Guys, the demo is finally here! So hurry up and
download it ( 270MB)
Now, thanks to a very spacial journalist I got my hands on the full PC code of TRA (still buying the CE though...way to good to give up). So here is my review of the Mansion and the Peru episode - beware it contains
spoilers!!
General ReviewThe good parts of the game would be the classic feeling; no constant music, fear factor (when enemies surprise you from behind), cool new moves and great atmosphere.
The bad parts; buggy camera, difficult key layout and a lot of missing underwater parts due to Lara's very limited oxygen (25 seconds).
Overall the game is far more challenging than Legend. I played it on Hard setting with manual grab and it took me a lot of time to find my way on these levels.
Also, this time around you get to collect relics and artifacts instead of secrets. The artifact are easy to find but the relics are equal to Legend Gold rewards. There are only 8 relics in the game and each unlocks an outfit...
The manual grab is a great feature but the layout makes it so much difficult to use. Since you have to hold the key (Ctrl) so Lara would grab, hold to a wall/ladder/rope while you move, it leaves you very little freedom for your hand. I used my left pinkie to hold Ctrl while moved Lara with AWSD keys and used the mouse with my right hand (mouse needed to move camera, shoot and I also used it to jump).
As for the camera, prepare your self for leaps of faith because is many areas you won't be able to move the camera to see where Lara is jumping.
The MansionFirst of all, far more interesting than Legend. Took me nearly two hours to fool around and solve some puzzles and I'm still missing few things.
The entire mansion is filled with references to previous games (such as books with descriptions of Dagger of Xian, Isis Stone, Maria Doria and so on).
The clues to solving puzzles are very simple but that's mainly the reason you most likely to miss them...for instance:
Spoiler!
Near The labyrinth there is a small note: open 11:00AM - 07:00PM. And nearby there's a huge sun dial - to open the gates you need to move the dial to certain numbers - what numbers? Read out loud the opening hours: 11 to 7 = 11, 2, 7. Cleaver, huh?
End of Spoiler!
If you get lost you can open Lara's diary and read her thoughts, too bad sometimes all she thinks is "Hmmm...interesting".
PeruNow that's a great level - divided to 4 sub-levels (Caves, City of V., Lost Vally and Tomb Of Q). Each level is not too long but overall it took me 2.5-3 hours to complete Peru without exploring everything.
The puzzles are similar to TR1 with few alterations. Few areas been removed and you have a boss fight to enjoy (The T-Rex).
Speaking of the T-Rex and other mean animals - this game features Head-Shot move which basically works like bullet time. After few shots your enemy gets rage - for a seconds everything goes slow-motion and if you press the right buttons (Roll+battle toggle key + direction key) the slow motion continues while Lara focuses her target on the enemies head and if you shoot on time, kills the enemy with one shot (or really damages it - in case of the T-Rex).
The downside of this move is that you actually have to perform it to kill the T-Rex.
Story-wise, the game is very much like TR1, except few bits of info that tie it with Legend - Spoiler ahead:
Lara's Father looked for the Scion to explain what happened to Lara's mother..
That's it for now. Enjoy the demo and I'll review Greece once I complete the levels.