Puzzle fans that enjoyed the BABE movie series will find a lot to like here. BABE AND FRIENDS, a single-player puzzle game for Game Boy Color, has the little porcine hero guiding his herd through 40 levels that span such locations as the farm, the airport, and the city. In each level there is a checkered flag, to which Babe must take a herd. The sheep aren't very good at finding their own paths, so Babe has to walk them through every step of the way. Clear obstacles, set up roadblocks to make detours, and generally do what you have to in order to make a safe route for the sheep. Watch out for obstructions such as carts in the airport and rushing rivers on the farm. Detailed still-screens of all of Babe's friends appear between the levels to move the story along. A password save system is included if you need to take a break from the brain-bending action. Can Babe save the day once again?
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.--Doug Trueman--Copyright © 1998 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. -- GameSpot Review