Is This The Greatest Lemmings Game Ever?

I've recently been playing Lemmings Touch on PS Vita, but I started to notice something, the same basic formula keeps coming back. There's a version of lemmings on nearly every platform, maybe with updated controls or a slight graphical boost, but the one I really want to play has disappeared.

People have been using the same eight lemming skills for decades now, it's about time for a change.

Bring back Lemmings 2: The Tribes!

The same gameplay that has survived the test of time, but the only game in the franchise that I remember having story elements; unite the tribes, complete the stone tablet and save the world... it added an extra incentive to save as many lemmings as possible, and not just scrape though with a lone survivor and move on, like I usually would.

Each tribe had its own theme, this included the terrain of the level, the look and sound of the lemmings and the super catchy background music. It helped to keep the game fresh, plus if you got stumped on a level you could switch to another tribe and see how far you could get with them.

The thing I really miss though is all the other lemming abilities, being able to laser through ceilings, fire bows and arrows, run, leap and pole vault over obstacles, pouring glue, filler and sand everywhere was always fun too. I'm not sure I ever got the hang of the likes of Super Lem and the hang-glider but being able to blow lemmings and environmental objects around with the fan tool added an extra level to the gameplay. There were also more dynamic hazards. A Westie dog in the highland levels and one of the space levels featured a Walker (last seen in my retro review in issue 9 of Niche: Treat Your Geek) , both attacked your lemmings as they walked past.

This brings me on to another feature sadly absent from recent iterations, sandbox levels! With so many new skills to master and the fan mechanic to get to grips with the game provides practice areas with no goal to reach, each level allowed you to pick whichever skills you want and then go test them out, you could perfect the timing of your pole vaulters or just see how many dumb ways to die you could find.

Sine then the Lemmings franchise has experimented with other gimmicks, revolving stages, motion or touch controls, 3D (graphics and stereoscopic viewing) but never have I seen it innovate like it did with Lemmings 2. I'm afraid any new game is going to become a case of "oh no, not more lemmings". I cant think of any other franchise that has missed this kind of opportunity. I want a new game to innovate by being like the old game! Is that too much to ask?

Do you have any fond lemming related memories? Maybe you know of another game that cut features as the franchise went on? Let me know in the comments, or share the article and let's bring back the tribes!