February is the Cruelest Month...

Or is it April?? I keep forgetting.... With apologies to TS Eliott... and if you don't get the TS Eliott reference, what can I tell ya???





Yes, Lara Croft is back!!

Well, okay, there is a newer game yet....

But right now, this one can be picked up used in game stores everywhere for under $20... and it is a great value at that.

Very nice game. Visually stunning. Very watchable, like a movie almost.

The controls are actually do-able, even for a small doggie like me.

Now, I will also direct you to a pretty decent walk-thru, done by ipino, which is available on gamespot.com, and gamefaqs.com... nice job. It has some holes in it, but overall, it will get you going. Since it's been years since I played the old Tomb Raider games on PC, I had no clue... so this at least got me started.

Like I say, in the doldrums of February, when we just hide out in our houses and wait for spring, this game will be a great diversion for you.

Lush tropical environments?? Check.

Nice weapons? Check. The combat actually isn't the worst. Obviously it's simpler than your first person shooters like Halo... This game is more about puzzles, and manuevering around, and solving problems. After working thru Halo 3 a couple times, I was ready for a break. The legendary pistols are nice, and the "RC650" is basically an M4, or CAR-15 variant, the collapsible AR-15/M-4 variant. The RC650 is slick.

Dialogue and voice overs? Check. Pretty good voice work.

Cutscenes? Decent. Well done. Generally lend some atmosphere to the story. Generally plausible and well written. There are also some "interactive" cutscenes that are kind of fun, and refreshing, so stay alert if it starts to indicate a button press, or some action...

Vehicles? Yeah, there are some decent vehicles you get to play with. Notably the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Edition, and the Ducati sportbikes that were both featured in the second movie, IIRC.

So, check that out. Well worth your $20. and enjoy. Just because it's an old game, don't let that stop you.

Also, go into "calibration" in the extras section, and make sure the brightness on your tv is set correctly. It's hard to see some of the stuff if you are too dim on your epic big screen....

And if you don't have an epic big screen.... well, what are you waiting for?? Super Bowl is tomorrow!!!

And now, for a bacon cheeseburger.... running around shooting bad guys and pillaging treasure is hard work.... tuckers a doggie out....