Write-Up
Write-Up:
Well, I told you all that I’d try to bring you some more Xbox Live titles and I’m following through, especially considering Square-Enix gave me early access to their new title, “Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light”. Created by Crystal Dynamics and releasing this Thursday, August 18th on Xbox Live and on September 28th for the Playstation Network and PC, Guardian of Light takes the Lara Croft franchise to new levels by offering us a fixed isometric view of the action, as well as co-op game-play. While it’s been quite some time since I’ve played a “Tomb Raider” title, I found myself immediately immersed into what appeared to be equal parts of combat, puzzles and platforming. If you are still looking for a great new downloadable title for only 15 bucks, this is definitely worth checking out. So lets jump right in, here’s “Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light”.
The game opens with Lara tracking down an ancient artifact called the Mirror of Smoke, which leads her to a hidden Temple of Light. When she finally tracks it down, a local mercenary group led by a man named Vasco shows up and steals the Mirror, releasing its power, an evil demon named Xolotl. As Xolotl kills off Vasco and his troops, Totec, the Guardian of Light is also awoken and teams up with Lara to hunt down the demon and retrieve the mirror before the world is covered in darkness. It kind of sounds like an “Indiana Jones” adventure to me, but hey, Lara Croft and Indy have a lot in common.
Beyond that, there isn’t too much to the story. There are only 3 characters in the game and the plot is pretty simple, but that’s not really the point of a title like this. It’s all about the action, adventure and platforming!
“Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light” contains 14 levels and should take you about 8 hours or so on your first play-through. Each level has it’s own objectives and they can all be played over again from a mission select screen upon completion. Your first play-through is going to take some time as you’ll need to explore the areas and learn their secrets if you are to come back and master all of the bonus objectives, so luckily, you’ve got some great replayability. On top of that, over the next few months, 5 expansion packs will be released, granting you access to additional levels and even new well-known playable characters. In addition, there are also several items that will unlock for you as you play through the game including new outfits for Lara and a mercenary outfit for your Avatar.
What’s great is that co-op multiplayer is supported but there is a caveat: until September 28th, via a free patch, only local co-op is supported; so if you don’t have a buddy playing with you on the couch, you’re not going to be able to enjoy multiplayer over Xbox Live.
While you play, there is a great auto-save system built in and that’s a godsend because if you’re like me and want to master all of the puzzles, you’re going to die a lot. Luckily the auto-save system prevents you from having to backtrack too much. It’s also important to note that the only penalty for death is a loss of points, which should only affect you if you are trying to complete the score-based bonus objectives for each level.
Finally, I have to point out that I did run into an annoying bug on one of the levels that prevented me from moving on. Essentially a door didn’t trigger to open and I got stuck in an area and had to restart the level 3 times before it worked properly. While it was quite annoying, at least the level was fun enough that it wasn’t too bad to have to replay it a few times.
Both the single player and co-op versions of the game have the same missions, but the way in which you solve the puzzles will be different. Totec has some unique abilities in that he has a shield that can block arrows and can be used as a lift for Lara, and he can tight-rope walk across Lara’s grapple. He also has a spear that can be used as a weapon, and as a temporary stair to assist in platforming. In single player, Lara gains access to the spear, but in co-op, only Totec may use it. The story also changes a bit in the various game modes as in single player, Totec essentially runs ahead of Lara and isn’t involved much, but obviously he’s there the entire time in co-op.
Each level has a variety of puzzles and platforming challenges that can all be solved many different ways. The levels are just very well designed with clever puzzles and tricky traps. Each mission has several objectives, typically involving obtaining certain scores, completing the level in a certain amount of time, or collecting hidden items. There are even hidden challenge areas in each mission that have the most dangerous traps but offer powerful rewards.
Along the way you’ll collect relics and artifacts that may be equipped via the inventory screen that grant access or penalties to various statistics like Lara’s weapon damage, defense or speed. In addition, Lara will gain access to many different types of weapons, which is new to the series, including pistols, rifles, shotguns, machine guns, rocket launchers and even a flamethrower!
As I began my first play-through of the game, I immediately was reminding of “Diablo”. The fixed isometric view was a great addition to the game and really got me hooked. For an Xbox Live title, the graphics are amazing, hell I if didn’t know any better, I’d think this is a full-priced feature-length title; but the cut-scenes and animations kind of give it a way. While there is a few game-rendered cut-scenes here and there that look pretty good, the majority of the story is told through comic book style animations.
There are only 2 voice actors in the entire game, one for Lara and one who plays both Totec and Xolotl. Lara’s voice is wonderful and so is Xolotl’s, but I found Totec to be a bit cheesy, but it’s not really that important considering there is hardly any dialog in the game anyway. The mysterious and action-packed soundtrack is fully orchestrated and really keeps you in the mood. I don’t think I could have asked for a more pleasant presentation for a downloadable title like this.
Seriously, this game is damn fun! I only wish I had more time to go back and play it some more, but duty calls and I’ve got a full lineup of new releases that I’ve got to review for you. Nonetheless, “Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light” is absolutely a title you should check out if you are into action/adventure platforming titles. With a perfect blend of intense combat, tricky platforming and complex puzzles, you’re going to have your hands full for a while if you plan on completing all of the missions’ bonus objectives. For a mere 15 dollars, I can’t think of a reason why you WOULDN’T want to check this game out. I played through the entire game as single player as I didn’t have a buddy to play with me locally, so I can’t wait until the patch is released next month to open this bad-boy up to co-op over live. It certainly is the summer’o’fun with downloadable titles. Which downloadable are you currently looking forward to? Leave your questions and comments below!
Developer: Crystal Dynamics
Publisher: Square Enix
Platform: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Price: $14.99
Review Video: http://www.youtube.com/ZeitgeistReview
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ZeitgeistReview
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**This title was provided to me free of charge from the publisher to review for you.
