Tomb
Raider 4: The Last
Revelation
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...continued
The
Tomb Raider series has had its difficulties in the
past. The key to the success of the original game
was its focus on challenging level design and sense
of atmosphere. TR2 chose to take a more
combat-orientated approach in response to the
first-person shooters flooding the market at the
time. This was not entirely successful. TR3 went a
little too much the other way, relying on huge
levels and complex tasks. This meant the player was
often left wandering around with no clear idea what
to do next. Core are no fools, and have decided to
go back to the original game's balanced
approach.
The
first level in the game is a bit of a new
departure, though. You are transported back to
Lara's past, as a sixteen-year old schoolgirl.
Could there be any reason for Core choosing this
age, I wonder? Anyway, in between the inevitable
ogling, your task will be to guide her through a
training level, assisted by her mentor Von Croy.
But there is a twist in the tale - an unfortunate
accident befalls Von Croy and Lara leaves him for
dead. He takes this badly, and reappears later in
the game as Lara's archenemy.
Motorcycles
and jeeps feature too
Enemy
AI has been revamped, at last. In the other games
the easiest way to deal with enemies was to find
somewhere a little out of the way - usually a
raised ledge or remote platform - and blast away.
Now the humanoid baddies are smart enough to come
looking for you, so you will need to be more
ingenious to make progress. But the animals still
are dispatched with relative ease.
Unlike
TR3, you can now be confident that the solution to
a puzzle lies close by - there is no pointless
exploring and TLR is more goal-oriented than any of
its predecessors. The levels in the game are all
set in Egypt - no more globetrotting for Lara - and
this helps make the game feel yet more focused,
much more like Tomb Raider than any of the other
sequels.
Longevity
will not be a problem for TLR - the levels are huge
and puzzles can be challenging, but refreshingly,
never become obscure. The huge set-pieces and
occasional driving sections add variety, and the
new weapons flesh out the traditionally
disappointing combat sequences well.
With
TLR, Core has again proved themselves a class act.
Level design is excellent and varied, the puzzles
are well thought out, and finally the old
block-pushing puzzle has bitten the dust. There is
enough here to keep both hardened platform gamers
and newcomers entertained, and the well-judged
difficulty level will keep you at it at least until
the next one comes round. Certainly the best of the
series, and perhaps even the best of the
genre.
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