First Impressions: Lara attempts to come back from the dead – in more ways than one.
Lara Croft is making a comeback. Up until recently, this news would have been greeted with little more than a yawn, but this time the once shining star of the video game world might very well succeed in reigniting her once glorious popularity.
Although Core created the buxom adventurer and almost single-handedly vaulted Eidos to the upper echelons of the gaming industry, they also managed to ruin the franchise (and drag Eidos’ stock down) with a string of mediocre sequels ending with the buggy and thoroughly unimpressive Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness. Realizing a radical change had to be made in order to save the franchise (and the publisher’s fortunes), Eidos turned the reins over to Crystal Dynamics, developer of the renowned Legacy of Kain series. And from the looks of it so far, change has been good for the bouncy lass.
Crystal Dynamics examined the series and tossed what made it fail while reviving what made it so successful. Gone are the clunky controls, awkward aiming system and repetitive switch flicking/block moving puzzles. Instead, they went back to the game’s roots of raiding tombs, exploring exotic locales and giving gamers an action adventure they will want to pick up again and again.
The first and most obvious improvement is with the graphics. Lara looks much more realistic with nary a sharp angle on her, and she even sports details like collar bones and tendons in her neck and at the back of her knees. Her proportions are still Barbie-like, but her boobs have shrunk slightly to something a bit more reasonable. The pervs might be disappointed at that news, but overall the changes look great.
Lara’s acrobatic moves have also been improved dramatically with more realistic, fluid animation and more responsive controls. Gone is the grid system of the previous edition where you had to endure endless fiddling to line up a jump; now, all you have to do is run and jump. It’s much easier and a lot more intuitive. Lara will also help you find your way; for example, if you are stuck on a ledge with no idea where to go, her head will turn and look towards the proper ledge you need to leap onto next. You can also forget about the frustrations you had with the previous camera system; instead, the camera tries to put itself in the best position for the situation but even if you still don’t like the angle, you will have full freedom to use the right stick to position it wherever you please (gee, I wonder what the most popular angle will be?).
Lara’s trusty dual pistols will return but the game’s focus will be more on adventuring and less on running and gunning. That’s not to say she won’t have to put a cap in some tomb thieving ass; when she has to kick butt, Lara will utilize a new target lock system that allows her to move and jump while still keeping enemies in her sights. In fact, Crystal Dynamics showed how she could slide kick an enemy into the air and blast him full of bullets before he even hit the ground. She can also smack enemies around with a melee attack.
Lara will be able to pick up and use any weapon – including rifles, SMGs and a rocket launcher – though she will only be able to carry one at a time (other than her pistols, that is). She can also carry grenades and can use mounted machinegun turrets. Rounding out her equipment list are binoculars, a magnetic grappling device that allows her to snag otherwise unreachable objects like a raft, and a shoulder-mounted flashlight. The environments will be interactive, which will allow you to shoot apart destructible objects like crates and the ever popular explosive barrel.
Gameplay has been improved with more opportunities to jump, swing, shimmy, climb and do all those cool acrobatic things Lara is known for. The puzzles of the past are gone, so there will be no more of that “find a switch to open a door way the hell on the other side of the map” nonsense. Puzzles are now all physics based so you will have to climb onto a ledge, swing on a rope and knock over a statue, for example. Also, when you solve a puzzle the reward will reveal itself in the same room so you won’t have to worry about back-tracking.
There will be eight huge levels in exotic locations like Africa, South America and the Himalayas, all filled with lush greenery and impressive water effects. Gone as well are the repetitive rooms built with the same blue blocks; instead, you will be exploring dark caverns and creepy Indiana Jones style tombs filled with deadly traps. The game uses a streaming engine similar to Grand Theft Auto so there should be a nice absence of loading screens.
Gameplay is currently estimated to be only 10-12 hours, which sounds short but Crystal Dynamics is building a lot of replayability into the game. In addition to the huge maps, there will be many secret areas, multiple paths to your objectives, and even multiple ways of solving puzzles.
Not much has been said about the story, which has something to do with a previous adventure in the Himalayas and explains why Lara became the Tomb Raider. Along the way, she will have to deal with new adversaries who are eager to make her a permanent resident of the tombs she loves to explore.
Xbox 360 | XBLA
PS3 | PSN
Wii | VC
DS
PSP
iPhone
PS2
PC
Retro
