"Caves" analysis

Scottlee · 18-09-02, 12:07

Caves is the opening level of the Qualopec section, the first level of the game, the first of the series in fact, and also no doubt, the first of a long running gaming obsession that will end up with Lara Croft Junior the 3rd on a celebrity golf game on the PS24 in the year 2087.

In a similar way to Konami's Silent hill 2 (2001), TR caves makes you run half a mile before making you have to do anything. The reason? To draw you into a claustrophobic feeling of being 'in deep' I'd presume. Hardly going to bother Lara though, probably not you either.

The darts coming out of the wall are a little bit pathetic. They move impossibly slow and never run out. Only on a video game. The skill to dodging them isn't that hot either. Only a meat head could lose up to half a health bar here, and whether or not you lose anything at all mostly relies on pot luck.

A lot better is the attention paid to spreading various kinds of artifacts around the otherwise festure-less environments. This would not continue after Vilcabamba, but it's more needed here than anywhere else. Shame most of the darn things look stupid when you get up close because they're not actually 3D, but oh well. From another point of view, artifacts can annoy players at times. You might think you've seen a large health pack from a distance only to realise up close it's an interesting but pointless 2D monstrosity sitting in the middle of the level for no apparant reason.

The enemies on this "first of the first of the first" section of life long TR frolics are rather good. There might have been a temptation to just give the novice Lara some bats to bully and let that be that. However, we not only get wolves but a big brown bear. The placing of the boar in particular is quite clever. You don't have to fight it, but it's there if you want the practice or the fun, with a reward being given for volunteers.

Obviously it's a level with a lot of firsts. First block of something unstable that crumbles beneath your feet. First lever that opens a door. First timed lever, and blah blah blah. The timed lever though is actually quite good. Beating the large double doors before they shut is by no means a veterans walkover, and is probably a newbie's annoyance. Tough needles though (Am I not alllowed to say S--- on here?). Beat the timer and learn the damn jumps already.

Caves has no great structure to it, but then that would be confusing to many. It's A to B stuff in a manner that might as well have made it the official training level had we not wanted to see Lara's mansion.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Most fabulous part = shooting the wolves down from up high on those ropebridges

Worst = (See secrets section below)

My rating = 7/10 Dull, effortless and lifeless. Not **** though. It has an excuse to be all of the above with it being the first ever level. Besides, it kind of grows on you in a sentimental "I'm sick of this damn Chronicles game. Where's my TR1?" sort of way.

Secrets = 2/3 decent ones. For instance, the first on Caves may not be hard to find, but at least it introduces you to the slide/jump/cling move. The second is pretty lame. You just have to jump up, cling, and it's all yours. Nothing secret about it. Secret #3 is fair game. It resides behind a neatly drawn shrubbery and even goes as far as to s--- you up over the fear that those dart holes in the wall actually work. Nice one

Difficulty = None. Even that dumb-bell Cherie Blair could keep Lara alive long enough to get to Vilcabamba

Enemies = Excellent variety for such a short level. Bats for easy, wolves for medium, and the bear for challenge.

[ 16. October 2005, 19:14: Message edited by: Scottlee ]

tlr online · 18-09-02, 12:16

howdy Scotlee. welcome to the forum! nice work!

Croft Security · 25-09-02, 06:35

There is indeed a secret to the second secret in the Caves level. Making Lara jump and grab won't do the trick. You merely have to press forward and action and she will jump up all by herself. I actually let this secret go once because I couldn't figure out how to get her up there. I think this secret is a precursor to all those secrets in later games that were in plain sight, but the trick was figuring out how to get to them.

I can understand your annoyance with 2D objects, but I thought some of them actually looked kind of cool, like the corpse in the woven basket, clutching his head in his hands. Creepy.

I forgive the level for being on the easy side, because after all it is the first level, and I agree that the game wants to draw you deep into the cave to help create the atmosphere that you have stepped into another world, and there's no going back. I'll take a hundred levels like The Caves over all three of the high rise levels in Chronicles.

b1dc · 25-09-02, 20:31

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr> I'll take a hundred levels like The Caves over all three of the high rise levels in Chronicles. <hr></blockquote>
I couldn't agree more

richard.haslett · 18-11-02, 14:27

Great review.

one comment though, isn't it a Bear you fight at the end of the level and not a Boar?

or am I just being picky over spelling mistakes?

Still a great start to Scottlee's constantly growing series

ELEN · 18-11-02, 14:32

Ummm... Why I think it's a wolf??

Or is it the same thing and I can't see the difference??

[ 18 November 2002, 15:34: Message edited by: ELEN ]

ELEN · 18-11-02, 14:41

btw\ welcome to the forum Blondie's_Bloke

Annacia · 19-11-02, 04:02

Don't berate the level for being easy. It was the first time I ever helt a control and the first game I ever played. I was so green that the first bats killed Lara 3 or 4 times before I figured out how to draw the guns!! Getting through that level took me forever. I was learning with every step. It was hard then and FUN. A lot more fun than most of the latest stuff.
I still love TR the most. It's the puerest of them all and I wish we would regain some of what we have lost.

TeeJay · 09-12-02, 22:30

I had to laugh when I read Annacia's reply to ScottLee's analysis. I first played TR1 5 years ago, I didn't even know what the life bar was for. I thought it was how much ammo I had. I took me a long time to figure out how to draw my weapons, aim and shoot, and keep from falling down and breaking my neck

. I think I died from bats also a couple of times, and I never found the 2nd secret until I read about it on these posts. I was very green about playing video games on a PC, and I am still no veteran.

After playing TR1 completely through twice, and I am on the final level of TRC, I still love every part of TR1, and honestly, I don't mind TRC that much either. Everybody seems to knock it a lot, but I found it pretty interesting, and a lot different from Tr1. My acceptance of TRC could be that I haven't played any of the other TR games except the first.

Happy Raiding!

Bokkie · 09-12-02, 22:47

Well, i think that TR1 has the best story. Never mind of graphics; well, people, it was 1996, Win95 were released meanwhile

So, the point is: why i played Tomb1 3 times and i couln't wait to finish TRC (and put it far away from me) and cry for money i gave for the TRC game

And, yes, this is subjective opinion.

18-09-02, 12:07	#1
Scottlee Relic Hunter Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Leeds, England Posts: 7,507	Caves is the opening level of the Qualopec section, the first level of the game, the first of the series in fact, and also no doubt, the first of a long running gaming obsession that will end up with Lara Croft Junior the 3rd on a celebrity golf game on the PS24 in the year 2087. In a similar way to Konami's Silent hill 2 (2001), TR caves makes you run half a mile before making you have to do anything. The reason? To draw you into a claustrophobic feeling of being 'in deep' I'd presume. Hardly going to bother Lara though, probably not you either. The darts coming out of the wall are a little bit pathetic. They move impossibly slow and never run out. Only on a video game. The skill to dodging them isn't that hot either. Only a meat head could lose up to half a health bar here, and whether or not you lose anything at all mostly relies on pot luck. A lot better is the attention paid to spreading various kinds of artifacts around the otherwise festure-less environments. This would not continue after Vilcabamba, but it's more needed here than anywhere else. Shame most of the darn things look stupid when you get up close because they're not actually 3D, but oh well. From another point of view, artifacts can annoy players at times. You might think you've seen a large health pack from a distance only to realise up close it's an interesting but pointless 2D monstrosity sitting in the middle of the level for no apparant reason. The enemies on this "first of the first of the first" section of life long TR frolics are rather good. There might have been a temptation to just give the novice Lara some bats to bully and let that be that. However, we not only get wolves but a big brown bear. The placing of the boar in particular is quite clever. You don't have to fight it, but it's there if you want the practice or the fun, with a reward being given for volunteers. Obviously it's a level with a lot of firsts. First block of something unstable that crumbles beneath your feet. First lever that opens a door. First timed lever, and blah blah blah. The timed lever though is actually quite good. Beating the large double doors before they shut is by no means a veterans walkover, and is probably a newbie's annoyance. Tough needles though (Am I not alllowed to say S--- on here?). Beat the timer and learn the damn jumps already. Caves has no great structure to it, but then that would be confusing to many. It's A to B stuff in a manner that might as well have made it the official training level had we not wanted to see Lara's mansion. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Most fabulous part = shooting the wolves down from up high on those ropebridges Worst = (See secrets section below) My rating = 7/10 Dull, effortless and lifeless. Not ** though. It has an excuse to be all of the above with it being the first ever level. Besides, it kind of grows on you in a sentimental "I'm sick of this damn Chronicles game. Where's my TR1?" sort of way. Secrets = 2/3 decent ones. For instance, the first on Caves may not be hard to find, but at least it introduces you to the slide/jump/cling move. The second is pretty lame. You just have to jump up, cling, and it's all yours. Nothing secret about it. Secret #3 is fair game. It resides behind a neatly drawn shrubbery and even goes as far as to s--- you up over the fear that those dart holes in the wall actually work. Nice one Difficulty = None. Even that dumb-bell Cherie Blair could keep Lara alive long enough to get to Vilcabamba Enemies** = Excellent variety for such a short level. Bats for easy, wolves for medium, and the bear for challenge. [ 16. October 2005, 19:14: Message edited by: Scottlee ]

18-09-02, 12:16	#2
tlr online Administrator Join Date: Jun 2000 Posts: 47,536	howdy Scotlee. welcome to the forum! nice work!

25-09-02, 06:35	#3
Croft Security Archaeologist Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Wherever nothing is happening Posts: 1,026	There is indeed a secret to the second secret in the Caves level. Making Lara jump and grab won't do the trick. You merely have to press forward and action and she will jump up all by herself. I actually let this secret go once because I couldn't figure out how to get her up there. I think this secret is a precursor to all those secrets in later games that were in plain sight, but the trick was figuring out how to get to them. I can understand your annoyance with 2D objects, but I thought some of them actually looked kind of cool, like the corpse in the woven basket, clutching his head in his hands. Creepy. I forgive the level for being on the easy side, because after all it is the first level, and I agree that the game wants to draw you deep into the cave to help create the atmosphere that you have stepped into another world, and there's no going back. I'll take a hundred levels like The Caves over all three of the high rise levels in Chronicles.

25-09-02, 20:31	#4
b1dc Explorer Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: UK Posts: 529	<blockquote>quote:</font><hr> I'll take a hundred levels like The Caves over all three of the high rise levels in Chronicles. <hr></blockquote> I couldn't agree more

18-11-02, 14:27	#5
richard.haslett Hobbyist Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Leeds, England Posts: 35	Great review. one comment though, isn't it a Bear you fight at the end of the level and not a Boar? or am I just being picky over spelling mistakes? Still a great start to Scottlee's constantly growing series

18-11-02, 14:32	#6
ELEN Most Honourable Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Athens, Greece Posts: 28,578	Ummm... Why I think it's a wolf?? Or is it the same thing and I can't see the difference?? [ 18 November 2002, 15:34: Message edited by: ELEN ]

18-11-02, 14:41	#7
ELEN Most Honourable Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Athens, Greece Posts: 28,578	btw\ welcome to the forum Blondie's_Bloke

19-11-02, 04:02	#8
Annacia Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: SuperNatural BC Posts: 11,367	Don't berate the level for being easy. It was the first time I ever helt a control and the first game I ever played. I was so green that the first bats killed Lara 3 or 4 times before I figured out how to draw the guns!! Getting through that level took me forever. I was learning with every step. It was hard then and FUN. A lot more fun than most of the latest stuff. I still love TR the most. It's the puerest of them all and I wish we would regain some of what we have lost.

09-12-02, 22:30	#9
TeeJay Hobbyist Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Fremont, NE Posts: 31	I had to laugh when I read Annacia's reply to ScottLee's analysis. I first played TR1 5 years ago, I didn't even know what the life bar was for. I thought it was how much ammo I had. I took me a long time to figure out how to draw my weapons, aim and shoot, and keep from falling down and breaking my neck . I think I died from bats also a couple of times, and I never found the 2nd secret until I read about it on these posts. I was very green about playing video games on a PC, and I am still no veteran. After playing TR1 completely through twice, and I am on the final level of TRC, I still love every part of TR1, and honestly, I don't mind TRC that much either. Everybody seems to knock it a lot, but I found it pretty interesting, and a lot different from Tr1. My acceptance of TRC could be that I haven't played any of the other TR games except the first. Happy Raiding!

09-12-02, 22:47	#10
Bokkie Administrator Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Serbia Posts: 6,333	Well, i think that TR1 has the best story. Never mind of graphics; well, people, it was 1996, Win95 were released meanwhile So, the point is: why i played Tomb1 3 times and i couln't wait to finish TRC (and put it far away from me) and cry for money i gave for the TRC game And, yes, this is subjective opinion.