Please, no more revelations! (Tomb Raider 4 - The Last Revelation (DC))

Member Name: ed.carter

Product:	Tomb Raider 4 - The Last Revelation (DC)
Date:	08/03/01 (137 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It's the closest the Dreamcast has to an Indy game

Disadvantages: controls, puzzles, general monotony

When I got a Dreamcast for Christmas I got three games with it: Sonic, Chu-Chu Rocket and Tomb Raider 4.

Now when I received this I was expecting TR4 to be the game I played most. However on finding Chu-Chu Rocket to be one of the funniest games of all time and discovering that Sonic actually had more to it than meets the eye, I found myself ignoring TR4.

I loved the original Tomb Raider. Back in the days when I had a Saturn I played for hours. It's main appeal was the fact that it was the closest thing we had to an Indiana Jones action game (before Infernal Machine came out).

It was also a fresh look on gaming, a new genre which would be copied for years to come. The main character being female also a new, but welcome addition. Why Lara has to be so 'generously proportioned' shall we say is a bit of a mystery to me. I would have thought it was a little impractical for all those adventures. What is even more of a mystery is that millions of people oggle her, and think that she's fantastic. I have two words for thoise people - grow up - she's not real!

Anyway, Tomb Raider was great, it even had a dinosaur in it, which instantly made it excellent!

Sony then bought the license up and what with not having a PC back then I missed out on the further adventures of Ms Croft and was quite looking forward to following on in TR4. How dissapointed I was.

Many of you have criticised the graphics of this game, as it is a straight port from the PS version, just running at a slightly higher resolution. I've never been one for graphics, as it's gameplay that counts. In any case it's a big leap from the old Saturn version that I was used to.

The first level sees you as a child, being led through a tomb by an archaeology teacher. This level acts as a compulsory training mission, where you get to learn how to control Lara.

The second level is set in a dark tomb, where th
ere is a guide that occasionally lights the way.

Unfortunately I can't tell you about the other levels because I couldn't bring myself to play them! Why? - Style over content, controls, and uninspiring puzzles.

\\\STYLE OVER CONTENT///

As is so often the case with these type games, the graphics get an overhaul and the gameplay is somewhat overlooked.

The vast majority of what I played was done in the dark. This makes playing rather dull and uninteresting, as you can rarely see what you are doing. The reason I feel that they are doing this is because of the lighting effects - that's right, it is simply to show off.

Very little actually happens throughout the game, and you will find yourself wondering why you are even bothering to play.

\\\CONTROLS///

One of my biggest complaints. The controls are terrible. For a 3D game, the analogue stick would seem like the ideal option, but Lara will run all over the place and you will find yourself falling to your death all too often if you choose to use this method. Thankfully, you can switch back to the digital pad. The analogue stick is then use to walk, and sidestep. The fact that it is used for both can occasionally cause tricky moments when you want to walk and turn at the same time.

This is not the only example of poor controls. Lara has several functions assigned to each button, which are different if you are climbing, running, walking or crawling. Such an array of moves causes confusion and I frequently pressed the wrong buttons leading - once again - to death.

You can save anywhere in the game, you don't have to reach any save points which is a good thing, but due to the problematic controls you will be saving every couple of steps you take, making for tedious gaming.

\\\PUZZLES///

What puzzles? You see a door - you pull a switch. You need to unlock something - there's probably a switch. V
ery unimaginative.

Occasionally you will come across a puzzle, but it will be over-elaborate, with no obvious solution or logic behind it. It will test your luck, not your brainpower. A game of chance, and one that has to be solved through trial and error.

For example I got stuck momentarily on a the second level, where I had a room with five panels. They all had symbols on them, and were of a different colour to the others on the floor. There is a locked door opposite - yet no switch)

So I spend ages studying the symbols. There are some that match, and some that don't. I press the matching ones - no luck there. So I have to go all the way back downstairs, pull a chain and reset the puzzle.

I try the other matching ones - no luck there either - I have to go all the way back downstairs, pull a chain and reset the puzzle.

So then I spend an hour or so running around aimlessly, looking for the symbols on the wall somewhere - perhaps that would have a clue - no luck there, I have to ... well, you get the picture.

Such uninspired 'puzzles' if you can call them that are all too common - even in the two levels I played. Needless to say I stopped playing soon after this.

\\\THE LAST REVELATION (SUMMARY)///

This is not a good game, it is a shameless cash in on a license that should have expired a long time ago. As gamers we should make a stand and not buy this rubbish, otherwise they'll just churn out more and more, and good, original games will become extinct.

If you were ever wondering why every time you look in the 'pre-owned' section of game shops have so many TR4 games in them - now you know. The Dreamcast may be coming to an end, but there are far better games to spend your money on.

Oh and in case you were wondering, I had to jump on the panels in an 's' shape, as they appear in order without touching any other panels, in order to unlock
the door!

Summary: