December 02, 1999 - Yes, they made Babe the Pig into a videogame. I'll pause while you get your laughter out of the way.

...

Finished? Good. Crave Entertainment took the Babe license and created Babe and Friends, a puzzle game that puts you in the role of the talking pork chop in a clever puzzle game where you have to herd a sheep through forty different levels. I have to be honest -- it may seem odd and silly, but it works.

Features

• Five levels and forty puzzles
• Password saves
• For Game Boy and Game Boy Color

I'm not going to BS you here, people -- this game is for kids. The game is extremely simple: control Babe the Pig in an overhead scrolling map. He only has two functions, "bark" and "walk." The idea is this -- each level is broken up into individual puzzles, and you have to herd a single sheep to the end of each puzzle, marked by two flags. The sheep will walk in the direction you're facing when you push Babe up against him and "bark." The sheep won't stop until it hits a barrier like a fence or haystack. It's up to you to make sure you can herd the sheep in the right direction -- if the sheep gets stuck in a corner or against a wall that you can't maneuver around, you have to restart the puzzle.

Early in the game it's simply a matter of following the arrows. Then, the designers start throwing complex patterns into the mix that makes you have to think about which direction you need to send the sheep without it getting stuck. Then, they give you the opportunity to push haybales around to create temporary stops for the sheep so it's forced in a certain direction. Later levels feature holes that not only hurt the sheep, but also you if you happen to fall in it -- you can push haybales into the hole to make them safe to walk across. Finally, you'll have to time moving objects like carts at the airport -- get hit and you have to start the level over.

It's obvious this game is aimed at the younger crowd -- the password engine is a mere three characters long, and it really only took me an hour to get halfway through the game. The game does have a few challenging moments -- I had to restart a couple levels a few times to get it right, but there's nothing here truly taxing. Babe and Friends does look great on the Game Boy Color, with individual stillscreens of the characters from Babe in the City (if you missed that movie, you're not alone).