Nuke (known as Armageddon or Nuke Em in instruction manuals for the original Lemmings) is a function found throughout the Lemmings series. When activated, it sets all remaining Lemmings in a level to explode, removing them from the level and allowing the player to access the completion screen.
Appearance and animation[]
The Nuke function is found as part of the icon panel in most iterations of the series, usually next to the icons for the skills. The icon for the Nuke function most commonly resembles a "mushroom cloud" explosion.
In 3D Lemmings, the Nuke icon takes the appearance of an explosive missile. It appears in the upper-right, alongside the camera control functions. The missile displays an exploding animation when selected.
In Lemmings Touch, the Nuke button is always visible in the bottom right corner. It is a circular red button surrounded by a green cloud with a yellow outline. The button has a white skull and crossbones icon, and flashes a red light when used.
Function[]
In most games of the series, Nuke is activated by selecting its icon twice in quick succession. When activated, Nuke adds five-second counters above the heads of each Lemming present in the level one at a time. This causes the Lemmings to explode, mimicking the function of an Exploder skill. It also forces all Entrance portals to stop spawning new Lemmings. Once all Lemmings' explosive particles have disappeared, the level ends.
In Lemmings (PS3), the function is activated using one of two buttons found in the SELECT menu: "Quit" or "Finish". "Finish" is available to use only when enough Lemmings have already been saved to complete the level. Other than this, both buttons perform the same function.
Lemmings: The Puzzle Adventure also has a function that sets all Lemmings to explode following a countdown. However, it is distinguished from the Nuke function in that it causes the level to fail regardless of whether enough Lemmings have already been saved.
Uses[]
The primary purpose of Nuke is to allow players to remove Lemmings that will never be able to reach the Exit portal or otherwise be removed from the level, usually due to a lack of skills. All Lemmings who were already saved will still be accounted for in the completion screen; due to this, Nuke is also useful for quickly completing the level after the player saves the required number of Lemmings, and does not need to save any that remain. Nuke can also be used to intentionally fail a level, as an alternative to simply quitting the level.
In most games of the series, if not enough Exploder skills are available, the Nuke function is required to remove any remaining Blockers, and thus end the level, without waiting for time to run out. In Lemmings (PS3) and Lemmings Touch, however, the level ends automatically if only Blockers remain.