smooth-scrolling 3D play areas and varied in design.
N. However, the 3D is pretty pointless to the game.

Animation 71%
N. Minimal. The Lemmings shuffle along and backdrop movement is non-existent.

Music 77%
P. Typically upbeat background tunes.
N. Irritating in the long term.

Effects 81%
P. Lemmings fans will love the familiar Lemmings noises.
N. Saturn owners will wonder why there isn't more to it.

Playability 76%
P. The icons used to control the games are simple enough.
N. Sadly, moving around the screen is a pain in the arse.

Lastability 71%
P. Plenty of levels.
N. The basic lack of excitement kills any plans to progress off immediately.

Overall 73%
The 3D is completely pointless, and only serves to detract from what is, at heart, a very playable game.