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Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light |OT| - Play This GOTY Contender

F

FrankT

Member
Larsen B said:
It's surprising that this has turned out to be the dark horse of the Summer Arcade line-up.

Great news for Crystal Dynamics and I cannot wait for Wednesday.
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I don't know I had my money pegged on Limbo and this all along. Of course these scores are a bit higher than even I thought. I was also considering Castlevania early on, but eh.
 
L

Larsen B

Member
Jtyettis said:
I don't know I had my money pegged on Limbo and this all along. Of course these scores are a bit higher than even I thought. I was also considering Castlevania early on, but eh.
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Limbo always seemed like it was going to receive a high number of glowing critical reviews because of its "indie aesthetic" (not to take anything away from it).

Whilst this always seemed to receive a fairly uninterested reaction. There were a few comments when it was announced about how silly rebooting the Lara Croft "franchise" with a co-op isometric puzzle-adventure was. "Let me get back to raiding tombs" etc.
 
F

FrankT

Member
Another interesting point on this is the size. Coming in right at 2GBs that is the latest limit on XBLA games right? I wonder if eventually MS will have to up that again. Of course they can get around some content with DLC.
 
D

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
Jtyettis said:
I don't know I had my money pegged on Limbo and this all along. Of course these scores are a bit higher than even I thought. I was also considering Castlevania early on, but eh.
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Yes, this seems to have turned out much better than expected. This and Limbo seem like the clear winners this time around. Hydro Thunder and Castlevania turned out to be disappointments and I really found nothing interesting in Monday Night Combat.
 
K

Killthee

helped a brotha out on multiple separate occasions!
Opus Angelorum said:
I have not seen this mentioned anywhere, does the camera move closer when playing the single player campaign?
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I've only played the first stage in SP and I haven't played multi yet, but from the clips I've seen of multi, it seems to me like the camera is mostly the same in both modes. In SP, the camera will zoom in smaller areas, but most of time it's pulled way back so you can see the enemies and the environment around you.
 
K

kaskade

Member
It's nice to see this game turning out well. The only other game I bought from this summer of arcade was limbo. I may still get Monday night combat though.
 
K

Killthee

helped a brotha out on multiple separate occasions!
Been playing the game for the last several hours and I'm loving it. The gameplay, the stages, and the puzzles are all good but it's the sidemissions that I'm having the most fun with. I love the fact that after completing each stage I can swing by it again to complete one of the ~8 sidemissions I didn't accomplish in my initial run. There's easy stuff like reach a specific score or cross a river without touching the water to harder stuff like finish a room in 30 seconds or finish the stage within 5 minutes.

I'm pumped for Online Co-Op and I think I might double dip when the PSN version is released :D
 
L

Larson Conway

Member
Updated the OP with a fuckload of new reviews for the game; so far so good...

EUROGAMER | 9/10

Guardian of Light would almost be worth a full price for the co-operative campaign alone. At 1200 Microsoft points - around £10, €15 or $15 - it's an instant buy. There are few download games that offer this kind of value for money, and few that are as clever or effortlessly exciting. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light might be a move away from the Tomb Raider name, but it's a tremendous homage to its spirit.

JOYSTIQ | 4.5/5

In terms of level design, pacing and gorgeous visuals, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light topples last year's XBLA king, Shadow Complex. But while a lot of this content is perfectly suitable for a six-hour single-player session, I'd urge you to discover the game for the first time with a co-op partner. If that means you have to sit on it until online functionality is added on September 28th, then do it. In the meantime, buy the game, pick up the phone and try to get a friend on the couch for some Spider Bowling.

IGN | Editors' Choice | 8.5/10

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is a great adventure, especially if you're playing co-op. Despite the silly story and dialogue, I had more fun with it than any Tomb Raider in recent memory. With a great new look, clever puzzles, and loads of fun stuff to collect, this is an extreme makeover for Lara of which you will surely approve.

1UP | A-

Though the game would still be fantastic with its co-op dungeon puzzles alone, Guardian of Light contains a surprising amount of substance; each of its many levels offer a series of achievements that add interesting weapons and items to your inventory. There's a definite focus on loot in Guardian of Light, and while it's nothing as substantial as what's found in games like Torchlight, the game offers a respectable amount of equippable goodies for both Lara and Totec to discover -- which also gives you a good reason to dip back into previously-played levels.

DESTRUCTOID | Editors' Choice | 9/10

With its first downloadable offering, Crystal Dynamics has come out swinging, with easily one of the best titles this summer -- digital or otherwise. More to the point, I feel comfortable saying that Guardian of Light may be the most fun I’ve had with Miss Croft in 14 years; it’s that good. Guardian of Light covers a lot of bases -- solid action, clever puzzles, nail-biting platforming, and remarkable cooperative play; it’s not to be missed.

GUARDIAN UK | 4/5 || ELECTRICPIG | 5/5 || DIGITAL SPY | 4/5 || BIT-TECH | 8/10 || NOW GAMER | 8.7/10 || ZTGD | 9.5/10 || GAMERANT | 4/5 || GAMING NEXUS | A- || WE THE GAMERZ | 5/5 || RUN DLC | 4/5 || XBOX MAG | 17/20 || CO-OPTIMUS | 4.5/5 || ITCHY THUMBS | 9/10 || JUST PUSH START | 4.5/5 || GAMEZONE | 8/10 || GAMEFOCUS | 8.6/10 || XBOXER360 | 95% || FILEFRONT | 90/100 || TECH DIGEST | 5/5
 
T

TheFLYINGManga_Ka

Member
Awesome reviews! :D

It's funny how every review I read says that this is better than the recent console Tomb Raider games! :lol

I'm just glad how solo players aren't left out.

It's cool how Crystal Dynamics made the game change a little to accommodate single players.

But I'm sure co-op is much more fun.
 
X

xbhaskarx

Member
Impressive review scores.

Larson Conway said:
JOYSTIQ | 4.5/5

In terms of level design, pacing and gorgeous visuals, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light topples last year's XBLA king, Shadow Complex.
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I loved Shadow Complex, hopefully this game can have similar success in terms of sales. Last time I checked 48 people from my friends list were on the leaderboard for that, which has to be the most of any XBLA game.
 
T

TheFLYINGManga_Ka

Member
xbhaskarx said:
Impressive review scores.



I loved Shadow Complex, hopefully this game can have similar success in terms of sales. Last time I checked 48 people from my friends list were on the leaderboard for that, which has to be the most of any XBLA game.
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Wow! Even better than Shadow Complex? That's great!

Anyone know how long the single player is? I'm sure that'll double when you play co-op, but just wondering if anyone knew.

Maybe about 6 hours?
 
C

Curufinwe

Member
Another review: 4/5 from CheapAssGamer:

http://www.cheapassgamer.com/?f=2157

Overall, I found Lara Croft's latest adventure to be an excellent co-op endeavor. Guardian of Light combines all the traditional elements of a Tomb Raider game, but by incorporating a second raider into the mix, it feels fresh and current. Part of the reason the franchise has been so resilient is that we like Lara Croft and her typical exploits. Messing with both the media format (this is the first downloadable title in the franchise), and focusing on co-op play could have been disastrous to loyal fans. Instead, the developer Crystal Dynamics has unearthed a whole new vein that's both fun and well put together. For those of you who don't have someone locally to play with, fret not - the online co-op will be available on September 28th. There will also be new levels and new, yet familiar, characters available for download later this year. By then, some new archaeological discovery will be unveiled and we'll be off dodging skeletons and spiders once again.

Outstanding | Very Good | Fair | Poor | Awful

Recommended Buy Price: $15.00
Current MSRP: $15.00

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light was provided for review by Square Enix. I completed the campaign in about six hours. I accumulated 11 out of 12 Achievements for 175 GamerScore. I also unlocked an Avatar outfit for completing the campaign. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is also coming to PC and PlayStation 3 in September.
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F

FrankT

Member
FlyinJ said:
Square/Crystal announced that the first DLC pack will be free for 30 days when it's released on the 360, to make up for the month wait for online co-op:

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/08/17/f...-free-for-first-30-days-on-xbox-360/#comments

EDIT: Damn, it's got a metacritic of 89 after 9 reviews
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Well that's nice. Full PR;

LARA CROFT AND THE GUARDIAN OF LIGHT
RELEASES THIS WEDNESDAY ON XBOX LIVE ARCADE


SAN FRANCISCO, CA August 16, 2010 — Crystal Dynamics®, a part of Square Enix Europe, is pleased to announce that Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light™ will be available this Wednesday on Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft as a part of Microsoft's Summer of Arcade program.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is the first fully downloadable title from developer Crystal Dynamics as well as Lara's first downloadable arcade adventure which introduces a franchise first isometric camera and two player cooperative adventure.

"We put everything we could into our first downloadable adventure and we're very proud of what we have created," said Darrell Gallagher, General Manager of Crystal Dynamics. "We designed a game that can be played in three ways; as a compelling single-player adventure, as a fun local co-op game and as a wider online co-op experience and we're pleased that gamers will have the chance to play both single player and local co-op modes on their living room couches at launch, with online co-op allowing gamers to play across multiple couches arriving shortly afterwards."

There is also a full slate of DLC coming throughout the rest of the year; which includes three gameplay packs focusing on combat, exploration and puzzles and two character packs which allow the player a chance to experience the adventure with other well-known videogame characters. A free update will come soon after launch on Xbox 360 offering online cooperative play (offline cooperative play will be available on August 18) and full leaderboards.

"We believe we have delivered a game which opens up new types of gameplay that will excite not only Tomb Raider fans, but all fans of digital gaming. The launch of Guardian of Light is just the beginning, we have a lot of additional content planned and we will be offering the first DLC pack for the first 30 days for free, exclusively on the Xbox 360®, so that gamers can get a taste of some of the exciting extras we have in store," continued Gallagher.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light begins with Lara searching for an ancient artifact called the Mirror of Smoke. Upon reaching the mirror, she is ambushed by a mercenary army who steals the mirror and releases an ancient evil named Xolotl. Xolotl proceeds to wipe out the armed force and escape with the artifact. Luckily, the disturbance also awakens the Guardian of Light, Totec. In order to track down and stop Xolotl, Lara must join forces with Totec and ensure the world doesn't plunge into an age of never-ending darkness.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is available now on the Xbox LIVE Arcade Marketplace for 1200 MS Points and will be available for the PlayStation®3 PlayStation®Network and PC (via Steam) on September 28th, 2010 for $14.99. The game is rated T for Teen by the ESRB
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L

Larson Conway

Member
Ok I'm a bit confused. Is the first DLC coming exclusively for the 360 AND will be free for 30 days? Or is it coming to all platforms but will exclusively be free for 360 for 30 days?

Either way it does sound like a measure CD felt like doing to make up for the delayed online co-op. A way to appease MS it seems.

EDIT: Ok, scratch the question. Got it. :D
 
O

OldJadedGamer

Banned
Daigoro said:
wow at all of the high scores. :eek:

and then there's the no online co-op at launch thing...
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Yup, it would have been an instant purchase for me and my friend in L.A. but without it we will wait and the longer we wait the more there is a chance we move on to something else.
 
F

fernoca

Member
Hope the game's live at around 5AM, to leave the 2GB downloading and be ready to play when I wake up. (2GB = 5 hours on my connection :/)
 
Macmanus

Macmanus

Member
This game looks incredibly good. Cheap and short. Just how I like 'em.

This was like the fast food meal of OTs. A load of junk, but still tasty.

edit: This game reminds me of Loaded/Reloaded. Man I love me some isometric shooters. Throw in loot and some form of leveling and it's like crack.
 
L

Larson Conway

Member
MOAR reviews added to the OP.

Anyway, I'm torn. I'm a huge fan of the traditional Tomb Raider releases (platforming/puzzles) and I fear that this experiment -- which is proving to be quite the surprise critical success -- will have SE/CD focus on more digital downloads/isometric releases off the franchise. Nothing wrong with that, as long as I get my Tomb Raider fix. But, eh.

Don't get me wrong though, being that this is a Lara Croft game, I'm happy, and to be honest the character/dev team behind it is what got me to want to explore this type of game/play. I just hope this isn't what people/gamers in general will come to expect of 'Tomb Raider'. I can see it a year from now when Tomb Raider 9 is released -- "The exploration is not nearly enough to compensate for the refreshing combat system introduced by LCGoL introduced last year." :\
 
S

Shurs

Member
Larson Conway said:
MOAR reviews added to the OP.

Anyway, I'm torn. I'm a huge fan of the traditional Tomb Raider releases (platforming/puzzles) and I fear that this experiment -- which is proving to be quite the surprise critical success -- will have SE/CD focus on more digital downloads/isometric releases off the franchise. Nothing wrong with that, as long as I get my Tomb Raider fix. But, eh.

Don't get me wrong though, being that this is a Lara Croft game, I'm happy, and to be honest the character/dev team behind it is what got me to want to explore this type of game/play. I just hope this isn't what people/gamers in general will come to expect of 'Tomb Raider'. I can see it a year from now when Tomb Raider 9 is released -- "The exploration is not nearly enough to compensate for the refreshing combat system introduced by LCGoL introduced last year." :\
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I hope that the success of this game leads to more developers creating side stories for downloadable services. Plus, it can reignite interest in older games.

Because of The Guardian of Light, I'll probably pick up the last "proper" Tomb Raider game.
 
F

fernoca

Member
Though, if the first DLC will be free for Xbox 360 owners for 30 days, before the Sept. 28 patch; does that mean that it will be released on August 28...ish?
 
D

Daigoro

Member
Macmanus said:
This game looks incredibly good.
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bu bu bu bub but Brain Stew says the 360 version looks like-

keircommunityshot.jpg


THIS!!!

it cant possibly look good!
 
B

burgerdog

Member
Jtyettis said:
Another interesting point on this is the size. Coming in right at 2GBs that is the latest limit on XBLA games right? I wonder if eventually MS will have to up that again. Of course they can get around some content with DLC.
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Technical limit, can't do anything about it. Comic Jumper also comes in at 2gigs. :D
 
K

Keikoku

Banned
burgerdog said:
Technical limit, can't do anything about it. Comic Jumper also comes in at 2gigs. :D
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How do you know about Comic Jumper ? Also, there's still a size limit for XBLA games ? I thought these days were over.
 
B

burgerdog

Member
I'll see if I could find the link, I read it recently. I know about Comic Jumper because I saw it on Xplay yesterday and the guy they were interviewing said it was 2gigs, the highest they're able to go.

edit

I found a source, though, it's not where I originally read it.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/new...the-New-Size-Limit-for-Xbox-Live-Arcade-Games

Microsoft has revealed that 2 GB is the current size cap for Xbox Live Arcade titles. It has nothing to do with Microsoft, and is instead a technical limitation of the way the system works.
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A

antiquegamer

Member
dark10x said:
Yes, this seems to have turned out much better than expected. This and Limbo seem like the clear winners this time around. Hydro Thunder and Castlevania turned out to be disappointments and I really found nothing interesting in Monday Night Combat.
Click to expand...

What?! Hydro Thunder is awesome. Best arcade racer on XBLA. Even my "casual" gamers friends and family find it fun to play.

Anyway, I agree that this do turn out better and thanks OP, I wouldn't even have give this game a chance were it not for your OP.
 
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