We here at PC PowerPlay have very good reason to be extra happy around the festive season. Our job becomes infinitely more enjoyable. While the overall number of games rushing to make that Xmas list increases, the ratio of good-game to dud-game also greatly increases. Do you think it's fun siting through a really dodgy game and then have to write about it? Xmas to us means plenty of great games just waiting to get played. A couple will even force us to take the phone off the hook, lock the front door and get the neighbours to collect the mail till we sigh a breath of relief as we watch that elusive end sequence. Tomb Raider is one of these...



You play Lara Croft, intrepid explorer, on a quest to find an ancient artifact known as the Scion. This takes you around the world - to remote and dangerous locations (clearly set out in the beautiful cut-scenes). A lost Incan city, ancient Greek ruins, Egyptian crypts and even the "lost city of" Atlantis. The ancients though, weren't so dimwitted as to let just any wally with an Akubra and a bull-whip walk in a couple of thousand years down the track and collect their prized possessions, so they've littered the place with traps and puzzles to test even the most gallant of seekers. To make things even more exciting, there's someone trailing you, also in search for the Scion. Wild animals - like bears, bats and dogs are keen to get a hold of you too. So as you look toward the next puzzle, you also have to look back, at the shadows and what's hiding in them.

The best way to describe Tomb Raider is as being a sort of three dimensional Prince of Persia. With a hint of Quake, a twist of Time Commando and pinch or Resident Evil. With an overall Indiana Jones feel. You guide Lara in her third person splendour to the next level and beyond. Each level (or area) is a vast underground catacomb riddled with secret rooms and deadly man-made and natural traps. For example, the first level starts you in a vast underground network of caves. As you run through the antechamber, hidden pressure plates set off a barrage of darts that sap a fair bit out of your energy. Proceeding further into the heart of the caves, you notice an opening high up to the left of you. This is the way to go. Hoisting yourself up the various rocky levels, you come across a clearing where a couple of blood-thirsty bats come out to greet you. After disposing of them, you must decide whether to go straight ahead or take the left passage. A lot of the earlier levels are like this - running about looking for small openings or passageways that lead to an exit. Rather than having a basic "find the exit" theme to the levels, Tomb Raider goes for plenty of variety. The second level requires a key for the exit - initially, then an artifact for the final door. In between is a massive system of rooms and passageways that you must successfully negotiate. And these are not easy - a lot of running and jumping across chasms to barely grasp and pull yourself onto a tiny ledge on the other side. Barely passing a series of deadly swinging axes. The third level brings you to a cog mechanism that re-channels the stream running thorough the area. When you pull the lever to use it, the wheels turn, but nothing happens - a couple of the cogs are missing And there aren't just around the corner - you're going to have to search long and hard for these. The puzzles are logical and challenging, but not frustratingly difficult.

There's as much variety in the graphics as well. I'm no expert in ancient Incan, Egyptian and Greek (forget Atlantean) architecture, but the layout and feel of the levels are convincing and feel just right.

Ornate patterns on walls, artwork here and there. The graphics look utterly amazing, too. Crisp and clear, with secrets well hidden to the lazy eye among natural rock formations and the like. But the real treat of Tomb Raider is when it's actually running. It is literally jaw-dropping. The third person camera perspective zooms about the 3D world, as you run through the place. Where necessary, the perspective changes to show other interesting bits or passages to explore. You can manipulate the camera angle too. When coming into a new area, it's usually best to take a pause and survey what's above and below. The only problem with this is that Lara can only look in 180 degrees arc, either up or down. A minor complaint though.

Lara Croft would have to be pretty special to handle all the trials that adventuring throws at her, and thankfully, special Lara is. Rendered in over 2000 frames of animation, all of Lara's movements look fantastically life-like. And she has an impressive repertoire of moves up her sleeve. She can walk carefully, run, jump, forward roll, lunge, hold on to things an pull herself up, shimmy to the sides, swim (which has to be seen to be believed), jump to the sides and push walls out of the way. There's also the very handy back roll where Lara emerges facing the other direction - perfect for a quick about face when enemies start attacking. And the controls are fairly easy to use - not as complicated as you would have thought. She also carries a small arsenal of weapons to keep the animals at bay. Talk about cool - Lara holds a hun in each hand and can consequently dispatch two enemies at once!

Essentially (besides the Prince of Persia influence), Tomb Raider is the thinking person' s Quake. It's got stunning graphics, heavenly gameplay, and plenty of atmosphere. The difference is that rather than running though the levels at a blazing speed with the main goal being survival, Tomb Raider requires plenty of thinking and exploring. Therefore the pace is much slower - but the reward is a deviously challenging game that won't be finished in a few generous sittings. For this reason, I love it!



March Stepnik