As the action begins, the player’s job is to guide his or her character, either Rodney or Bernard, through increasingly more difficult levels in an effort to thwart the mutants’ assault. The focus of each level is the Doomscale – a basic weight-scale that determines whether the planet lives or dies. The mutant penguins win the level if they are able to get more soldiers to the scale and tip it in their favor. The player wins if his or her character is able to lead the good penguins to the scale and tip it in the Earth’s favor.

To help in the fight, players can find various weapons on each level including bats, frying pans, and the super club. Whack a mutant with a weapon such as the frying pan, and the evil penguin will release several power-ups that can be collected and used to improve your character’s weapons. The improvement of the weapons is critical as an endless stream of marching mutants on most levels offers little hope of success unless armed to the teeth.

Knowing how to use the weapons, though, is not enough. You must develop a strategy for each level or even the strongest defenses will fall under the marching webbed feet. With graphics that are adorable and gameplay that is surprisingly engaging, Mutant Penguins is a nice diversion that isn't nearly as inventive or original as Lemmings, but does evoke a fond memory or two about that classic puzzler. If you are looking for a similar game with more focus on action, Mutant Penguins more than fits the bill. Thumbs up!