Tomb Raider’s come back with Legend gave fans hope that Lara was not dead, but after the success of Underworld Crystal Dynamics decided to do something different with a top-down adventure game and everyone was skeptical. The game’s story is probably the weakest part of you and an Aztec named Totec trying to beat an evil Aztec guy…yeah real interesting.

Despite that, the combat is awesome with a dual stick shooter type gameplay. You can switch weapons on the fly from four presets and killing wave after wave is fun. Each enemy type is pretty unique with some shooting magic spells, some explode with deadly gas, some are huge and can crush you, and some are even fast and come in high numbers. There is a huge weapon selection from assault rifles, to spears, to grenade launchers and each weapon is well balanced and has its uses even in puzzles.


This, of course, has always been Tomb Raider‘s strongest point which is the puzzle department. You can use spears to get to higher ledges, use the grenade launcher and bounce it around corners to flip switches, destroys barriers etc. You can use your grapple to hang down ledges, and pushing giant boulders around can even be used as a powerful weapon! It’s great how everything in the game has more than one use and really makes you think and gives you a broad range of things to do. The puzzles can range from switch puzzles to combat puzzles, or even a whole level being one great puzzle.


The game also has lots of ways to come back and do well in levels. There is a point system and you acquire them from killing enemies, collecting gems, and you get rewarded relics for completing challenges. Relics can be equipped to boost your stats such as weapon power, health, speed, or range. These will really turn the tide in battle, and there are quite a bit to collect and it’s a good incentive to really do the challenges. However, some challenges are almost impossible and don’t seem like they were planned out too well.


The game looks amazing and Lara is as sexy as ever and is voiced by the same person who’s been doing it since Legend. The game is full of thrills just like the bigger games and is just so much fun and not one section ever feels the same. Each level is crafted perfectly and everything is balanced just right. Another incentive for players who couldn’t get the hang of other TR games should pick up GoL because of its ease of perspective and good controls. This is one of the best XBLA games to come out in the Xbox’s history and should not be passed up. It even has a good price!

It's pretty decent for what it is. The puzzles require some thought and are sometimes pretty inventive with the mechanics, the combat can get challenging with large numbers of resilient enemies and some good boss battles and the game looks pretty good for an isometric puzzle platformer hybrid. There are a fair few cons though.

The weird camera angle and the weird way Lara sticks to some environmental objects make platforming a chore. It's not easy to see where she will land and there's almost no control of her when she's in the air which made me fall off the level many times. The physics make some of the puzzles and optional challenges extremely tedious to complete due to the unpredictable nature of the objects' movement. There are a few good boss battles with the final boss being the best and most memorable but some of the others are very poor and require next to no thought or pose no challenge at all. Some of the collectibles are placed in very stupid locations which makes me think they ran out of ideas early on. The game is also incredibly short taking me only about 4.5 hours to beat (I farmed the game for cards for 2 hours where I didn't play the game at all). There's some challenges and some hidden collectibles but I didn't find any of the rewards worth it and the levels themselves aren't exactly inspired or amazing to make me want to replay them. I've not played co-op which may be a separate experience on its own but I'm not sure.

Recommended on a sale if you have a few hours to kill on a puzzle platformer and you're attached to the Lara Croft name.