Cairo section analysis

Scottlee · 03-10-06, 12:59

It won't be easy to convince my grandchildren that TLRL was once just as essential to a Christmas stocking as chocoloate money. I even have to ask myself why I was once so engaged by a game that boasts so many negative factors, namely a poor first section, a poor final section, too many invincible enemies, too many repeated obstacles, a lazy plot, puzzles with nonsensical logic, puzzles that have just been ripped from other games and films, too many opportunities to get outside the game matrix, poor marketing (Lara holds a never-to-be-seen flashlight on the front cover), poor enemy A.I, too many loading screens, no Croft mansion, a lack of environment variation, and the presence of a bad guy who just stands with his arms crossed and recites the bible (which makes him no different really from my old R.E teacher, except that Set is more handsome).

So if we take the entire Cairo section from TRLR as an example, which more or less makes up a fifth of the game, what is it myself and so many others actually enjoy from this bloated mishmashed hodgepodge of a computer game? I've no idea, and that's the clever thing. What each individual gets out of a Tomb Raider game is so varied and ambiguous that it's honestly no surprise Eidos shift so many copies. Some people don't give a monkey's toss about a lazy plot or poor villain, they just want to feel immersed in their hero Lara Croft as she runs around a dangerous new terrain dOinG iT fOr tHe SiStErS. Other people just love the high of discovering that holding the torch up to the ceiling will set off the sprinklers, which in turn will push a crate through a hole. It doesn't matter they spent five hours working that out ; the important thing is that they worked it out. The wait was worth the high.

Others just crave the exploration, the not knowing what's around the next corner even if it's the same old rubbish that was around the last corner and the corner before that. Then you have the speed demons, the Kurtis lovers (and haters), the Hard Challenge gang, the amatuer level designers, and Jolie fans. It doesn't matter that the games aren't perfect. Millions of us all get, or have had, our jollies from them one way or the other. Me? I'm a fan of intriguing level design, which is why Cairo is one of my favourite memories from TRLR. This section was so complex and intricate that after it was finished the designers didn't even bother trying to replicate it. The rest of the game, and also the two games that followed, featured almost entirely short-and-to-the-point levels.

Cairo is this instance is a city under siege. The Republican Guard have lost control and Set's various beasties and nasties are running riot all over the place. Only a glorifed Supergirl like Lara Croft can infiltrate the madness and put a stop to what's going on. And remember folks, with every second we waste, Jean is getting a little bit more fed up with being tired to that fountain. That is our motivation. No matter how stuck we get we must remember Jean and hopefully this will spur us on. And whilst we're enjoying the adventure in our various ways, there's no harm taking note in all the garbage whilst we're at it, is there?

There are no fewer than three 'mini bosses' in this section, the first being a rather tall chap with sledgehammer. Rather than just bong Lara over the head and be done with it though, he strangely elects to hit the floor in the hope that the force of the impact will carry along the ground and inflict damage to anyone standing close by. I haven't witnessed such a stupid plan to kill someone since the coyote tried to nail the roadrunner with a stick of TNT disguised as a hotdog (and where the coyote got all his raw materials from in what looked like the middle of the Utah desert, I will never know).

But the annoying this is that Lara's delicate frame actually does incur quite a lot of damage from this, so with shooting a no-no we must run away very quickly. Cue an epic sequence where we have to trap Mr Sledgie inside a dis-used fort. A rather racy musical number accompanies the action, the sort that carries on playing for about half an hour after the danger has subsided. It's a enjoyable passage of play that is tarnished slightly by Sledgie being let out of the fort by a timed door. Honestly, there's no need for him to be released once we have made all that effort to trap him.

Second on the bill is a large dragon that's glued to the one spot. He's not best happy about this either, and screeches his displeasure at every opportunity. The dragon is immune to Lara's grenade launcher, but when Sergeant Azizas rolls a truck into him at 10mph the force is enough to not only kill the dragon but vaporise him into thin air. The truck does a disappearing act too. Well, almost. Core have been creative enough to leave the dragon's head behind, plus one wheel from the truck. Spielberg did this is a lot in Jaws. Every time a swimmer got eaten we would might see a slow shot of a flipper floating past the camera, or a snorkel with a crack in it. It saved money on dressing up bloody corpses.

Azizas isn't having a good day. He's injured beyond repair and most of his buddies have had their heads ripped off by a murderous bull (not quite sure how). With this in mind, the sight of Lara appearing before his eyes must have been like seeing Ursula Andress wander out of the sea. Our goal from here on in is to get the motorbike to Azizas so we can take him to the truck, at which point his wounded legs magically come back to life again for one last hurrah. All that's missing is a triumphant cry of "For king and country!" as he rolls the truck into the dragon. St George was much more badass. He just used his sword.

The other soldiers are not as accomodating as Azizas, pehaps because Lara isn't wearing a head shawl. Who knows? You'd think they would offer to team up with all the nasties running around. Still, on their head be it. Rather comedically most of them don't even notice they've been shot the first time. It evokes memories of that irritating git on the company Paintball weekend who still runs around making kills after he's got half a bucket of red goo all over his front ("I paid good money for this! I'm not dying after five minutes!"). One of the soldiers has the mine codes, and we need those so Lara can carry on bombing around the map like Evil Knieval. The mine field itself is a bit rubbish though. Given its size it might as well be called the mine vegetable patch. And how come the impact of a well placed grenade doesn't set the mines off? Grenade = nothing. Lara's feet = Boom!

The smaller enemies include flies, giant wasps, and crocodiles. Most of the flies resonate from the dragon. They force us to run away down the street like a young Christopher Robin who has just put his hands in the honeycomb. The wasps are far trickier. It's easy to shoot them from ground zero, but not when they suddenly come out of nowhere as you're attempting to negotiate a tricky ledge, or a shopkeeper's awning. The crocs can all be found in one specific hidey-hole, except for one, who waddles off somewhere and can't be found until the end of the level. Don't get me started on the bull, or even those annoying sentry guns that just never run out of ammo.

I think I've just about covered all the ways you can die, but I've deliberately left the best for last. Yep it's the steam pipe! Oh no! Careful when you're boiling the kettle, grandma! Don't lean your head over the funnel in case the nasty steam gets you! Yeah right. So on the whole it's a gruesomely satisfying experience then, apart from the market bit which is a tad boring. It's lacking a market seller more than anything. "Pineapples, pineapples! Two for a pound! Cammm on! That's it love! Watch out for the crocodile there. That's it!".

Hold on, Jean! We're coming! 9/10

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nicky's News Nuggets
(What's Nicky cooked up for us this week?

)
"It's actually a legend, but who tells us for sure it couldn't have been true. Saladin, a ruler who also fortified the area to protect it from attacks of the Crusaders, chose the site because the air there was very healthy. It is said that he used to hang pieces of meat all around Cairo. In every other place, the meat spoilt would get rotten within a day, yet in the Citadel it remained fresh for many days".
------------------------------------------------------------------------

(The double assassination of Ant and Dec affected Lara immensely)

Anubis_AF · 03-10-06, 14:45

That was quite a read Thanks Scott

Pipolinne · 03-10-06, 16:13

Indeed,you're a passionated man,Scottlee

!

As you well said,the same game is different for every player. Besides Core knew how to create atmospheres,even with a bad gameplay.

Sometimes,I feel brave enough to play this game,but then I thought about the mummies and the skellies and I gave up.

But I understand what you feel :I'm perfectly capable of pointing 24629479834 defaults to Harry Potter,and,yet,I always read the books once again...how sad

!

Blackmoor · 03-10-06, 17:48

Someone else who appreciates the beauty of these levels!

Tomb Raider Master · 03-10-06, 19:34

Quote:

which makes him no different really from my old R.E teacher, except that Set is more handsome

LOL!

Quote:

The Republican Guard have lost control and Set's various beasties and nasties are running riot all over the place. Only a glorifed Supergirl like Lara Croft can infiltrate the madness and put a stop to what's going on. And remember folks, with every second we waste, Jean is getting a little bit more fed up with being tired to that fountain.

Can't argue with that.

Quote:

I haven't witnessed such a stupid plan to kill someone since the coyote tried to nail the roadrunner with a stick of TNT disguised as a hotdog

LMAO!

Quote:

The dragon is immune to Lara's grenade launcher, but when Sergeant Azizas rolls a truck into him at 10mph the force is enough to not only kill the dragon but vaporise him into thin air.

Ah, the good old laws of science in the game...

Quote:

Our goal from here on in is to get the motorbike to Azizas so we can take him to the truck, at which point his wounded legs magically come back to life again for one last hurrah. All that's missing is a triumphant cry of "For king and country!" as he rolls the truck into the dragon. St George was much more badass. He just used his sword.

True, true...

Quote:

Don't get me started on the bull, or even those annoying sentry guns that just never run out of ammo.

Quote:

I think I've just about covered all the ways you can die, but I've deliberately left the best for last. Yep it's the steam pipe!

Indeed the best!

Perfect writing, as always!

MMAN · 04-10-06, 12:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scottlee

Other people just love the high of discovering that holding the torch up to the ceiling will set off the sprinklers, which in turn will push a crate through a hole. It doesn't matter they spent five hours working that out ; the important thing is that they worked it out. The wait was worth the high.

ROFLMFAO

Hopefully we won't have to wait so long for the next one

.

Is there an easy link all the other reviews? I used Tomb Raider HUB before but the links seem to have gone now. So the only way seems to be a search through every page on the appropriate forum.

shaahinkaaveh · 04-10-06, 17:23

Your writing is wonderful Scott, but I always wonder: how is it that everybody enjoys to death your thoroughly negative texts about TR

?

CaraLoft · 05-10-06, 04:08

One day somewhere in the distant future I will maybe read all that. Nice screenies though.

Pipolinne · 05-10-06, 10:13

You know,Cara,you could print it and read a line per day,once,indeed,this a utterly long text, only comparable to "war & peace"

!

Gamer212 · 12-10-06, 08:20

Great analysis dude. Alot rings true there.

03-10-06, 12:59	#1
Scottlee Relic Hunter Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Leeds, England Posts: 7,507	Cairo section analysis It won't be easy to convince my grandchildren that TLRL was once just as essential to a Christmas stocking as chocoloate money. I even have to ask myself why I was once so engaged by a game that boasts so many negative factors, namely a poor first section, a poor final section, too many invincible enemies, too many repeated obstacles, a lazy plot, puzzles with nonsensical logic, puzzles that have just been ripped from other games and films, too many opportunities to get outside the game matrix, poor marketing (Lara holds a never-to-be-seen flashlight on the front cover), poor enemy A.I, too many loading screens, no Croft mansion, a lack of environment variation, and the presence of a bad guy who just stands with his arms crossed and recites the bible (which makes him no different really from my old R.E teacher, except that Set is more handsome). So if we take the entire Cairo section from TRLR as an example, which more or less makes up a fifth of the game, what is it myself and so many others actually enjoy from this bloated mishmashed hodgepodge of a computer game? I've no idea, and that's the clever thing. What each individual gets out of a Tomb Raider game is so varied and ambiguous that it's honestly no surprise Eidos shift so many copies. Some people don't give a monkey's toss about a lazy plot or poor villain, they just want to feel immersed in their hero Lara Croft as she runs around a dangerous new terrain dOinG iT fOr tHe SiStErS. Other people just love the high of discovering that holding the torch up to the ceiling will set off the sprinklers, which in turn will push a crate through a hole. It doesn't matter they spent five hours working that out ; the important thing is that they worked it out. The wait was worth the high. Others just crave the exploration, the not knowing what's around the next corner even if it's the same old rubbish that was around the last corner and the corner before that. Then you have the speed demons, the Kurtis lovers (and haters), the Hard Challenge gang, the amatuer level designers, and Jolie fans. It doesn't matter that the games aren't perfect. Millions of us all get, or have had, our jollies from them one way or the other. Me? I'm a fan of intriguing level design, which is why Cairo is one of my favourite memories from TRLR. This section was so complex and intricate that after it was finished the designers didn't even bother trying to replicate it. The rest of the game, and also the two games that followed, featured almost entirely short-and-to-the-point levels. Cairo is this instance is a city under siege. The Republican Guard have lost control and Set's various beasties and nasties are running riot all over the place. Only a glorifed Supergirl like Lara Croft can infiltrate the madness and put a stop to what's going on. And remember folks, with every second we waste, Jean is getting a little bit more fed up with being tired to that fountain. That is our motivation. No matter how stuck we get we must remember Jean and hopefully this will spur us on. And whilst we're enjoying the adventure in our various ways, there's no harm taking note in all the garbage whilst we're at it, is there? There are no fewer than three 'mini bosses' in this section, the first being a rather tall chap with sledgehammer. Rather than just bong Lara over the head and be done with it though, he strangely elects to hit the floor in the hope that the force of the impact will carry along the ground and inflict damage to anyone standing close by. I haven't witnessed such a stupid plan to kill someone since the coyote tried to nail the roadrunner with a stick of TNT disguised as a hotdog (and where the coyote got all his raw materials from in what looked like the middle of the Utah desert, I will never know). But the annoying this is that Lara's delicate frame actually does incur quite a lot of damage from this, so with shooting a no-no we must run away very quickly. Cue an epic sequence where we have to trap Mr Sledgie inside a dis-used fort. A rather racy musical number accompanies the action, the sort that carries on playing for about half an hour after the danger has subsided. It's a enjoyable passage of play that is tarnished slightly by Sledgie being let out of the fort by a timed door. Honestly, there's no need for him to be released once we have made all that effort to trap him. Second on the bill is a large dragon that's glued to the one spot. He's not best happy about this either, and screeches his displeasure at every opportunity. The dragon is immune to Lara's grenade launcher, but when Sergeant Azizas rolls a truck into him at 10mph the force is enough to not only kill the dragon but vaporise him into thin air. The truck does a disappearing act too. Well, almost. Core have been creative enough to leave the dragon's head behind, plus one wheel from the truck. Spielberg did this is a lot in Jaws. Every time a swimmer got eaten we would might see a slow shot of a flipper floating past the camera, or a snorkel with a crack in it. It saved money on dressing up bloody corpses. Azizas isn't having a good day. He's injured beyond repair and most of his buddies have had their heads ripped off by a murderous bull (not quite sure how). With this in mind, the sight of Lara appearing before his eyes must have been like seeing Ursula Andress wander out of the sea. Our goal from here on in is to get the motorbike to Azizas so we can take him to the truck, at which point his wounded legs magically come back to life again for one last hurrah. All that's missing is a triumphant cry of "For king and country!" as he rolls the truck into the dragon. St George was much more badass. He just used his sword. The other soldiers are not as accomodating as Azizas, pehaps because Lara isn't wearing a head shawl. Who knows? You'd think they would offer to team up with all the nasties running around. Still, on their head be it. Rather comedically most of them don't even notice they've been shot the first time. It evokes memories of that irritating git on the company Paintball weekend who still runs around making kills after he's got half a bucket of red goo all over his front ("I paid good money for this! I'm not dying after five minutes!"). One of the soldiers has the mine codes, and we need those so Lara can carry on bombing around the map like Evil Knieval. The mine field itself is a bit rubbish though. Given its size it might as well be called the mine vegetable patch. And how come the impact of a well placed grenade doesn't set the mines off? Grenade = nothing. Lara's feet = Boom! The smaller enemies include flies, giant wasps, and crocodiles. Most of the flies resonate from the dragon. They force us to run away down the street like a young Christopher Robin who has just put his hands in the honeycomb. The wasps are far trickier. It's easy to shoot them from ground zero, but not when they suddenly come out of nowhere as you're attempting to negotiate a tricky ledge, or a shopkeeper's awning. The crocs can all be found in one specific hidey-hole, except for one, who waddles off somewhere and can't be found until the end of the level. Don't get me started on the bull, or even those annoying sentry guns that just never run out of ammo. I think I've just about covered all the ways you can die, but I've deliberately left the best for last. Yep it's the steam pipe! Oh no! Careful when you're boiling the kettle, grandma! Don't lean your head over the funnel in case the nasty steam gets you! Yeah right. So on the whole it's a gruesomely satisfying experience then, apart from the market bit which is a tad boring. It's lacking a market seller more than anything. "Pineapples, pineapples! Two for a pound! Cammm on! That's it love! Watch out for the crocodile there. That's it!". Hold on, Jean! We're coming! 9/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nicky's News Nuggets (What's Nicky cooked up for us this week? ) "It's actually a legend, but who tells us for sure it couldn't have been true. Saladin, a ruler who also fortified the area to protect it from attacks of the Crusaders, chose the site because the air there was very healthy. It is said that he used to hang pieces of meat all around Cairo. In every other place, the meat spoilt would get rotten within a day, yet in the Citadel it remained fresh for many days". ------------------------------------------------------------------------ (The double assassination of Ant and Dec affected Lara immensely) __________________ For the first time ever I will understand my television Last edited by Scottlee; 03-10-06 at 17:54.

03-10-06, 14:45	#2
Anubis_AF Tomb Raider Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Nєρнιlιm's £αιr Posts: 17,240	That was quite a read Thanks Scott __________________ "Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?" --- "I am, George... I am".

03-10-06, 16:13	#3
Pipolinne Tomb Raider Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Join GROK revolutionary group...no,we don't have cookies,but we have wicked teddy bears! Posts: 10,861	Indeed,you're a passionated man,Scottlee ! As you well said,the same game is different for every player. Besides Core knew how to create atmospheres,even with a bad gameplay. Sometimes,I feel brave enough to play this game,but then I thought about the mummies and the skellies and I gave up. But I understand what you feel :I'm perfectly capable of pointing 24629479834 defaults to Harry Potter,and,yet,I always read the books once again...how sad ! __________________ Foram cardos foram prosas,Arrancados ao meu solo

04-10-06, 17:23	#7
shaahinkaaveh Explorer Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 708	Your writing is wonderful Scott, but I always wonder: how is it that everybody enjoys to death your thoroughly negative texts about TR ? __________________ Meinen Tod lobe ich euch, den freien Tod, der mir kommt, weil-ich-will.

05-10-06, 10:13	#9
Pipolinne Tomb Raider Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Join GROK revolutionary group...no,we don't have cookies,but we have wicked teddy bears! Posts: 10,861	You know,Cara,you could print it and read a line per day,once,indeed,this a utterly long text, only comparable to "war & peace" ! __________________ Foram cardos foram prosas,Arrancados ao meu solo Last edited by Pipolinne; 05-10-06 at 10:14.

03-10-06, 17:48	#4
Blackmoor Professor Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 3,624	Someone else who appreciates the beauty of these levels!

05-10-06, 04:08	#8
CaraLoft Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 28	One day somewhere in the distant future I will maybe read all that. Nice screenies though.

12-10-06, 08:20	#10
Gamer212 Hobbyist Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 21	Great analysis dude. Alot rings true there.