Sleepwalker
| Developer: CTA | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Ocean | Sound: |
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| Year: 1993 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Platformer | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 1 | Rating: |
6/10 | |
It’s a variation of Lemmings in the form of a platformer; that is to say, instead of clicking on icons from afar, all nice and comfortable, you go for it yourself, through your avatar: a funny cartoon dog. In this case, your lemming is your master, in the midst of a sleepwalking crisis, waiting for just a second of your inattention to throw himself off a cliff, under the wheels of a car, or into a manhole… Luckily, you possess super abilities to influence the trajectory (and life expectancy) of your charge: a little tap on the back to block him or make him change direction, a kick in the rear to launch him, spreading yourself on the ground to act as a bridge … and when everything else fails, diving devotedly into the first deadly trap that crosses his path! Not the most fun job, being a cartoon dog…
The main difficulty is keeping the guy in your line of sight; because, when it comes to platformers, there are jumps, falls, trampolines, elevators, shady critters … plenty of opportunities for the sleepwalker to escape his guide (or for the guide to end up three floors below, unable to do anything).
It’s a game with a brilliant concept, fun at first but also terribly frustrating, requiring speed, skill, and the painstaking memorisation of each level. Too demanding, I think, to keep you wanting to play for long.
The CD32 version includes superb music and spares you the hassle of changing disks. Finally, a remake was released on Super Nintendo in 1994 under the name Eek! the Cat.
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