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It seems that every few years, Lara Croft goes under the knife for a complete rebuild.  This year it seems no different.  After Tomb Raider: Legend refreshed the waning franchise; it again started to go downhill with the last release, Tomb Raider Underworld.  Crystal Dynamics has come back with a new look and a new play style and a rechristened name in Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, and it is a joy to play – if you ever get around the controls on the keyboard and lack of promised online co-op play.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light has Lara searching ancient Mayan tombs for a new treasure, not exactly deviating from the Tomb Raider script all that much here, but in the process, she is captured by a rival collector, who ends up freeing  Xolotl, a demon that is set on destroying the world.  However, another being was released from his tomb as well, Totec, a 2000 year old Mayan warrior who has sworn to defeat Xolotl at all costs.

While the world of Tomb Raider has normally be focused on a solitary experience, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light has been designed with two players in mind at all times.  Most of the puzzles are designed around two people working together to get past some sort of object.  However, the game does not punish you by teaming you up with an AI buddy that has the intelligence of toasted bread.  Instead, the game completely drops the second player from the game when you play in single player mode.  I really appreciated this touch, because while AI design has come a long way over the years, it is still lacking from the support of a real person.

Yes, with that in mind, I believe that Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light can be a fun experience on the PC.  I say can be, because I have not found anyone that wants to sit next to me on my 24” LCD and play Lara Croft in co-op mode.  Yes, it seems that the online co-op patch that was supposed to arrive on Steam at the release of the game is still not available, leaving you with local co-op as your only option.  On a console, local co-op is still a losing proposition, but it works on a nice, big screen.  On a smaller computer monitor, it does not stand up as well.  Online co-op is still set for release in the near future, but until then, co-op is a bust on PC.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light does look pretty on the PC, with nice lighting effects, surprising detail on Lara and Totec as well as the environments in general.  Each main level change seems to take a new theme and look.  At first, we are in the jungle running through temples, and the next we are underground, in a cobweb paradise, complete with spiders.  I was surprised at the detail until I found out that the game is powered by the same engine used in Tomb Raider: Underworld, which, gameplay aside, was a great looking game.

The gameplay is simple enough allowing players to select guns, spears or other discoverable weapons to do battle with enemy spirits, lizards, skeletons , spiders and more.  Combat is fast, fresh and highly rewarding, with each level offering at least a dozen challenges to complete, each unlocking bonuses for your character.  Be it point totals, skull collecting or even just jumping around several pillars without touching the ground, there are all kind of rewards to all kinds of tasks.  I really appreciate this, as an extra reward, not necessarily tied to any one achievement, but just extra perks to motivate you in the game to try silly things for an extra bonus.  You can also drop explosives to help clear out the hordes of monsters that will be attacking you.  Grappling, rolling and puzzle solving all return as well, albeit with a different perspective from prior games in the series.

While Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light offers a ton of gameplay options and challenges, the game is rarely fun when playing with a keyboard and mouse.  While aiming is not an issue, the keyboard combinations are just so obtuse in nature.  I would have thought right clicking my mouse would drop a bomb, but no, it is using the Caps Lock button.  Rolling happens with the right click of the mouse.  Switching the weapons has to be done on the keyboard numbers vs. actually using the scroll wheel to navigate weapons.  Playing with a gamepad was a far superior experience and just showed that this was a hasty port with little in the way of thought for controls.  It is sad, because Tomb Raider has always been a franchise in the past that has always controlled well with a keyboard and mouse.  Not sure why there was a change in design philosophy, but you will probably not enjoy the experience on the PC without a gamepad.  Yes, you can reconfigure the controls to your liking, but I normally use the default controls for a review, and the default controls just stink.

The sad thing is that I really did enjoy my time with Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light.  Each time I moved forward, I was reminded at the same time about how great the story and puzzles were, yet I struggled with the controls and ended up quitting after an hour of frustration.  The game is priced nicely and is supposed to be the first of several games set in this version of the universe.  I enjoyed myself with the PC version of Lara Croft, but I think my enjoyment level was far higher when playing with a controller vs. the keyboard and mouse.  It is also inexcusable that a game that has promised online co-op from its initial announcement still does not happened two weeks after release.  Lara Croft is good, but falls far from success.  Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light gets 3 out of 5 Aeropausonauts.

Check out Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light and other PC reviews at Test Freaks.