Oh Lara, you just aren't the charmer you once were. Sure, it all began well with some innovative ps1-era puzzling and an impractical boob-job, but those times have passed, and now you are very much Nathan Drake's female dog.
But every dog has her day, and leave it to a Diablo-styled, co-op arcade game to give Ms. Croft her strut back. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light hits all the right notes, and is far more enjoyable than any of her recent "triple A" retail outings.
As you can probably predict, an artifact of mystical nature has been misplaced and an evil demon-king has been summoned from the dead to deliver hell and high water upon the face of the Earth. Also summoned, is Lara's new co-op partner, Totec, who wields a nifty puzzle-shattering shield and spear. The two set off chasing the demon, encountering deadly puzzles, precarious platforming, yada yada yada. You won't really care about the story.
What you will care about, however, are the ingenious puzzles designed to stretch the abilities of both Lara and Totec. The pair will need to interact to complete many of the puzzles. Totec has a shield that lara can jump on to get a boost, totec can also throw spears into the wall and Lara can climb them. Meanwhile, Lara has a grappling hook that totec can use as a rope. The best of the puzzles force the utilization of all these abilities, in addition to stage props like switches, boulders, and lovely one-hit-kill flames.
What isn't as ingenious is the combat. This over-the-head shooter plays just like other twin stick shooters like Assault Heroes, but without much flair. You'll still get an acceptable variety of enemies, along with some stat-enhancing items, upgrades, and weapons, but battles quickly devolve into 1. create some distance 2. hold right stick in direction of enemies 3. maybe, maybe lay a bomb. Indeed, it is far more fun to be running away from some of these enemies than to actually be fighting them. Some of the chase set-pieces are truly spectacular, and its here where the game shines, whether running from a tuna-monster or booking it through a deadly hall of traps. Solving puzzles with a partner is infinitely more intense when you've got a strict, spike-induced deadline.
Graphically, Lara Croft has lost little in her transition from retail release to arcade game. In fact, there are far less glitches and oddities in her latest adventure than in 2008's Underworld, perhaps making this title the most polished looking Lara Croft game yet. Like previously mentioned, the game is set in an isometric Diablo-style overhead view that makes stage navigation and puzzle surveillance a snap. Every stage has a different feel to it, whether it be the expected ruins, a decaying swamp, a spider-infested temple, or a lava choked wasteland, the environmental variety does a good job of keeping things fresh for the eight to ten-hour experience. Cutscenes are few and far between, but they all look great, despite dodgy writing. Similarly, the music is always fitting, and at times quite good, though you probably won't care to remember any of it once your adventure is over.
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light will probably run you from eight to ten hours, depending on your ingenuity with some of the games trickier puzzles. To supplement this already lengthy campaign, there are devious bonus puzzle rooms hidden throughout every stage that award you with stat-enhancing artifacts and relics. Finding every secret and completing every secondary objective will take you completists a long time indeed. On top of that, the single player and co-op campaigns are different enough to warrant a second playthrough, with most of the puzzles being altered to be challenging for a different number of players. You'll need to approach these puzzles differently than you did before, and this lends plenty of replayability to this fifteen-dollar gem.
Closing Comments
In 2006 Crystal Dynamics revived the Tomb Raider franchise with a polished, exciting sequel that took gameplay in several new directions. Now, four years later, they've done it again. Where Tomb Raider: Underworld felt a little stale and glitchy, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light feels like a revelation in simplicity, where the elements of gameplay are tuned down, but honed to a sheen, and complimented perfectly by presentation, graphics, and music that does its job just right. Throw in these changes, co-op, and some of the best level and puzzle design this side of Japan, and you have one heck of a great, long game for fifteen bucks. Oh Lara, I never doubted you.
Recommended: To everyone who likes fun, Diablo, genuinely good puzzles and co-op.
(9/10)
