Ieldra
29-06-07, 10:20
So, I've made it almost to the end of St.Francis' Folly, and I feel justified to say my €0.02 worth of comments:
So far, I'm having a lot of fun with TRA, excepting a few really minor things and of course, the boss fights (I gather it will get only worse after the T-Rex).
Things I especially like:
Atmosphere
TRA oozes it out of every pore. Graphics and sound, impressive on their own as well, work together to make the world stick in your mind. Lost Valley was absolutely stunning in every way and surpassed the original, but I have no complaints about the others as well.
Lara herself
I like CD's Lara, much more than I liked Core's. She somehow looks more real. Pity that she doesn't speak as much as in Legend - Lara herself and her comments are about the only thing I really liked there.
Puzzles and level design
Phew, I have to say some places were hard to figure out. A very few were not so easy to do even after figuring them out. I like that, even though I had to use the walkthrough once because I lost patience - I'd rather have it like this than too easy. I don't remember if the original TR was similar, but I liked TRA on its own merit in this.
As for the levels so far, I like them all, down to the last rock and pillar. Vilcabamba and Qualopec's Tomb were too short, but what was there was really nice. St.Francis' Folly and Lost Valley were real highlights.
Not so much combat.
I got fed up with Legend and stopped about half into it in part because of the combat. That's much better in TRA, at least so far. I wonder if the difficulty setting only affects the combat. If yes, then I'll continue at the lowest setting. Does anyone know?
Interactive cut scenes
OK, so they're old-fashioned. Very much so ("Dragon's Lair" seems a lifetime ago...). But I still liked them. They give a sense of action without the need of hectic jumping-about or the adrenaline dodge I still haven't figured out. I wish there was an option for resolving all boss fights in extended interactive cut scenes.
The mixed bag aspects:
New moves:
I like the balancing on the pillars, but the wall runs are a regular source of frustration. Somehow, Lara often jumps off in deadly directions, regardless of the keys I press. The wall runs are a nice idea, and they work well enough that I consider the frustration bearable, but really, is this inconsistent behavior necessary?
Things I don't like:
Boss fights. OK, I only have the T-Rex to judge from, but I gather it will only get worse. I hate boss fights where I must jump about hectically all the time, where I can't use a slow and tactical approach. I simply hate them, because I'm accurate but not fast, and there can be no reconciliation. At least give me an alternative way to solve them. Legend was like this, too, and the boss fight against that Japanese guy with the green raygun or whatever it was (I don't remember) made me give up on the game. Fortunately, I know now how to cheat, so that at least these %$%§!-boss fights won't prevent me from finishing the game.
Time trials:
Must I do all the time trials to get all the outfits? Well, then I'll never see them all without cheating - I can't even imagine to do St.Francis' Folly in a hurry, even though I might be successful with the Peru levels. But at least they're optional, so my dislike of them doesn't affect my opinion of the game much.
So, if anyone wants to know if this is worth buying, I'd say yes.
So far, I'm having a lot of fun with TRA, excepting a few really minor things and of course, the boss fights (I gather it will get only worse after the T-Rex).
Things I especially like:
Atmosphere
TRA oozes it out of every pore. Graphics and sound, impressive on their own as well, work together to make the world stick in your mind. Lost Valley was absolutely stunning in every way and surpassed the original, but I have no complaints about the others as well.
Lara herself
I like CD's Lara, much more than I liked Core's. She somehow looks more real. Pity that she doesn't speak as much as in Legend - Lara herself and her comments are about the only thing I really liked there.
Puzzles and level design
Phew, I have to say some places were hard to figure out. A very few were not so easy to do even after figuring them out. I like that, even though I had to use the walkthrough once because I lost patience - I'd rather have it like this than too easy. I don't remember if the original TR was similar, but I liked TRA on its own merit in this.
As for the levels so far, I like them all, down to the last rock and pillar. Vilcabamba and Qualopec's Tomb were too short, but what was there was really nice. St.Francis' Folly and Lost Valley were real highlights.
Not so much combat.
I got fed up with Legend and stopped about half into it in part because of the combat. That's much better in TRA, at least so far. I wonder if the difficulty setting only affects the combat. If yes, then I'll continue at the lowest setting. Does anyone know?
Interactive cut scenes
OK, so they're old-fashioned. Very much so ("Dragon's Lair" seems a lifetime ago...). But I still liked them. They give a sense of action without the need of hectic jumping-about or the adrenaline dodge I still haven't figured out. I wish there was an option for resolving all boss fights in extended interactive cut scenes.
The mixed bag aspects:
New moves:
I like the balancing on the pillars, but the wall runs are a regular source of frustration. Somehow, Lara often jumps off in deadly directions, regardless of the keys I press. The wall runs are a nice idea, and they work well enough that I consider the frustration bearable, but really, is this inconsistent behavior necessary?
Things I don't like:
Boss fights. OK, I only have the T-Rex to judge from, but I gather it will only get worse. I hate boss fights where I must jump about hectically all the time, where I can't use a slow and tactical approach. I simply hate them, because I'm accurate but not fast, and there can be no reconciliation. At least give me an alternative way to solve them. Legend was like this, too, and the boss fight against that Japanese guy with the green raygun or whatever it was (I don't remember) made me give up on the game. Fortunately, I know now how to cheat, so that at least these %$%§!-boss fights won't prevent me from finishing the game.
Time trials:
Must I do all the time trials to get all the outfits? Well, then I'll never see them all without cheating - I can't even imagine to do St.Francis' Folly in a hurry, even though I might be successful with the Peru levels. But at least they're optional, so my dislike of them doesn't affect my opinion of the game much.
So, if anyone wants to know if this is worth buying, I'd say yes.