Do I really need to say we love strong female characters in The Marvelous World? (Just wait until you read Cyndi’s Horribly Marvelous book.) I am just going to be real and say that I personally find women who know what they want and how they are going to get it HIGHLY ATTRACTIVE (as long as they are not trying to show supreme authority over me when we are hanging out). They do not have to have guns or an arsenal of various weapons like Lara Croft, but if they do that is even better. Just in case you are wondering… No, I do not have a crush on Lara Croft or any female video game character. I know plenty of real life women who are all about getting theirs and just might pull that heat on ya’.
Anyway, now that I have said that I want to make it known to those who are not in the know that Lara Croft is back in a way we have NEVER seen her before. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is a new game that dropped last week for the XBOX 360 (Sony PS3 and PC versions coming soon) for digital down load. Not only that, it is ONLY ten dollars. Don’t think the recession worthy price means this is a game not worthy of purchase. Like I said, I have not gotten it yet but the reviews are spectacular and I suggest you check them here at metacritic.com I am not one for speaking out of ignorance so since I have not played the game I am going to post some material I found about the game online. Read on…
Game description:
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is an isometric platform action video game developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Square Enix for the PC, PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade as part of the Tomb Raider series for digital download. Unlike previous games in the series, the game does not carry the Tomb Raider brand and will have a heavy emphasis on cooperative gameplay, both online or locally.
In the multiplayer, players will take the role as either Lara Croft or a 2,000 year old Mayan warrior named Totec. They will have to work together in order to stop the evil spirit Xolotl and retrieve the Mirror of Smoke. A single-player campaign mode will be available that will not include the non-playable character AI following or helping Lara. Guardian of Light will use the same game engine as Tomb Raider: Underworld, and will include modern visuals and physics.
Synopsis:
Two-thousand years ago in ancient Central America, a battle began between Totec, the Guardian of the Light, and Xolotl, a dark spirit. After Totec defeated Xolotl he banished him and entombed himself in the Temple of Light along with the magical Mirror of Smoke to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. In present day, Lara Croft finds the temple and Mirror but mercenaries follow behind and steal it from her. Xolotl and Totec are awaken from their tombs by the chaos and Xolotl kills the mercenaries and runs away with the artefact. Totec initially blames Lara for the whole disaster, but then realises that they will need to work together in order to retrieve the Mirror and defeat Xolotl.
Daniel Neuburger creative director of Crystal Dynamic recently did an interview with USA Today where he decided to let everyone know five things they may not know about the new iteration of the franchise.
1) Not just a shooter. Combat in Guardian of Light is fast and furious. Lara and Totec will definitely have plenty of enemies to dispatch on their adventure, but they will also have large environments to explore that are filled with dangerous traps and devious puzzles. Together, they will cross collapsing bridges, navigate mazes of fire, and outrun one very large, very hungry sea monster. For the diehard puzzle lovers out there, every level has optional challenge tombs with some of the trickiest puzzles Lara has ever seen.
2) The jungle is just the beginning. Lara and Totec begin their journey together in the jungles of the Yucatan, but as their adventure continues, they must traverse poisonous swamps, spider-infested caverns, and an underground magma lake — with plenty of massive tombs to raid in between. Each of the fourteen levels has its own look and feel, so players can rest assured that there is always something new and different to experience just around the corner.
3) Don’t be afraid of the new perspective. Lara fans are used to the camera following close behind her, so it may come as a bit of a shock to see the camera way up in the air, but players will quickly find that Guardian of Light is absolutely an authentic Lara Croft experience. The new camera has paved the way for a fresh, rejuvenated combat system and loads of new puzzle experiences. Last, and definitely not least, the camera allows for cooperative play. And that’s a good thing, because…
4) Everything is more fun with a friend. Guardian of Light has a robust single-player campaign without any clumsy AI partner slowing Lara down, but the game was built first and foremost for cooperative play. Nothing beats talking through a puzzle with your buddy on the couch, watching their back in the middle of a pitched battle, or saving them from a long fall to their death. Lara and Totec each have their own unique abilities which players will need to use to their advantage in order to survive.
5) There’s more good stuff coming. Once players are done with the single player or multiplayer campaigns, they will still have plenty of downloadable content to look forward to. That means there will be more mind-boggling puzzles, more mad dashes through massive trap rooms, and waves and waves of enemies to mow down. These challenges are aimed squarely at those who have already cleared the main game, so they will definitely test their tomb raiding abilities to the maximum.
GameTrailers.com Review