Platform:PC
.com
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Set entirely in Egyptian locations, Last Revelation's plot
revolves around ancient mythology and the alignment of the stars
at the millennium. Finding herself in a serious predicament, Lara
Croft has a clear objective from the outset: she must escape a
terrifying destiny and rectify a situation that threatens to
destroy humanity. The storyline is driven seamlessly through
advanced engine technology. New programming routines allow
gameplay to dissolve into cut-scenes and FMV. Also, loading
screens are eliminated, allowing the adventure to become a
continuous experience.
From the Manufacturer
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Five thousand years later, Lara Croft discovers the lost tomb and
unwittingly unleashes the evil god Set, fulfilling the ancient
prophecy of his return to plunge mankind into darkness. In a race
against time, Lara must use all of her wit and skill to
reimprison Set and save the world from Armageddon. Pursued at
every turn by her archrival, the unscrupulous Werner Von Croy,
Lara embarks on a journey of discovery across Egypt, where she
must overcome the most ingenious puzzles and infernal traps ever
devised and face terrifying evil from beyond the grave. With more
twists and turns than an Egyptian labyrinth, this is
heart-stopping action-adventure, a Tomb Raider that truly offers
The Last Revelation.
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Review
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Who would have guessed when we met her that Lara Croft -
assertive, independent, self-assured, and a phenomenal -
would prove to be such a tease? Having virtually defined a new
genre of third-person action-adventure in 1996, the Tomb Raider
franchise lures us back each holiday season much like an old
relationship trying to rekindle itself with promises that "it has
grown" and that "things will be different and even better this
time around." However, with the last two games, developer Core
and publisher Eidos have disappointed even some of Lara's most
devoted fans. The series refuses to evolve beyond the basic yet
beguiling formula: leap around ancient tombs, shoot foes (animal,
human, and superhuman), and unravel the elaborate puzzles and
traps that guard these premodern mysteries. Lara does have some
new moves in Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, but in the end,
none of them takes her far enough in any new direction.
Nevertheless, The Last Revelation is far and away the best of the
sequels, mainly because Core has finally added some coherence to
all aspects of the game. There's actually a story this time: Lara
mistakenly unleashes the Egyptian god Set after eons of
imprisonment. Before the evil spirit wreaks destruction on the
planet, Lara must put this gnarly genie back in the bottle.
Frequent prerendered and in-game cutscenes punctuate the action,
as Lara's cliched German enemy Dr. Von Croy challenges her at
every turn. At least we do see Lara having actual conversations,
especially with her mentor Jean-Pierre, who adds to the plot by
getting kipped later in the tale. And in the final leg, The
Last Revelation takes a Hitchcockian turn, thrusting Lara into
some of the world's most familiar landmarks, the Sphinx and Great
Pyramid.
While its story is not as interesting as LucasArts' recent
Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine, the plot in The Last
Revelation succeeds in keeping Lara in one part of the world,
Middle East ruins, rather than trying to ensure the game has the
requisite variety by sending her trotting across the globe. These
levels now blend more seamlessly, and in many instances, Lara
must move back and forth among several different areas to gather
the artifacts or throw the levers that advance her onward. While
it makes for a more cohesive game experience, shuffling back and
forth as well as enduring repeated loading times can be
frustrating. In the Alexandria section midway through the game,
you start from a coastal ruins area and veer off into almost a
dozen smaller side journeys that lead back to the ruins in the
end. As your inventory swells with the various pieces of several
unfinished puzzles, some of them well hidden, just keeping track
of the immediate task at hand becomes a major challenge.
Nevertheless, the payoff is a greater sense of narrative
structure. From the opening Tomb of Set to the finale in the
Great Pyramid and Temple of Horus, The Last Revelation keeps an
overall purpose in view, and this is something Lara always
needed.
The more fluid story and coherent setting have positive effects
on puzzle design as well. Make no mistake, The Last Revelation is
the most cerebral of the series. Very few manic boss villains, or
even timed sprinting challenges, force Lara to leap and shoot
with split-second accuracy. Most foes are dispatched easily, but
only when you realize their weakness. This strategic aspect to
firefights is more in keeping with the game's adventure and
puzzle theme. Generally, Core has returned to the widget-hunting,
block-pushing, lever-grabbing gameplay for which the original
Tomb Raider is known. While some of the puzzles are tough in The
Last Revelation, they are more sensible and well integrated with
the story than in the previous sequels. In the Great Hypostyle
Hall, for instance, Lara must open up a new exit by making artful
use of her s and a teetering boulder. In another hall, a
celestial is both a puzzle to be solved and an expressive
artifact of Egyptian mythology. Clearly, Core has taken greater
care in the construction of Lara's obstacles. Of course, if you
take a step back, it seems preous that a spelunking heroine
meets logic puzzles at every turn. But within the suspended
disbelief of the Tomb Raider fiction, these obstacles feel more
sensible and more naturally a part of Lara's adventure.
There is action in The Last Revelation. It's just not as
hair-raising and daunting as in the second and third Tomb Raider
games. One especially good sequence is a very-well-done train
chase, in which Lara fights off ninjas and pursues Von Croy
across boxcar after boxcar. Lara also gets an infrared laser
that combines with her revolver or bow for long-range or
precise targeting, which is fortunate because a few of your
otherworldly foes require some very sharp shooting to take down.
Binoculars also come in later in the game for spotting far-off
puzzle clues. Of course, Lara learned to drive years ago, so the
jeep and motorcycle (with sidecar) rides are nothing new, though
they make for refreshing bits of action. Rope swinging is new,
though timing Lara's swings and leaps from rope to rope is
probably more exasperating than it's worth. And the retooled
inventory system now lets you combine objects, though it is used
too little.
In fact, none of the new Tomb Raider features, from the stronger
adventure motif to the slightly upgraded graphics engine, is made
especially overt. The game itself is very enjoyable - it's
challenging and absorbing, if no longer very surprising.
Visually, the game gets somewhat better texture detail, and Lara
now has a one-piece wraparound skin, which lends her a more
detailed, expressive face and lifelike look. The PR department
has made a lot out of letting us play a teenaged Lara early in
the game, which is nice but really as to just a cute way of
integrating the tutorial into the game. However, Core and Eidos
continue to shy away from pressing any of these mild innovations
into what the Tomb Raider series has needed for so long, which is
a substantial evolution of the gameplay itself. Why not engage
the adventure element more wholeheartedly and give us a Lara with
some depth and character and a plot really worth fighting for?
Not all puzzles must involve pushing blocks and pulling levers in
the right sequence.
It's also worth noting that all of those halfhearted attempts to
rationalize the alluring Lara as a positive model of feminine
power and mastery are getting harder to accept as her chest takes
on the dimensions of the Astrodome. Poor Lara now looks like
she's shoplifting watermelons in Cairo.
However, despite how frustrated we are with her creators, Lara
keeps sucking us in every year because, like that old lover, she
still has all the right moves. The basic engine is still
unrivaled. Knockoffs and competitors continue to miss the real
magic of the Tomb Raider engine - artful exaggeration. Lara still
has her extremely graceful, almost superhuman movements that let
us glide luxuriously through these worlds. Her running leaps are
as implausible as they are fluid, and that's why she is uniquely
captivating, even when the basic tasks at hand get old.
Ultimately, Tomb Raider IV would have made a brilliant Tomb
Raider II. The changes are great, but should have been made years
ago. They are less impressive now that the basic play mechanics
are so familiar. Fans who want one more spelunking adventure will
be pleased that this is far and away the best of the sequels.
Those of us who hoped our favorite gaming girlfriend would evolve
into something better will be disappointed again, only less so
this year than in the past. Core has breathed just enough new
life into the old girl to make it worth one more go. But, we're
warning you, Lara: We're not going to fall for this little game
of yours again. All of us need to move on. This is it. Last time.
We mean it this time. No kidding. -- Steve Smith
--Copyright ©1999 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction
in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written
permission of GameSpot is prohibited. -- GameSpot
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- Epic storyline that goes back in time to discover Lara's roots as an adventurer.
- New inventory system allows Lara to combine items to make tools, enhance weapons and solve puzzles during her adventuring.
- Interactive environments allow Lara to shoot switches, read inscriptions, light torches, kick down doors, etc..
- New weapons and tools including the revolver, crossbow, binoculars, flashlight and various types of ammo.
- Highly evolved artificial intelligence. Enemies mimic, counter and dodge Lara's moves.