Lemmings 2: The Tribes

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Lemmings 2: The Tribes

Developer(s)	DMA Design
Publisher(s)	Psygnosis
Release date(s)	1993
Genre(s)	Puzzle
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Everyone (E)
Platform(s)	Commodore Amiga, various
Media	Three 3 1/2" floppy disks, Cartridge
Input	Mouse, Gamepad

Lemmings 2: The Tribes is a computer game released in 1993, as the first real sequel to the popular puzzle game Lemmings. As with the original, it was developed by DMA Design and published by Psygnosis. The gameplay remained mostly the same as the original game, requiring the player to lead all the lemmings to their exit by giving them the appropriate "skills".

1 Overview
2 Storyline
3 Gameplay
- 3.1 Skills
4 Tribes
- 4.1 Functional differences
- 4.2 Cosmetic differences
5 Ports
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] Overview

Numerous changes and additions were made in this sequel. First of all, there was an introduction movie explaining the storyline of the game. Secondly, there were now many, many more skills available to give to the lemmings, unlike the eight in the original game. There was still a total of 120 levels, but in this game they were divided into ten levels for each of twelve tribes.

Lemmings 2 was not quite as popular as Lemmings, and was not ported to other systems as much as the original game was. One apparently common complaint was that the many different skills were too confusing to players, despite the game's "Practice Mode". In spite of all this, it was well received and considered by many as a worthy sequel.

[edit] Storyline

Once upon a time, the twelve lemming tribes of Lemming Island lived happily and peacefully. One day, however, a great darkness fell upon their land, as foretold in an ancient prophecy. This prophecy told that the only way the lemmings could survive was by evacuating their island, using the power of the Lemming Talisman. This talisman consisted of twelve pieces, one owned by each tribe. With the help of the Guide that has helped them before, all lemmings must now reach the center point of their island in order to escape their doom.

[edit] Gameplay

Level 1 of the Beach tribe. Tanned beach bum lemmings can be seen walking about. The upper left one has just been made a SuperLem, while the one to the far right has been given the permanent skill of Runner

The gameplay in Lemmings 2 differs from the original in the following ways:

As mentioned before, there are many more (51 in total) skills available in the game, although no more than eight are available in each level. Some of the skills are similar to the original ones (like digging and building variants), others are all new (several flying skills, for example). One skill, the "attractor", will cause the lemming to play a musical instrument and have nearby lemmings stop walking to do a dance. The instrument and dances they do vary by tribe.

A practice mode has also been added. In this mode, any type of skill available can be selected for the player to experiment with. There is a choice of four different practice levels.

Each tribe's levels can be started at any time, and progress can be saved from the main menu. The player starts out with 60 lemmings for each tribe, but only one lemming needs to make it to an exit in order to progress to next level. The amount saved will then be the amount left in the next level. As some levels may require several lemmings to complete, the player might have to replay an earlier level to save more lemmings for the following ones if they realize they do not have enough.

The player will be rewarded with a bronze, silver or gold medal, depending on how many lemmings are saved in the level. This will also dictate the type of the talisman part received once all the tribe's levels are completed. To watch the outro and credits, all golden talisman parts need to be won, as well as rescuing at least 20 lemmings from each tribe.

Each tribe has its own graphics set, its own music track, its own "traps" and its own exit animations. Skills however, are not limited to a tribe. The twelve tribes are: Classic, Circus, Cavelem, Shadow, Space, Outdoor, Beach, Sports, Egyptian, Highland, Polar and Medieval.

A new fast forward button and fan button have been added to the controls. The fast forward replaces the release rate button in the original game, which would let you release more lemmings at a time. Now the whole game is sped up, so you can skip longer waiting times. The fan button turns the cursor into a fan, which is used to push around any flying lemmings or to affect wind-powered elements.

Smaller additions include:

When falling from moderate heights, instead of just dying, lemmings will now stun themselves upon landing, taking a second to get back up to continue walking. (Lemmings will still die instantly from higher falls.)
Trampolines will let lemmings jump and bounce about.
Cannons and catapults in levels will launch a lemming away.
Lemmings can grab on wind-powered swing ropes to allow them to travel across gaps.
Levels can span vertically as well as horizontally (mostly because of the flying skills).
Lemmings with permanent skills have their colours switched for easier identification.

[edit] Skills

The various skills that the Lemmings are given can be broken into three different classes, referred to here as permanent, continuous, and temporary skills.

The permanent skills are irreversible enhancements to the behaviour of a lemming, staying with the lemming until the end of the level. When a lemming is given a permanent skill, their hair and shirt colours are swapped to make them easier to identify.

Continuous skills are those that a lemming will continue doing until it is ordered to do something else, encounters an obstacle, or reaches the end of the appropriate terrain.

Temporary skills are carried out until given another order, just like continuous skills, but also have an upper limit on how long the lemming will keep doing the skill. This may be due to a lemming running out of materials, or simply because there is a time limit on how long the skill can be used for.

Permanent skills — stay with the lemming until the end of the level. As mentioned, lemmings with these skills get their hair and shirt colors swapped:

Skills you can choose in practice mode in the Super NES version of Lemmings 2

Climber: enables a lemming to climb a vertical wall to reach the top of the structure.
Floater: A lemming using this skill can float down from great heights without dying.
Parachuter: makes a lemming like a floater, but affected by wind (wind powered).
Rock Climber: makes a lemming like a climber which can climb up surfaces with angles up to 135°.
Runner: The selected lemming will run for the rest of the level, and jump over small gaps.
Slider: turns around and slides down vertical cliffs at a non-fatal speed.
Skater: enables a lemming to skate on ice. Lemmings without this skill will slip and slide on ice, moving very slowly across it.
Swimmer: enables a lemming to swim across water. It is possible to give this skill to a lemming who is about to drown.

Continuous skills — the lemming will keep doing this action until it is ordered to do something else, encounters an obstacle, or reaches the end of the appropriate terrain:

Attractor: An attractor will play some musical instrument, which will make other lemmings dance in place when they are close to the attractor.
Ballooner: makes a lemming float up holding a balloon, until the balloon touches something and pops (wind powered).
Basher: Using this skill, a lemming can make a horizontal tunnel, using his hands.
Blocker: changes the direction of any other lemming that hits this lemming, can be destroyed by a bomb. If the ground the lemming stands on gets removed, the lemming will turn into a walker again. (Skill not available in practice mode.)
Club Basher: Using this skill, a lemming can make a wide horizontal tunnel, using a large club.
Digger: makes a lemming dig a vertical tunnel.
Fencer: enables a lemming to dig a horizontal tunnel on a slight upward slant.
Hang Glider: allows a lemming to fly along at a slight downward slant (wind powered).
Hopper: makes a lemming hop around a level.
Icarus Wings: makes a lemming fly horizontally through the air (wind powered).
Kayaker: The lemming uses a kayak to go across water. It is possible to give this skill to a lemming who is about to drown.
Magic Carpet: makes a lemming float across the air above surfaces, using a magic carpet (wind powered).
Magno Booter: Using these boots, a lemming can walk on walls, ceilings and cliffs. A lemming in this state can only be given new skills while it is upright.
Miner: A miner digs diagonally downwards, creating small 'steps'.
Roller: This turns a lemming into a ball, rolling along surfaces at great speed and arcing through the air.
Scooper: digs diagonally downwards creating large 'steps'.
Shimmier: causes a lemming to jump up and traverse the underside of a horizontal surface.
Skier: will ski down slopes quickly, jumping if there is a ramp at the bottom.
Stomper: jumps into the air, leaving a vertical gap in the floor when landing. This does essentially the same thing as the digger, but is much faster.
Superlem: makes a large lemming that flies through the air, following the cursor. The Superlem will revert to a normal lemming upon hitting an obstacle or catching the cursor.
Surfer: The lemming gets out a surfboard to go across water (wind powered). It is possible to give this skill to a lemming who is about to drown.
Twister: The lemming will start spinning rapidly, digging through terrain in almost any direction (wind powered). There must be solid ground beneath the lemming for this to work, so it cannot dig directly upwards.

Temporary skills — the lemming will keep doing this action until it runs out of materials, or a certain period of time has passed:

Archer: uses a bow and arrow to shoot an arrow in the direction you specify. The arrow will stick onto the wall, ceiling or floor that it hits, and act as terrain that other lemmings can land and walk on.
Bazooker: uses a bazooka and fires a projectile that blasts a hole in a roughly horizontal direction.
Bomber: A bomber puts an exploding bomb on the floor; the explosion will not kill the lemming (unlike the exploder). The explosion blasts a hole in the surrounding terrain.
Builder: A builder will build a stair diagonally upwards using a maximum of 12 steps.
Diver: The lemming jumps a small distance into a dive.
Exploder: This will make a lemming explode and die after 5 seconds. The explosion blasts a hole in the surrounding terrain.
Filler: empties a bucket with some fluid, filling up holes before becoming solid.
Flame Thrower: The lemming fires a quick burst of flame which destroys surfaces in a horizontal direction.
Glue Pourer: empties a bucket with a fluid that will follow the ground and walls until it reaches an obstacle or overhang, then solidify. If it reaches an overhang, it will create a bridge as thick as the overhang.
Jet Pack: straps a jet pack to the lemming, allowing it to levitate above surfaces (wind powered).
Jumper: This skill will make the selected lemming jump once.
Laser Blaster: With a laser blaster a lemming can make a vertical tunnel blasting upwards. The beam has a long but limited range.
Mortar: The mortar fires a projectile that blasts a hole in a roughly diagonal direction.
Pole Vaulter: The lemming runs, gets out a very long pole, and uses it to launch into the air. A long, flat area without obstacles is needed to do this successfully.
Planter: A lemming using this skill will plant some seeds which turn into plants that other lemmings can land and walk on.
Platformer: A platformer will build a platform horizontally using a maximum of 12 boards.
Roper: uses a grappling hook and rope to create a walkable path in the direction you specify.
Thrower: A thrower throws a small rock into the air. When the rock hits land, ceiling or a wall, it will stick and become terrain which other lemmings can land and walk on.
Sand Pourer: empties a bucket with some sand, which forms a small hill where it is poured.
Spearer: throws a spear into the air in a roughly horizontal direction. When the spear hits a wall it will stick, and become terrain which other lemmings can land and walk on.
Stacker: A stacker will build a vertical tower by putting boxes alternately on two stacks.

[edit] Tribes

While the twelve different tribes of Lemmings will generally have a set of skills that are more commonly associated with that tribe, there can be overlap between the available skill sets of each tribe. Each tribe will typically have its own style of traps (for example, space lemmings can be killed by an open airlock, while outdoor lemmings must avoid being eaten by a frog), and levels are designed in a way that complements the tribe. Apart from that, each tribe has its own skin and clothing colors, own entry method, own exit method, own music, and its own style of dancing (for the entertainer skill).

[edit] Functional differences

There are no functional differences between the tribes, save for the "classic" tribe which has had many of the new gameplay features turned off in order to play similarly to the original game. In this tribe, the exploder follows the 'classic' explosion type of previous Lemmings games, with the Lemming stopping at the end of the countdown for a couple of seconds before exploding into a shower of debris. While the Lemming is stopped, other lemmings can pass behind it (even if the lemming was a blocker prior to being an exploder). Skill sets for this tribe are restricted to the skills from the previous Lemmings games (climber, floater, exploder, blocker, builder, basher, miner, and digger), making gameplay for this tribe fairly similar to that in Lemmings.

[edit] Cosmetic differences

Most tribes have green hair, white skin, and blue clothes (just like in the original Lemmings games). Exceptions to this include the polar tribe (light blue hair and blue clothes, a reflection of the cold environment they live in) and the highlands tribe (orange hair, a somewhat common sight in the Scottish Highlands).

The music and dance style of the tribes also reflect the nature of the tribes. The background music from the sports tribe has a very vibrant, bouncy beat, and the entertainer from the medieval tribe plays a few notes on a lute.

Methods of entry and exit also differ between tribes. The entrances are usually in the form of two Trapdoors that drop down, but can differ a bit from this — there is an upturned barrel used by the highland lemmings, and a dragon's head that is used by the medieval tribe. Lemmings from the circus tribe carry out a bouncing turn before heading off into the next level, while Lemmings from the space tribe float away behind a planet.

[edit] Ports

Known ports of the Amiga game include: DOS, Super Nintendo, Nintendo Game Boy, Sega Mega Drive, Sega Mega-CD/Sega CD, Acorn Archimedes and Atari ST.

Amiga (1993) Space Tribe	PC (1993) Shadow Tribe	Game Boy (1994) Beach Tribe	Mega Drive (1994) Circus Tribe
Super NES (1995) Outdoor Tribe	SNES Highlands Tribe	SNES Egyptian Tribe

The next game in the Lemmings series after Lemmings 2 is All New World of Lemmings (1994), which continues the storyline with the Egyptian, Shadow and Classic tribes.