Release Date: 1999-11-30
Developer/Publisher: Aqua Pacific/ Crave
Genres: Action / Shooters,Retro
Platforms: PC Games,PS2,XBOX,GAMEBOY
Babe and Friends is a two-dimensional puzzle game, akin to Lemmings and a very old PC title called Rescue Rover. As in the latter, you control a character - in this case, Babe - through a 2D world filled with obstacles. To beat the game, you must move unresponsive sheep through a predefined point. The sheep won't move on their own and are generally brain-dead, so Babe has to find a path around trees, holes, streams, etc., and steer the sheep toward the checkered flag.
Once a path has been found or created, Babe "barks" at the sheep, which then march across the screen until they are stopped by an obstacle or "die" (fall into a hole, land in water, etc). The paths to the individual flagpoints are short, but Babe can march around the entire world if he desires, looking for the best route. Once the sheep have made it off the farm, the game continues in other worldly locations like an airport and the big city. Naturally, more obstacles are present (like escalators, suitcases, etc.), but the goal is always the same.
The graphics are well done; you can see Babe shake his little pink rump as he directs traffic, and all of the other farm animals have a few frames of animation to set them apart from being just static sprites. The sound effects are somewhat odd. Babe doesn't remotely sound like a pig, and the effects of him walking through water resemble a platform character being temporarily powered up. The gameplay is simple and somewhat addictive; you must put in a surprising amount of thought into the later puzzles to solve them. While this title isn't going to win any awards, it's a satisfying way to spend some free time.
Babe and Friends is a two-dimensional puzzle game, akin to Lemmings and a very old PC title called Rescue Rover. As in the latter, you control a character - in this case, Babe - through a 2D world filled with obstacles. To beat the game, you must move unresponsive sheep through a predefined point. The sheep won't move on their own and are generally brain-dead, so Babe has to find a path around trees, holes, streams, etc., and steer the sheep toward the checkered flag.
Once a path has been found or created, Babe "barks" at the sheep, which then march across the screen until they are stopped by an obstacle or "die" (fall into a hole, land in water, etc). The paths to the individual flagpoints are short, but Babe can march around the entire world if he desires, looking for the best route. Once the sheep have made it off the farm, the game continues in other worldly locations like an airport and the big city. Naturally, more obstacles are present (like escalators, suitcases, etc.), but the goal is always the same.
The graphics are well done; you can see Babe shake his little pink rump as he directs traffic, and all of the other farm animals have a few frames of animation to set them apart from being just static sprites. The sound effects are somewhat odd. Babe doesn't remotely sound like a pig, and the effects of him walking through water resemble a platform character being temporarily powered up. The gameplay is simple and somewhat addictive; you must put in a surprising amount of thought into the later puzzles to solve them. While this title isn't going to win any awards, it's a satisfying way to spend some free time.
