Review: Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
Game: Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
Format: Xbox Live Arcade
Developer: Crystal Dynamics
Publisher: Eidos/Square Enix
Lara Croft and the Guardian of light is the final game to be released in Microsoft’s Summer of Arcade 2010. While featuring Lara Croft, this is not a Tomb Raider game. Instead, Guardian of Light has more in common with top down twin stick shooters such as the recently released Alien Breed.
The game opens with a short cut scene filling in the back story; over two thousand years ago a battle between the forces of light and the darkness took place, with the darkness decimating the light. Armed with the Mirror of Smoke, the lord of darkness, Xolotl, summoned an army of demons to do his bidding. However, one lone survivor of the forces of light, Totec, fought against the darkness, eventually trapping them inside the aforementioned Mirror. Cut to the present day and archaeologist extraordinaire Lara Croft is on the hunt for the Mirror of Smoke.
As you would expect, something goes wrong, and the forces of darkness are unleashed leaving Lara to clean up the mess she had a hand in creating. Fortunately she is not alone in her mission, as Totec, who had been watching the Mirror for 2,000 years, returns to put an end of Xolotl once and for all. Forsaking the Tomb Raider name makes it clear that this is a very different type of game. Sure, you still solve puzzles and collect treasure, but this game could not be any more different from previous games in the series. In terms of controls, you use the left stick to move, and the right stick to aim, pulling the right trigger to fire your weapons.
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light has a nice blend of top down shooting and puzzles
Holding the left trigger brings up a menu which allows you to switch between your secondary weapons. Secondary weapons range from duel wielded machine guns to bazookas, and everything inbetween. These weapons can only be used so long as your secondary weapon metre has enough energy in it; the energy does not refill over time, you have to collect ammo packs, which are dropped by defeated enemies.
Essentially this game consists of two games; the single player and the two player co-op game. While both games take place in the same locations, the puzzles are completely different, with the co-op puzzles requiring a great deal of communication between players. Lara has her grapple gun, which can be used to swing across large gaps or create a tightrope for Totec, while Totec is armed with spears that he can hurl in to walls, creating makeshift platforms for Lara to climb on. Totec can also use his shield as a platform for Lara to stand on, allowing her to jump up to higher ground that would normally be out of her reach.
Currently the game only supports local co-op, but a patch to add online co-op has been promised to coincide with the release of the PS3 and PC versions of the game on September 28th.
In co-op working together is the only way to progress through the game
If you play the game through in single player then Totec is only present in the cut scenes; rather than having an AI controlled partner, the game simply gives Lara Totec’s spear allowing her to create her own platforms. The puzzles also change to cater towards Lara’s abilities, which is a welcome feature. It may well have been fun to have a computer controlled Totec running around with you, but that may well have run the risk of ruining the experience if the AI was not up to standard.
A lot of the puzzles are fairly simple to solve with tell tale signs on how to solve them – if you see a ledge that is too high up for Lara to reach that means you need to use Totec’s Shield to boost Lara up for instance. Remembering the abilities you possess is the key to success. For what it’s worth, there was only one situation late in the game in which I was stumped as to what to do, and that was down to my own stupidity.
As well as the basic puzzles, each level has a number of side challenges and collectibles that award you with new secondary weapons, relics that boost your performance, and health and ammo upgrades. Each level has 10 red skulls to collect, as well as numerous challenge rooms with specific puzzles that will award unique upgrades.
Lara and Totec, raiding tombs since 2010
To say that there is a tonne of content in the game would be an understatement; at the end of each level there is a summary scoreboard that lets you know which side objectives you have yet to complete. If you miss an objective in any given level you can always return at a later date from the main menu. Any objective that is completed is saved to your profile making it quite easy to go back and focus on incomplete side missions.
As good as the game is, there is one major issue that irks me, and this probably will not bother anyone else; the voice cast. Totec and Xolotl are voiced by Jim Cummings, who has lent his voice to a number of Disney Cartoons including Tigger in the more recent Winnie The Pooh cartoons. This is only my own personal preference here, but I cannot stand his voice – his casting as Thor in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 was the biggest black spot on an otherwise great voice cast – and his voice seems a little inappropriate for 2000+ year old Mayan warriors.
Review Round-Up
Graphics: 4/5 For a downloadable title the game has some very clear graphics with a strong sense of design. On occasion, when playing in co-op and the two players run off in different directions, the camera can zoom out a little bit too far making it hard to make out some of the finer details.
Sound: 3/5 The music and weapon sound effects are exactly what you would expect, and Keeley Hawes does a fine job as Lara Croft. Jim Cummings’ work as Xolotl and Totec is perfectly fine, but I just cannot stand his voice.
Story: 3/5 While being something of a cliché, the story is perfectly acceptable. At the start of the game there is a warlord who seeks the Mirror of Smoke for his own nefarious purposes, but that element of the story is completely dropped once the Mirror is actually used – presumably because the warlord and his men are all killed. It may have made for a bit of variety had Lara and Totec had to team up against the warlord’s soldiers as well as the mystical forces of Xolotl.
Gameplay: 5/5 There is a nice mix of frantic shooting, item collection, and puzzles. Playing the game in two player creates a fun co-op experience. The game currently only has local co-op, but a patch has been scheduled for release to coincide with the release of the PC and PS3 versions of the game.
Longevity: 4/5 Essentially there are two games in this package; the Lara Croft single player, and Lara and Totec co-op. Sure, the locations and level layouts are pretty similar, but the majority of the puzzles are completely different in both modes. There are over a dozen levels, resulting in a good 6 plus hours of gameplay on the first play through.
[starreview tpl=16]
Overall: 4.5 Red Skulls out of 5 – Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is a welcome departure form the usual worn out Tomb Raider franchise. With a lengthy single player mode that features different puzzles to the co-op mode it is hard not to recommend .
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is available to download now on Xbox Live Arcade for 1200 Microsoft Points (about £10.30), and will be available for PC and PS3 on the 28th September.
– Luke Mears
I’m really looking forward to this coming to the PSN.