Junkman Oct 6 2004, 08:55 PM Game: Kennys Creator: Joe Dixon (Polygon) Genre: Puzzler Description: Save the mindless Kennys using various skills in this Lemmings spin-off. Rating:85% Review: Just thought I'd finally sit down and write a review for the site... and I don't think I could pick up a more appropriate game to review than Kennys from Joe Dixon. Well, Kennys 2 might have been a good choice, but due to Windows XP not handling the custom levels correctly, I can't quite give that game the review it deserves. So, let's give a look toward the game that eventually gave place to Kennys 2. Everyone knows what Lemmings is. This is one of the most influential puzzle games of the computer era and it certainly busting records in being one of the most addictive games ever. Many players (such as me) have stayed glued to their screen, trying to save the hapless Lemmings from their upcoming death using a vast array of skills through devilish level layouts. With more than 200 levels, this game truly had it all. Kennys is a game that is pretty similar to Lemmings in many aspects, only though it's a bit simplified. There's only 5 skills available in order to save the Kennys and some of them are quite tricky to use at times (more on this later) but ultimately, it's still a rather faithful version of the well-loved game. As with Lemmings, a certain number of Kennys are released through the trapdoor and it's your job to bring enough Kennys to the exit by correctly navigating the level layout using the few skills that are handed over to you. Over the game's 15 levels, you shall be thrown into progressively harder level layouts in which you actually need to well manage your Kennys. The first few levels are mainly used in the sole intent to make you learn about the game's 5 skills which are Puncher, Digger, Builder, Blocker and Bomber. Punchers and diggers are used to dig holes in the landscape in order to reach new places, Builders will be used to bridge over deadly water spots, flamethrowers and even lava pits whilst blockers are used to stop Kennys from going to deadly places. Bombers make Kennys explode after a 5 second timer, digging the way down or simply freeing a blocker from it's task. Some of the first levels are quite simplistic, but most of the other levels will require pretty careful managing to complete and they're actually not that simple to beat. Even though solutions never are very complex, they often require quick fingers to pull off decently, which adds up to the challenge. There's unfortunately some problems with the engine. Firstly, the Kennys sometimes manage to get stuck within the environnment whenever you're digging down certain surfaces and that sometimes mean level failure since it could be the very Kenny you need to reach the requested rescue ratio. The puncher is sometimes unaccurate at times, meaning that if you punch too close of a wall, a small pixel of the wall shall remain, thus trapping all other Kennys outside the newly created tunnel. However, the most annoying glitch of the game would be that the game assign skills to EVERY Kenny you click on. This means that if you're clicking on a certain Kenny in order to build a bridge and that 12 Kennys overlap him, the game will assign Builders to everyone and that'll cost you 13 builders, of course. Very annoying of course, especially if you lose a level thanks to that bug that makes you run out of skills before reaching the end. Still, the game still is pretty playable nonetheless and it doesn't ruin much the experience, so they aren't that bad. The graphics share the same spirit of the Lemmings tilesets (even though there are only 3 main tilesets for the whole game plus an extra extended tileset) and although some of the levels could do with additionnal detail, most of the tilesets are well drawn and they're original to boot. Despite their small size, the Kennys do look good and they're well animated. Sound effects are somehow annoying, especially the loud metallic sound that plays whenever you assign a skill to a Kenny. Music is mostly taken straight from Lemmings, whose soundtrack mainly consist of remixed children's songs and give an appropriate soundtrack for the game. Despite most of my complaints, Kennys still is an incredibly playable clone of Lemmings. It might not have the level editor that made Kennys 2 such a popular game in the community back then, but it do have the advantage of having a stronger single-player game, though. It's fun and it offers a pretty good share of challenging passages compared to Kennys 2's single-player mode which never really got harder as it advanced. In the end, it's still beyond a lot of the South Park games that were made back when it's been released in 1999. Recommended. Wormmaster Oct 7 2004, 11:40 AM Game: Kennys Creator: Joe Dixon (Polygon) Genre: Puzzler Description: Save some stupid Kennys that just walk forward. dry.gif Rating: 62% Review: When I firstly saw this name in Smiley Town Arcade's Other Peoples section, I was like: "Whoa! Action with Kennys! I'll Download it. It will Kick ass!!!", but I got pretty dissapointed. It was just a Lemmings spin-off only with new levels and Kennys as Lemmings. Lemmings never was my favourite game... However, I just found this as little fun. I could kill those poor Kennys! But, that's it. It's not funny anymore. But it's still pretty addictive. "I must get to the next level... Must see the ending..." <--- That's me when I play Kennys. Overall - It's a good puzzler game with excellent engine. Making a game like this must have been VERY hard and has taken VERY long to make. But, as I haven't ever really liked Lemmings, I didn't like even this so much. Best for the people that haven't played Lemmings already. + KENNYS!!! + Very addictive - I haven't ever liked Lemmings too much...