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After achieving a huge success, it was expected that The Lemmings universe would be used for different kind of games. After several sequels of famous logical Lemming-saving games, it was time to attract action-oriented players to the franchise. The Adventures of Lomax is an Amiga styled jump-and-run platformer and the first such game with Lemmings.
The resemblance to Amiga games is no wonder - Lomax looks much like The Misadventures of Flink, an Amiga title from 1994, also designed and published by Psygnosis. Actually, the production, graphics, sound and level design in both was mostly done by the same people. Amiga styled platformers were always rare on PCs and were a refreshment in the period marked by the rise of the FPS and RTS genres.
What is the first thing you can expect from an Amiga platformer? Beautiful graphics, of course, especially backgrounds. Lomax is definitely up to challenge for its time. There are many different surroundings and therefore lot of different landscapes, things in the background as well as creatures in your way. What can be expected from a famous franchise done in a different style? A long game with many interesting moments that practically brings something new in each level. Every fan of platformer games will surely be pleased to hear that this is the case with Lomax. The levels are not too long, but are designed to introduce you to new kinds of dangers, along with already familiar ones.
The gameplay does resemble the one in Flink to some degree, but there are some differences, as well as some new features. First of all, Lomax doesn't lift and throw various objects or enemies. His main weapon is a spin attack, performed by pressing the JUMP button again while Lomax is performing a jump already. While spinning, Lomax is more or less invulnerable to hostile creatures. Additionally, once he picks up the magic helmet, he can throw it onto enemies and the helmet will fly back to his head. The helmet protects Lomax as well, so if he gets hit he won't die but will lose the helmet instead. You can have more helmets in reserve.
Two innovations are the most important to talk about. The first one is probably expected for a Lemmings game, Lomax can find special abilities which he will need to overcome all the levels. There are just a few of them, like placing floating platforms, digging through the walls or a helmet with hand that allows you to grab onto floating platforms. If you run out of abilities, just look around for a new pot that will pop up from the ground. Besides abilities, by opening and breaking pots you'll find magic helmets, gold coins or an extra life. The second important feature is the multiple planes for gameplay. This means that on some levels, Lomax will find the way to move towards the players point of view or in the opposite direction, which makes the levels more interesting than simple left-to-right moving.
Since Lomax is the only one not under Evil Ed's spell, most of the hostile creatures in his quest to save the land will be the controlled Lemmings. Hitting them will actually break the spell and free them. So there is saving of Lemmings in this game too. After rescuing 50 Lemmings, you will unlock the bonus stage at the end of the current level. Bonus stages are filled with coin bags. A hundred gold coins gives you an extra life. You start with three lives and three credits, meaning that you can choose whether to continue or start over once you lose all your lives. After finishing each section, which usually consists of a few stages, you will receive a password. By entering the password, you may continue with the same number of lives and credits, so after learning a section, you might want to play it over without losing a life and get a better password.
The password feature is necessary for a long game like this. Lomax is not an easy game, although it is not too difficult either. Platformer vets may find it a bit easy at the start, but it will give you some sweat later on. You will familiarize yourself with new dangers and if you have lost too many lives, the passwords come in handy. However, the number of coins, abilities and Lemmings rescued are not saved with passwords.
As for other things in the game, you will discover them yourself, since there are too many things to describe and that means this game will keep you interested to the end. The Adventures of Lomax is a good game, surely up to the task in almost every part and will be interesting even to those who don't think platformers are their favorite genre.
The game will run in Windows set to 8 or 16 bit colors mode.
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