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Let’s face the facts, the busty heroine Lara Croft has caused some serious disappointment over the years, never quite bringing back the feelings instilled from her first couple outings. The past couple Tomb Raider games, Underworld and Legend inched her closer towards greatness, but they weren’t quite stellar enough to praise wholeheartedly. I had my reservations on the newly released revamp that is Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, the final game of the Xbox LIVE Summer of Arcade, but after having played the final game this is easily my favorite game since the original. GoL is an entirely different beast but maintains a similar exploration structure the series is known for. While it has similar gameplay mechanics to all the previous, the point of view has been retooled and is now an overhead view of Lara and a control scheme not unlike a dual-stick shooter. Plus you’ve got the added benefit of co-op (for now only locally, in September, via Xbox LIVE). This could change the final score dramatically but because it was removed I have to review what is in front of me, and that's no CO-OP over LIVE.
The Tomb Raider series hasn’t typically boasted the strongest storytelling, and this once again proves true in GoL, but it’s obvious that the focus was place entirely on the gameplay and the story is never overbearing or cheesy, it’s just there. Lara is hunting for a treasure per usual when an evil force is awakened and Lara must fight with the newly introduced Totec, or the Guardian of the Light to seal the evil back in its resting place. There are never any drawn out cutscenes or any trace of an overbearing narrative, it’s all about the lovingly crafted adventure gameplay. Even having said that GoL is an entirely retooled Tomb Raider game, it still feels much more Tomb Raider than any of the games released in the last 10 years. You’ve got plenty of tools to solve the increasingly difficult puzzles throughout the game, plenty of varying enemies and a plethora of weapons to unlock. The game wouldn’t be a Tomb Taider game without Lara leaping and dashing to escape from crumbling ruins, and trust me, it all builds well over the course of the adventure. Along with the missions, there challenge rooms spread throughout each environment with puzzles a tad more difficult than the ones you’ve previously experienced up to that point. The reward for making it through these rooms is worth the risk, whether it is guns or power ups known as Artifacts or Relics. The game has an arcade element to it with the collection of points gained by defeating enemies and pick up shiny silver objects.
The reason this is so important is because death has no consequence in the game, besides the fact that when you are returned to the previous checkpoint, your points will have decreased. This builds a challenge to beat out your friends by making it through a stage with the most points, and trust me; you’ll want to play each mission again numerous times. Aside from a load of enemies, there are a few stages scattered throughout with some great boss fights that typically require some puzzle solving to take down. This is all accomplished with a great control scheme. Lara or Totec’s movements and attacks are controlled mainly via the thumbsticks aside from actually firing shot which is done via right trigger. More or less, the left joystick is for movement, right stick for aiming. Pretty simple and it works well. The face buttons are used for dragging items jumping and dodging. The only thing that really ever can hinder the game is the camera which occasionally does not pan out enough, causing a long fall to a quick death. Aside from that, Crystal Dynamics took the best gameplay elements from the series and experimented with them. This was risky, but it culminated into a game that is genuinely fun to play. On top of this great package, the game looks astounding for a downloadable title. Environments are richly detailed and partially destructible.
Character animations are ripped straight out of previous games and the characters themselves; enemies included are fairly detailed for a game that is an overhead view. The game has plenty of voiced dialogs and the soundtrack that fans are used to with the series. Despite the fact that the game is $15, it’s packed with content. Clocking in around 6 hours long and that’s just for one play through, the game is packed with plenty of varying environments, collectibles and challenges that will extend that playtime even more with subsequent runs through. Out of all the Summer of Arcade titles, Lara Croft earns that $15 the hardest. It could be my favorite Tomb Raider game of all time, and it is something no fan should miss. The co-op is a blast and it was obviously designed around this fact. Even though online co-op isn’t available off the get-go, I don’t feel that the game should be dinged for it. It is still an astounding single-player experience and until it’s updated with online co-op, it’s a great game to play with a friend or loved one on the sofa. Step up from your computer, go to your Xbox, download Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light and bask in its glow. Lara’s undoubtedly still got it.
