Some of us here at GamesEyeView grew up pretty big fans of the Tomb Raider series. But even as fans of one of the more iconic video game characters in history, we couldn’t help but admit that the last few Tomb Raider games have been less than stellar. So when we’d initially heard of the concept behind Lara Croft & The Guardian of Light, we were intrigued. A downloadable gauntlet style, top down platformer with co-op was quite a departure from what we’d come to expect from the series. Turns out, it works really well.
Lara Croft & The Guardian of Light starts off mid adventure. Lara has been forced by a local Mexican thug to retrieve an artifact known as the Mirror of Smoke. Activating this artifact unleashes an ancient enemy, Xolotl. It’s now up to you as Lara to go about recapturing him before he takes over the world. Players may choose to play the game cooperatively as well, in which case the ancient guardian Totec who has watched over Xolotl for centuries joins you in your quest. This co-op mode puts an extra emphasis on both players working together.
While this may seem like a simple view of the overall plot, it’s really not. In this case though, a simple plot’s not a bad thing at all. Heroine A (and possibly Hero B) must stop Villain C. Add in a familiar character, some good gameplay, interesting puzzles and beautifully rendered locations for only $15 and you’ve got a winner on your hands. And that’s what Crystal Dynamics has offered up.
Platforming is sometimes simple but fun.
For one, the top down Gauntlet-esque view belies a challenging platformer beneath. Despite the pulled back view, the emphasis of the game doesn’t change from the Tomb Raider games. It’s all about platforming and puzzle solving, with simple but effective combat. Lara’s move set is not diminished simply because her size on the screen is. In fact, the lack of an up close third person camera really does away with one of our biggest complaints about the last few Tomb Raider games; there are no horrendously bad camera angles that make it difficult (or in some cases, impossible) to see what you’re leaping to, leading to death scene after death scene. If you fall to your death in Lara Croft & The Guardian of Light, it’s your own fault this time. As such, the platforming elements in Lara Croft & The Guardian of Light feel more precise than they have in years.
Throughout the game, Lara will find or receive new weapons or relics that will aid her on her quest in various ways. One of the most important new weapons is the Spear, which can be used not just in combat, but as a platforming tool as well. Lara has the ability to throw the spear at a wall and jump on it to climb to the next ledge. She can throw multiple spears before they start to disappear, so they can also be used to traverse gaps with a cliff face, or climb walls with multiple well placed spears. There are also a number of other weapons to be found, and relics that can be equipped to give Lara certain bonuses.
You may be wondering how Lara Croft & The Guardian of Light handles puzzles? Very well. Puzzles are often difficult enough to challenge, yet simple enough to keep the action moving. Some are simple trial and error puzzles, while others require some searching for missing items that open certain doors. None of them feel forced though, as if you’ve just been shooting things for too long and the developers felt the need to throw in a puzzle to break up the monotony. The puzzles are well built into the environment and usually feel like they belong exactly where they are.
The exception to this rule are certain rooms that are clear deviations from the game’s linear path. These rooms are usually where certain power ups and artifacts can be found. But since they are small distractions that don’t take you off in a completely new direction, they still work within the setting.
In co-op, one player plays as Lara, the other as Totec
Combat in Lara Croft & The Guardian of Light is simple, and doesn’t vary too much from the Tomb Raider series, but does introduce an aiming mechanism found in a number of other downloadable arcade titles. You equip your weapon of choice by holding down the LT and choosing the face button that’s assigned to the weapon you want. You can choose up to 4 weapons to have equipped from the in-game menu. Players then aim with the Right Analog Stick and hold down the RT to fire repeatedly. They can still jump by pressing the A button or do rolls by pressing the X, all the while maintaining a lock on their target. Player movement is controlled by the Left Analog Stick, so you can roll and jump away from an enemy while still targeting it.
All in all from the platforming to the combat, the gameplay mechanics work very well together and can feel quite seamless. In fact, on occasion a player might find themselves trying to platform, solve a puzzle and fight off waves of enemies all at once. This eliminates a lot of “slow down” that one might have expected to encounter in a Tomb Raider game, where often the platforming, puzzle and combat areas are fairly well defined and separate from each other.
Graphically, Lara Croft & The Guardian of Light looks very good, and not just in that “not bad for a $15 game” way. It’s clear that the team at Crystal Dynamics took the time to render beautiful environments that could be visually enjoyed. Even the cell shaded, still frame cut scenes have a distinctive look that is both new and old. The voice over work for Lara is once again done by Keeley Hawes, who has been the sultry voice of Lara Croft since Tomb Raider: Legend. This detail adds to the atmosphere of the game and keeps the feeling that despite The Guardian of Light being it’s own stand alone adventure, that it belongs in the Tomb Raider universe.
Overall, it’s hard to pick a lot of things that are wrong with Lara Croft & The Guardian of Light. The targeting can feel a little “loose” at times. The overall story is pretty thin. But neither of these things really takes away from the overall experience. All in all, we quite enjoyed Lara Croft & The Guardian of Light. This game proves that with spot on platforming, interesting puzzles and solid combat, Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider brand still have a lot of life to it.
Overall Score 9/10
**Review Copies of this game were furnished by Sandbox Strategies**
