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Playstation > PlayStation Game Cheats > PlayStation Reviews > Staff Review | |
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me! Save me! Because the gameplay is now more puzzle orientated Core design decided to go back to the unlimited save system. I must agree with this move because solving certain puzzle involves taking a few risks and there's nothing worse than performing a series of tricky jumps over and over again. Loading times during levels are virtually non existent. When an area is complete the game flows straight into a CG movie which keeps the pace of the game moving relentlessly.  Riddle
Me This....Locations are predominately set in and around the tombs of Egypt. Every which way you turn there are ledges to climb on and visible accesses in the ceilings, but this time most of them can now be reached thanks to the inclusion of ropes and Lara's new climbing skills. There are over seventy secret areas to uncover and some of them are mini-levels in their own right. In fact every section is like an adventure playground, so take your time and look around. The most noticeable switch in gameplay must be the serious lack of pulling and pushing those huge blocks around. Hooray! I hear you call. Okay, so there are a few large vases to push around, but nothing compared to past Tomb Raider games. The puzzle element returns to the forefront... big style. This means that you will be spending more time investigating locations, working out brain teasers, solving mysteries and avoiding tricks and traps, rather than mindlessly blasting a non-stop barrage of enemies and dragging those damn concrete blocks everywhere.  For
example on entering a rather large area I came across what looked like a
giant chessboard. In fact this was a game called Ankh. The idea was to
remove all of your pieces from the board before the computer did. Each
move is decided by using a device similar to a dice. The beauty of the
game is that should you beat the CPU then an easy route to the end of
the level is opened. On the other hand defeat meant that three more
large areas packed with puzzles and dangers must be passed through
before reaching the end. It's possibly worth saving the game on two
memory cards so that you can go back and play both areas.One particular location involved pulling switches that rolled the entire room 90°. This not only changed the entire perspective of the platforms, but also allowed access to opening previously unreachable.  Most
puzzles are fairly logical. A jewel must be prized from it's holding
using the crowbar. Placing the gem into another hole opens a gate where
half a coin is discovered. Pushing a large vase over a hidden switch
opens another gate revealing the second part of the coin. Similar to
Resident Evil the coins may be joined in the inventory and used to
unlock the next area. Simple...? Not always!There's a new range of vehicles to play with including the motorbike with attached sidecar. I wasn't too impressed by the handling of this vehicle and much preferred my chase across the desert in the jeep.  The
highlight of the game so far must be the level that puts Lara on board a
moving train. This brought fond memories of the many classic action
movies where fighting takes place on top of a flying express. Leaping
from carriage to carriage can be quite hair raising, especially when a
jeep full of knife wielding warriors are chasing alongside and
invariably trying to leap across onto the moving train. It's a bit like
cowboys and Indians (only it's really Lara's and Ninja's) and once again
offers a refreshing challenge.In summary the forth Tomb Raider game of the series may not convince any strays to return to the flock, but those who yearn for their annual pound of Lara Croft's flesh will certainly not be disappointed. Game Options: This is a 1 disk game for 1 Player. It is compatible with the standard (digital) joypad and the analog stick controls of the dual shock joypad. Games can be saved via memory card (2 blocks per save). |
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