Lara Croft is without a doubt among the most famous heroines in PC games. Well, a great advantage was that she debuted in the early 3D era and was very well…designed by Toby Gard, that might have been a great plus for her but anyway, the Tomb Raider series is among the industry’s longest running franchises. However, old age does not forgive anyone and after five titles released, the Angel of Darkness almost hit the last nail in the coffin while the last two movies starring Angelina Jolie were not so helpful in neither way.
But it seems Lara is lucky. Eidos decided that her future to pass by in the professional hands of Crystal Dynamics studio, well known for their work in Legacy of Kain series. Thus, Tomb Raider:Legend was a successful move, Anniversary the same while Underworld could just have been better. Underworld meant an important step for Lara while after its release the producers decided to create a separate branch under this franchise with the simple name of Lara Croft and Tomb Raider to remain a separate series. This is how Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light was born, an action adventure in which Lara Croft does not save the world by herself and this game should be a delight for every gamer all over the world.
Following the tradition, the story takes us in Central America, where Lara is searching the Smoke mirror, an artifact that has been used ages ago by Totec the Guardian of Light to imprison Xolotl, the keeper of darkness. Unfortunately, Lara is pursued by a band of mercenaries that release Xolotl which, in his infinite goodness, rewards their efforts with a free trip to the afterlife.
Of course, Xolotl only has one wish: to bring hell on Earth, death and eternal suffering. On the other hand, the release of this evil character meant the come back of Totec among the living while his mission is to guard the Mirror and to once again imprison his ancient enemy before he destroys the mankind. This return has a great impact over the gameplay of this title, by playing in the co-op mode the number of characters involved in the action increases, from enemies to more complex puzzles and, of course, the good guys. In single player Lara has to do all the job by herself, and it would be such a pity not to take advantage on the different set of skills each character has…
For example, Lara has by her side, as usual, the two emblematic guns and the grapple which allows her to perform various acrobatic numbers like climbing on walls, jumping over big gulches and over walls, while Totec is aided by a magical spear and a shield that allows him to reject enemies’ projectiles. Furthermore, Lara is able to climb over Totec’s magical shield to reach otherwise inaccessible places and with Totec’s spear stuck in a wall she can do the same, no hassles.
In the co-op, the puzzles are more complex and interesting and furthermore, the health and ammunition bonuses are an interesting feature of this new title. The artifacts increase characters’ physical attributes or weapons’ power an with any enemy destroyed one can re-charge his relics gradually.
There are numerous great features of Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light but what makes it a real fantastic title is the feeling delivered by the co-op gameplay and the total game duration is longer then we have expected. Crystal Dynamics’ expertise is easy to be spotted and their interest for this series is obvious.