The Action Adventure Review

Please note that this information is based on a prerelease screener edition of the game and that some details may change before the final edition is released in December.

If you are any sort of fan of video games and are old enough to remember the collapse of the Soviet Union then it's likely that the term "DVD game" will trigger some very unpleasant memories of the full motion video (FMV) titles that came out for doomed consoles such as the 3DO, Sega CD, and CD-i in the early '90s. Games like Mad Dog McCree, Night Trap, and Burn Cycle were released in great numbers in an attempt to cash in on the short-lived FMV gaming craze at the time, which promised players the opportunity to experience an interactive movie. However, the makers of these games relied too much on the novelty of the FMV concept and frequently cut costs while making the things by employing D-list (or worse) acting talent and neglecting such details such as playability, interactivity, and oh yeah...FUN! The poor quality of the resulting products lead gamers, both causal and hardcore alike, to grow very tired of full motion video gaming after the freshness of the genre quickly wore off. If you don't believe me then go ask 3DO, Sega, and Phillips.

Happily, Goldhil Entertainment's Tomb Raider: The Action Adventure, while understandably not being as interactive or long as Lady Croft's adventures on console and PC, manages to avoid nearly all of the shortcomings usually associated with a FMV game and best of all you won't need a $600 PS3 or a $400 X-Box 360 to play it. This game is almost an exact retelling of the events of the Angel of Darkness although a few characters and locations are omitted (more on the choice to recycle the plot of AOD later on). Anyway, 99.9% of everything you will see and hear is taken directly from AOD game footage. That tiny percentage of originality comes from Goldhil getting Jonell Elliott to reprise her role as Lara's voice to give playing instructions - a very nice touch indeed.

Gameplay is divided into twenty chapters over three acts and works pretty much like you expect; a short movie of Lara going through the level is shown and the player is required to make a decision whenever Lara encounters an enemy or trap. For each of these dilemmas you're given between two to four options to choose from. After you select an action a video showing consequences of your choice will play out. If you chose wisely, Lara will overcome whatever obstacle was in her path and continue on her way. If you blew it and had Lara fall to her death or eaten by a Doberman then you'll be given a chance to continue a few scenes back from where you bit it. For most of these interactive situations, Lara also has the option to look around and survey the environment around her. This is a very useful option and can help you determine what would be the best course of action to pursue. The look option can also potentially open up new and better ways for Lara to overcome whatever task is at hand and also reveal secondary objectives that offer bonus points. These hidden scenarios greatly add to replayability of the game as instead of just trying to whiz through a level, you can try to fully explore the chapter in order to earn the highest score possible. There's also a very simple inventory system that allows Lara to carry up to six items that you have found to help with future puzzles. A password is given after the completion of each chapter that saves your progress through the story and accumulated score and inventory. There's also a two-player mode where two sets of players may play the same chapter simultaneously to see who can get the better score.

To spice things up a bit, sometimes you're given an extra challenge like shooting a foe before he shots you or inputting a correct button sequence within a certain amount of time. These extra tasks are ridiculously easy if have any experience with video games at all, but they are rather fun as you don't know when they'll come up. You can even skip these challenges if choose to by selecting the "Play Safe" option when Lara is confronted with a choice of what to do. However you usually get bonus points for successfully winning these action scenes, so it's worth your while to complete them. You can also converse with most of the characters from AOD such as Madame Carvier and Bernard. In these conversation sequences you'll be given the exact same dialogue choices that were offered to you in the regular AOD game. Usually you can score some extra bonus points for being polite.

While it would have been nice to see Lara in some new scenarios, one of the only strong points of Angel of Darkness was its story, and admit it, you forgot a lot of what happened since you probably last played the game in 2003, so you should find yourself enjoying the plot as it unfolds even if you've seen it all before. And if you've never played AOD then you're really in for a treat. Goldhil also did a good job editing in music from all of the first six Tomb Raider games to create an adventurous and suspenseful atmosphere. It is a bit odd that Goldhil picked a three year old game that most Tomb Raider fans detested to base their product on but feh, while a DVD game based on AOD may sound like a horrible idea on paper, this game was a very pleasant surprise. Of course it's no Tomb Raider Legend, but it will entertain you for a while.

So while Lara's fans won't see anything new from Tomb Raider: The Action Adventure, it is a good chance to relive the compelling plot of AOD without having to put up with all the annoying bugs and sticky controls that plagued that game. Furthermore, people who have very little experience with video games may use this product to become acquainted with the lovely Ms. Croft and interactive gaming in general. Tomb Raider: The Action Adventure will be released this December, will play on any DVD player, and will retail for $25 USA.

Author: Greg Stein
Source: www.laracroft.name