What a nice change. A game where the idea is to save lives, rather than destroy them. A puzzle game with a healthy dose of platforming and arcadey action. A game that has already made history on other computers, and is about to do the same on the CPC.

Lemmings is a furiously addictive escapade that puts you "in charge" of a posse of sweet, but stupid, litte mammals. These mammals (called, strangely enough, lemmings) fall on by one from a trap door in the ceiling. Their target is a stone-clad archway elsewhere on the level. Getting them there, without losing more than the specified number, is the aim of the game.

Various obstacles present themselves and you have to try and get your little friends past them all. There are various functions that can be bestowed on the lemmings, and these appear as icons at the bottom of the screen. Selecting the right combination of functions is the only way to solve the puzzles.

So how does it differ from the 16-bit versions? Well, it's smaller. The Amiga version has got over 160 levels, and the CPC version has nowhere near that many. A rival magazine recently announced that there were 80 levels in the game, and they then went on to compound the embarrassment by setting a competition where "how many levels are there in CPC Lemmings" was the question. Whoops! If you believed their review, you got the answer wrong. There are actually only 60 levels in this game, and these are divided into four batches of fifteen (Fun, Tricky, Taxing and Mayhem).

Some of the levels are shorter than their 16-bit compatriots, and a few puzzles have been left out because they were too complex. People who have experience of 16-bit Lemmings might notice another difference, that of the control method. The expensive machine versions use a mouse, whereas the CPC version is joystick-controlled. This means that it's less a case of whizzing round the screen to click on loads of different lems, and a more a case of lugging the joystick into position as quickly as possible to click on a single lemming.

Having said all that, this has to rank as one of the best conversions ever. The comic animation and the atmosphere of the original have been maintained, though things are obviously more laid-back (being slower). The graphics are brilliant, especially since we were half expecting a Speccy port, and the sound is quite polished.

Basically, Lemmings is regarded as the best computer game of all-time, and the Amstrad version is everything we could have wanted. There's enough of a challenge to keep you playing away for ages, too. Though the Fun levels are very easy, things then start getting very complex, and there are some nightmarish time limits.

CPC Lemmings is as stylish and as frighteningly addictive as any other version, though it may be a little over-priced (£16 on tape!). Whether it's the best CPC game of all time is a question that could only be settled with extreme violence.

The game Lemmings first hit the world of home computers in February 1991. Initially on Amiga and Atari ST, a PC version soon followed and Lemmings established itself as the best puzzle game on any 16-bit machine. At the end of that year, the computer industry awards ceremonies took place; Lemmings pretty much cleared up, collecting the computer game of the year award from both the SPA (whoever they are!) and at the prestigious European Computer Leisure Awards ceremony. Loads of other awards followed, and the game scored over 90% in every machines that it was reviewed in.

Early this year, the Spectrum version was released (to considerable acclaim), and a C64 version is almost finished. Contracts have also been sorted out for Psygnosis to produce versions of the game for Sega and Nintendo machines. By the end of the year, Lemmings will probably be available on every major computer format. Phew!

Graphics 91% The lemmings are a bit small, but overall it's colourful, detailed and scrolls well.

Sonics 83% A slightly dirgey, but nice enough, little tune and various neat spot effects.

Grab Factor 96% Famously addictive gameplay and easy opening levels to draw you in.

Staying Power 94% Sixty tricky levels are enough to keep you gong for ages. Totally excellent.

Overall 97%

Adam Peters