Review written by David Horn

Buy Cavemen from Clickgamer

[Editor's note: I remember reviewing Cavemen and was really quite taken with the game, especially considering that it was a two-man creation.  Almost uniquely in software development, the authors published a detailed evaluation of their methodology.  This makes a fascinating read, and I found it particularly valuable.]

Lemmings. Its reputation is legendary, and I doubt you'll come across anyone who's unfamiliar with the game. It's a tough act to follow, but that's exactly what Lightworks Games has set out to do with Cavemen. Lightworks Games is a small two-man company, and this is their first foray into the Pocket PC gaming scene.

The game is described as “a platform puzzle game where the aim is to guide a tribe of cavemen through a level by solving the puzzle of how to get them safely from the entrance to the exit.” So far, so good. Like Lemmings, Cavemen features a plethora of levels (over 100 at the last count) set over three worlds, which get progressively harder over the course of the game.

Graphically, the game is bright and colourful, although I do feel that the level textures could be a bit more detailed. This could be because I was playing on a VGA Pocket PC which is scaling the game, but even so, most platforms are rectangular blocks with sharply defined edges and identical textures. Likewise, the cavemen animations tend to play quite slowly, giving the impression that the game is playing slower than it actually is and that the cavemen aren't so much strolling as moonwalking. The UI is nicely thought out, although it can be difficult to differentiate between different tools in a hurry.

However, it's obvious that a huge amount of work has gone into the graphics, and the cavemen have animation for every action. Quite an accomplishment, especially when you consider that a true lemming is only about 10 pixels high! Likewise, the cavemen cartoons shown during menu and loading scenes are beautifully drawn... the snoozing dinosaur is particularly cute.

You'll find the first 20 levels are really training missions designed to get you used to the various tools which include (in addition to blockers and diggers etc), throwers (one caveman will lob another across the level) and hang-gliders, and a couple of others which I'll leave you to discover yourself.

What is interesting is that this (inadvertently or not!) allows for combinations of abilities. For example, applying the glider tool to a lem- sorry, caveman, who's previously climbed a wall allows him to hang-glide into a sheer wall and then climb up it.

Gameplay does feel quite slow – partly because the cavemen are pretty lazy, and partly because the game speed feels wrong. You can speed it up, but then it's too fast. You only get a small number of cavemen to play with, so should you be careless enough to let one or two stumble off a cliff you might find you've already lost the level. Fortunately, you get three attempts.

In fact, most levels can be accomplished at the first go by pausing the game, studying the level, and then applying the only tools available in the right place. Much like Lemmings, in fact, but it does feel overly simplistic on some levels. I'm playing at the same time as writing the review, and although I'm on level 19, it still feels like a training mission and half the tools haven't been introduced yet.

The good news is that the whole game isn't like this – there are some levels that'll have you scratching your head and puzzling over the limited tools, which is exactly what a game of this type should be delivering. I found myself putting the Pocket PC down and going away to think about the problem, and coming back later on to try solutions. Other neat touches include presents (read weapons crates), and obstacles such as dinosaurs (use the slingshot).

Sounds are pretty good – the background music is catchy, although it might prove annoying after several hours of play, and the de-rigueur “pop” when you self-destruct a caveman is true to form. The volume of both music and sound effects can be altered in the options menu, and they can be turned off completely if desired.

Pros:

• Bright, colourful graphics

• Fun gameplay with nice puzzle elements

• It’s like Lemmings!

Cons:

• Animation is a bit dodgy

• Takes a while to get into the swing of things

• No native VGA version

Conclusion:

It’s wrong to approach Cavemen as though it’s Lemmings reincarnated. If you do, you’ll almost certainly end up disappointed, which is unfair because Cavemen isn’t a bad game. Rather, it’s a new take on an old genre, beautifully put together with shed-loads of care, and once you make it past the first few levels you’ll really enjoy it.

Overall Score: 7/10

Many thanks to Lightworks Games for providing us with our review copy.

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