Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

10 Hours or Less

The Bottom Line:

"Just plain fun"

I'm not a Tomb Raider fan, nor do I dislike the series. I'm simply not invested in it - in fact I've never played a Tomb Raider game in its entirety before. I say this because series like Tomb Raider, Zelda, Mario often face the challenge of accomplishing two competing goals: innovate and stay familiar. How does a production team to this.

Crystal Dynamics has struggled to keep TR fresh and I applaud the bold, counter-intuitive move to make their marquee franchise a downloadable game. Moreover, it lacks the trappings of AAA title productions. There are no cutscenes and there are no whiz-bang set pieces. What CD has done is gone back to basics and figured out what makes a game like TR a good game: exploration, platforming, puzzle solving, solid action. On this count, GoL is a rousing success.

One of the things you'll notice immediately is that the game was made with great care. The minute Lara takes her first step and leaps the first chasm, you'll notice the physics feel right. When she lands from her first high jump or leaps from a grappling-hook swing, the animations look right. CD put aside the typical marks of a big budget title to focus on the nuances that make a game like this feel and look right.

This care also went into the level design. The game is actually quite linear but each level is set up in such a way as to make the player feel that he or she is really an adventurer figuring out the best way forward. No puzzle is so daunting as to make one run and check a walkthrough, but each puzzle's solution somehow also feels like a true accomplishment.

As you move through each level, you'lll face numerous enemies. This means that the combat must also work well. CD has moved the series to a Baldur's Gate-like isometric view. This means that most enemies are on the screen when you need them to be. It also allows CD to showcase Lara's acrobatic ability for you will have to roll and dodge many times to avoid being overwhelmed. The game offers many weapon possibilities even without finding the hidden goodies. Players will quicky find their favorites and in some instances, some weapons are clearly the right choices. But nonetheless, having an arsenal is satisfying and adds a good layer of fast-paced action to the game.

GoL is not without it's flaws. On some occasions the camera cannot show you all that you need to see, so from time to time you will get blindsided by an enemy swipe from off the screen. The story is really a throwaway excuse to get you to move through the game's 14 levels. I don't mind this so much in a $15 game - this is the same route Deathspank took and both games are fun to their core without a grand narrative. But, the game is so good that you finish it wishing you could have been invested in something other than the platforming and shooting.

However, my biggest gripe is the final level - my biggest pet peeve as a gamer is the never-ending boss fight. I often find that this is the last reprieve of a development time that has run out of ideas or cannot find a satisfying cap to the levels that led you to this final moment. You will have to beat the boss about 5 times under shifting conditions. This is partly forgivable because the game has an old-school vibe so in some senses this is consistent.

I want to conclude by addressing concerns over single-player. I am by nature a lone gamer so I bought this game with the primary intention of playing it solo. Don't let the gripes about CD misleading gamers bother you. I think it's unfortunate they've shipped an incomplete game just to make XBLA SoA, but that aside, the game's single-player is able to stand on its own. Play GoL if you love games made with love.