E3 06: Lemmings Hands-On

LOS ANGELES--Lemmings was released on the PSP in Europe in March, and Sony Europe has been working on a PlayStation 2 version to accompany it. The game features the same levels as the PSP game and many of the same features, and it also boasts EyeToy-specific levels and will swap data with the PSP version.

Lemmings originally came out in 1991 for the Amiga and has had a loyal following ever since. Just like real lemmings, the ones in the game will have little regard for their own life and will happily walk to their death unless you stop them from doing so. The aim is to get as many lemmings to the end of the level, by building bridges, digging through land, and using other specialist skills to pass the puzzles.

Both the PSP and PS2 versions of the game feature the same 156 levels, but they boast a level editor that can be used to share custom designs between formats. Levels that you design on the go can be played on the PS2 when you get home and vice-versa.

The big feature that will differentiate the PS2 version is the EyeToy mode, in which you will use your body to help guide the lemmings, as opposed to the controller. There will be 15 to 20 EyeToy-specific levels in the finished game, and the game uses a new edge-detection technique to help with the precision needed in the game. Before you start this mode, EyeToy will compare an empty shot of the background and one with you in it to isolate your body from the image. When you play the game and use your arms to build bridges, the lemmings walk along with great precision, and you can even flick them over obstacles if you're precise. It's clearly a novelty addition to the meat of the main game, but with so many EyeToy cameras out there now, it's good to see games add modes such as this.

There are certain areas of the EyeToy game where your body is taken out of the game temporarily by a grey background, so you can't interact with the lemmings directly. In the section we saw, you had to flick the lemmings over a tree (without being too hard and killing them) and then waft them across on a sailboat by waving your hands.

Anyone who's seen Lemmings before will know what to expect, but the new EyeToy additions will hopefully start a trend that will follow in other Sony-developed products. Sony Europe wouldn't confirm if this will be a budget release, but we look forward to saving these suicidal rodents in the full game in October.