Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light Video Game Review for Xbox Arcade

Many gamers know Lara Croft only as a character on the big screen played by Angelina Jolie, but in reality Lara started as a video game character way back during the Playstation One days in a series called Tomb Raider. She introduced a whole generation of young gamers to adventure shooting games (and attractive female protagonists), thereby laid the foundations for big games like Perfect Dark and the dark God of War series. Now Lara returns in a downloadable game called Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light by Square Enix.

Plot

Two thousand years ago in Central America, the Guardian of Light called Totec and Xoltol, the keeper of darkness meet in an epic battle. Xoltol almost comes out the victor, but at the last moment Totec manages to trap Xoltol in a mirror. In present day, Lara finds the mirror after hearing about the legend. Some mercenaries steal the mirror and Xoltol is accidentally released. Totec appears and helps you to defeat Xoltol, who must be stopped before dawn.

Gameplay

The game is surprisingly impressive for a download and an old rehashing of a crowd favorite from a time now passed. You might expect Lara to be not quite up to normal gaming standards, but on the contrary the graphics are crisp and Lara's movements are as nimble as can be. In the game you battle your way through enemies and solve puzzles as you go through levels. There is a fantastic co-op mode built into the game where you and a friend can play together--this innovation is one of the things that really works with this game.

While player one is Lara, player two gets to play the role of the mighty Mayan warrior, Totec. Each have their own skills and you and your gaming friend must work together to solve puzzles and get through levels. For example, Totec can throw spears into walls for Lara to swing onto and Totec can be a steady point that Lara can attach herself to using her grappling hook. The co-op mode is only for people actually there with you for right now, but an online patch is planned for the game.

The game features a number of different weapons, fun and manageable puzzles, and even some customizable elements. This is a really great game that will change your perspective about downloads forever. Where the game is weak is in its use of a fixed camera angle. Almost every game out there today uses a 360 camera and its easy to remember why when you're playing a fixed camera game. Still, this small flaw won't ruin the game for you. Reviewers have given it about an 8/10.

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lara_Croft_and_the_Guardian_of_Light ; http://g4tv.com/games/pc/63382/lara-croft-and-the-guardian-of-light/review/

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