Level Review--Lemmings Revolution

[LemSteven]

10-5: Scale that wall....
Lemmings: 50
Save: 46
Time: 5:00
Release Rate: 50
Skills: 3 Climbers, 1 Floater, 3 Bombers, 3 Blockers, 5 Builders, 2 Bashers

Good: Getting someone up to the switch at the top of the wall proves to be quite challenging, as a weasel is constantly opening and closing a retractable wall that will knock the climber off the level.  Several switches in different parts of the level must be flipped to give the weasel more walking space (so he hits the switch less often) and to speed up the lemming that climbs the wall.

Bad: With good timing, you can reach the top of the wall without activating the speed-up pad.  Meanwhile, with poor timing, it is possible to fail even if you do activate the speed-up pad.  Without many extra skills to stall with, getting the timing right is a matter of trial and error.

[mobius]

10-6 Going in All Directions

Lemmings: 50
Save: 44
Time: 3:15
Release Rate: 69
Skills: 3 Climbers, 3 Floater, 5 Bombers, 5 Blockers, 7 Builders


Good: There's a few obstacles to get through to the balloon which requires some switches. There's two paths to take to get there and its not obvious which is better (both are possible). There's no destructive skills which limits things a bit.


Bad: Fairly easy for it's position. I don't personally care for the path that builds through the thin platform as this is a non-intuitive thing for new players, but veterans will see that path right away. One of the blade traps doesn't do anything (I think the one near the entrance), not sure if that's a glitch or the hitbox is too high or something but this can be misleading, cause the other one works. Also bomber glitch (like many levels of this nature) make it rather trivial. Also the time limit is rather tight but doesn't add any interest.

This is one of the few levels where you can bomb near a pool that isn't surrounded by steel and see a graphical glitch as a result.

[LemSteven]

10-7: Rocket Science
Lemmings: 50
Save: 30
Time: 5:30
Release Rate: 99
Skills: 2 Climbers, 5 Bombers, 2 Blockers, 16 Builders, 4 Bashers, 2 Miners

Good: The level appears intimidating at first, as the lemmings quickly get trapped underneath a timed door, which prevents you from simply building out of the starting area.  There are several ways to free the crowd, but none of them are trivial.

Bad: The switch on the left ends up being completely useless because the water pool is already drained at the start of the level.  The second half of the level is very straightforward and uninteresting.  The steel blocks in the large wall end up being more of an annoyance than a challenge.

[Nessy]

10-8: Time is of the essence!

Lemmings: 50
Save: 48
Time: 3:20
Skills: 2 Bombers, 2 Blockers, 12 Builders, 1 Basher, 1 Digger

Good: A fairly fun, if straightforward, time cruncher level where builder placement is key, but so is when to release the rest of the crowd to hit that sweet spot where you aren't too early and the crowd goes pass the builder and dies and not too late as to cause the time limit to hit zero.

Bad: This level could have easily switched places with "How do we get up there!" as both are time crunchers and "How do we get up there!" is WAY, WAY, WAY more difficult (at least in my opinion and you can read my rant on it here). It's also the only level with a green balloon, which is a shame.

[mobius]

10-9
Odd Jobs

Lemmings: 100
Save: 99
6:00

climber: 2 floater: 2 bomber: 3 basher: 2 miner: 4 digger: 2

Good: Correct me if I'm wrong but I think it's the only (non-tutorial) level in the game with zero builders. It's a nice water lemming challenge, with pools and switches. And a decent no builder challenge.

Bad: It's not very difficult for it's place. Woudl've worked better earlier in the pack imo.

[Nessy]

10-10: Reduce and Simmer

Lemmings: 20
Save: 16
Time: 10:00
Skills: 20 of each skill

Good: Nice, easy level with multiple approaches.

Bad: This is one of the weirdest levels in the whole game. First of all, this level is really late in the game and it's extremely easy with it's huge skillset. The only real threat is the weasel, and even he is easy to avoid with a very simple crowd containment setup at the beginning which can literally be two blockers that don't even need to be save. After that you can just assign a climber to every lemming in the level and climb up to the exit. This level also has this insane glitch where if you try to go through certain walls the lemming just stops, does a weird movement, and dies. I feel like it was intended to be a breather level, because I don't really see any type of "intended" solution that even uses a majority of all the skills.

[mobius]

10-11 Waste not...want not. part 2

Lemmings: 10
Save: 10
10:00
RR: 50 (not changeable)

climbers: 1
floaters: 1
bombers: 3
blockers: 1
builder: 2
bashers: 1
miners: 3
diggers: 2

-One of only two sets of repeated levels in the game. There are a few decoration and level modifications but its very similar to Waste Not Want not part 1. The skillset is significantly reduced.


Good: It's different enough from the first level to require some thinking on a different solution. Most of the solutions from the first are not possible here; the RR is no longer changeable; and there's extra steel in a few places, and missing terrain near the exit. Even so; there still are a number of solutions but its very difficult. A lot of logical thinking and crowd manipulation involved for a glitch free solution. One of the hardest levels in the game imo.

Bad: This is one of the last levels I ever solved in the game; the four levels in the bottom corner of the map remained unlocked for a very long time. I've never been certain what the intended solution was; I can't remember off hand for certain if I ever found a really neat solution that is glitch or shenanigan free but I think I did. Of course as usual there are a few solutions abusing said shenanigans like the bomber glitch, making it easier.

edit: the more I look at it the more I think this level was an edit of part 1 to remove backroutes, and they decided to keep both since part 1 was still a good challenge. But if that was true then why on earth didn't they fix the numerous other badly backrouted levels in the game?

[LemSteven]

10-12: Touch the ground turn around

Lemmings: 20
Save: 19
Time: 1:35
Release Rate: 69
Skills: 1 Bomber, 1 Blocker, 4 Builders

Good: The level forces you to be as efficient as possible.  The release rate must be increased to 99 immediately, and the second-last lemming needs to be made a blocker very quickly after he lands, otherwise the bridge won't be finished before the crowd catches up.  If everything is done perfectly, the crowd catches up to the builder just as he finishes.

Bad: The level is a one-trick pony that has all the intrigue of "Diet Lemmingaid" or "All or Nothing" from the original game.

[mobius]

believe it or not; Touch the ground actually stumped me on my first playthrough. Keep in mind; this was a time before I even solved the whole L1 main game so a lot of L1 tricks were still new to me.

11-1: Which Switch is Which?

Lemmings: 50
Save: 48
Time: 4:00
Release Rate: 10
Skills: 3 climbers, 3 floaters, 50 bombers (lolololol) 3 blockers, 5 builders, 1 basher, 1 miner, 1 digger

Good: One of only 3 levels in the game with vanishing terrain. The initial puzzle is a think/react fast to save the crowd cause the entrance pit is disappearing. After that it's a rather simple puzzle of figuring out how to get the crowd to the balloon.

Bad: Like the title implies; it's another game of figuring out which switch does what. The platform under the entrance area is hidden before opening meaning you might think you need to build them out or do something else which is misleading and may be really frustrating for some players. Again however; like many other levels of this nature; it's almost obvious cause there's really no other solution; so then again; why hide it in the first place?

[LemSteven]

11-2: When Two Tribes Go to War

Lemmings: 20 (10 acid lemmings, 10 water lemmings)
Save: 18
Time: 10:00
Release Rate: 10 for the acid lemming hatch, 50 for the water lemming hatch
Skills: 1 Climber, 1 Floater, 20 of everything else

Good: A challenging puzzle involving managing two separate groups of lemmings, who must follow different paths to a common exit.  The precarious starting position of the acid lemmings means you have to be on your toes right away, and bringing them to safety is not a simple task.  Meanwhile, the water lemmings start off in relative safety, but they will ultimately need the acid lemmings to rescue them.  Overall, it's a very fun level despite the extremely generous skill set.

Bad: The title is a bit of a misnomer, as the two groups really don't get in each other's way at all.  In fact, it is possible to complete the level by only assigning skills to acid lemmings.  It would be more interesting if the water lemmings needed to do something to help the acid lemmings, such as building a splatform.

[mobius]

11-3 The Bash Street Kids

Lemmings 70
Save: 64
10:00

10 climbers 1 floater, 5 bombers, 10 blockers, 1 builder, 1 basher, 10 miners, 10 diggers


Good: Another two tribes type of level, similar to the last one; this time with a more limited skillset. Both sides have to do a little work to make a path for the others.

Is the title a reference to the 'Back Street Boys'??

Bad: It's pretty obvious where the 1 builder and basher are needed. And apart from containing the bottom crowd and getting the worker(s) to do the simple jobs they need to do there's not really much going on here. It's also fairly obvious a bomber is needed to get through the thin wall on the bottom (although there are other glitchy methods). You can save much more than the required 64 without any glitches.

[Proxima]

Is the title a reference to the 'Back Street Boys'??

More likely it's this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bash_Street_Kids

[LemSteven]

11-4: Let's get those fingers moving

Lemmings: 15
Save: 12
Time: 5:00
Release Rate: 1
Skills: 15 Climbers, 1 Floater, 5 Builders, 2 Miners

Good: A near-repeat of "The Abyss" that highlights a completely different route.  The intended solution will use every skill and save every lemming.

Bad: It's way too easy for its position.  Also, although it really doesn't affect the solution much, there is a big chunk of steel that is actually mineable.

In terms of the difficulty curve, I would have switched this level with "How do we get up there".

[mobius]

11-5 Something Fishy!
Lems: 50
Save: 49
5:00

Good: A moderately complex level with several different approaches or paths looking possible at the start. It's not obvious where you need to go. The first level (I think) with a entrance with a deadly fall. There's a whole area and some switches which are a red herring and I guess that's what the title is referring to?

Bad: On the other hand the last thing mentioned above is also a tad lame imo; as quite a few levels in this game fall under this category; having a whole section of the level or at least a switch or device that ends up just being either intentionally a red herring or due to backroutes or who knows why; totally useless. I would've rather seen more complex and interesting functions put to use from the switches and other unique game elements.
It's also easy to run into the basher/builder glitch in this level.

[kaywhyn]

Due to having LPed and completed Lemmings Revolution recently, I thought I revive this thread and pick it up where it last left off. I hope you gentlemen don't mind if I do

Here is the link to my LP if any of you are interested in it: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbp2m4KlFpJvZA2nsGzLZhfwJfZq88Ka9. Also, I've made it easy to find the levels by putting in chapters, i.e, use the timestamps in the video description. In particular, after this level is reviewed, you will want to start at Part 12 for the remainder of the review game.

This is my first time I ever participated in a review thread, so let's see if I can do this correct

11-6: T is for Teamwork

Lemmings: 2

Save: 2

Time: 10 minutes

Release Rate: 99

Skills: 10 climbers, 10 floaters, 50 bombers, 10 blockers, 14 builders, and 10 each of bashers, miners, and diggers

Good: A nice any-way-you-want level that features multiple laser gates/levers, and even weasels. IMO no solution is trivial, I think any you find is challenging in some way. You have a lot of skills available, so you can easily recover and try out stuff until you find the right switch that gets you to the balloon.

Bad: Like any level that has laser gates/levers, you don't know their effects until you try them. Especially since there's so many of them in this level, this can potentially be a very time-consuming level, where you might not even activate the right switch to access the balloon until the very end. However, the correct one is luckily easy to memorize.