Scott Lee - About your stage analysis threads

[mkm]

When you get finished reviewing each stage, would you mind if I assembled them into a FAQ that I will put up on Twin Galaxies page? You are doing a great job, and I'd like to feature it. The FAQ will be your copyright, and your name will be on it. I will make sure that you are given the proper credit.

Thanks

[Scottlee]

Yeah, no problem MKM

[Dox]

And, in the same vein, could I post them up at 'Tobap? I'd put them under the reviews section.

Lara Crofts tales of beauty and power. (http://www.tobap.co.uk)

[Scottlee]

No problem. Anybody is welcome to do as they wish with those posts. I would appreciate it though if the addresses of the sites in question were private messaged to me here so I can keep tabs. Thanx

[ 14 December 2002, 20:43: Message edited by: Scottlee ]

[Dox]

Great. I've grabbed everything, apart from 'The city of Vilcabamba, which I can't find... Any ideas?

[Scottlee]

"Temple of Vilcabamba"

I don't think the meaning of the word 'Vilcabamba' is ever explained in the context of the whole Qualopec thing. No matter. You can't go round calling your levels "Caves", "Temple", and "Valley". How blatently dull would that be?

This level is a fine step up from the opening one, pitching one or two more stumbling blocks than "Caves" without actually posing too much threat at the same time (if that's possible). I should imagine it's quite an unmemorable event to most people who completed TR1. There isn't that much to stick in the memory. However, not all things that fade from the human brain are bad and uninteresting.

Enemy wise this is a battle royale for the newcomer and non-newcomers alike. It's the same set of foes as on the previous run - bats, wolves, and boars. This time though they're in much better forces, and cool confrontations arise from this. First up comes an immediate assault from four wolves, attacking from all directions and generally making life difficult. The very same attack is dealt with by an in-house gamer during the demo's. The boars have doubled to two now, appearing in seperate confrontations at very believable and effective locations.

The first comes at you as you enter a peculiar stable type place in the centre of the first area. The second boar is stationed around a swimming pool right at the end. It's quite a bizarre ordeal to get out of a pool for 3 seconds, shoot a grizzly with two revolvers, and then fall back into the pool again before you get swotted with a huge paw. Only in a computer game. Both of these encounters are enjoyable though, something that probably couldn't have been said if the enemy placement machine at Eidos had had them squeezed into one of those corridors around the outside of Vilcabamba's first area, for example. On a concluding note for enemies, the bats are just plain bloody annoying.

My earlier reference to 'first area' wasn't just out of convenience. This level is actually split into two sections, neither of which excel the other or drag you into tedium. The first has you fishing around for your first door keys of the series, and also (if you choose) ducking into a water passage for your first swim. The second area has you swanning in and out of your first miniture obelisk of any complication, although even the dimmest of meatballs could probably predict your final excursion taking you through the middle one of all the closed doors.

Some interesting artifacts strewn around here, most notably in the form of what looks like a place where a cave-man once did his laundry. The room with the skull and bones wallpaper comes to mind too, this being only a week after I last played the level. One thing I don't like however is the second major attack from a wolf platoon in the level, which looks far too contrived to be true even from the most organised of cub packs. Placing four of the starved beasts on four seperate platforms, all in a square formation as you enter the room, is just not believable. Black cats in Egyptian levels might pull it off, but certainly not your everyday wolf. Still, it's a fab little wander is dis. 8/10

Stats

Secrets 2/3 good ones. I say 2 because there's one I've never got my hands on yet. I pull this switch down, those swinging axes (which look quite effective btw) stop moving, and that's it! Where's the damn secret? I could look it up on the Stella site I suppose if I was that bothered, but no harm in asking here. The two secrets underwater are just fine. They're not easy to dig out if this is only your second ever level, but I'd sooner they made it hard like that than just hide the damn things behind some rock with a different texture.

Time - Uhh, about 20-23 mins