Preview: 'Lara Croft And The Guardian Of Light'

A while ago in a development studio not so far, far away, a team of Crystal Dynamics veterans who "live and breathe" Tomb Raider sat down and decided that it was time for a change in the franchise. Working with publisher Square Enix, the team decided to "refresh the licence" by creating the first download-only title in the series, dropping the long-running Tomb Raider branding in the process. On top of that, they decided to bring co-operative play to the franchise for the first time. What resulted from these brave design choices was Lara Croft And The Guardian of Light. Ahead of the game's release this summer, Digital Spy donned its exploration gear to check out Lara Croft's bold new adventure.

The first thing that strikes you about Guardian Of Light compared to previous Tomb Raider games is that it is much more of an arcade experience. Shifting the view to an isometric perspective as opposed to the more traditional third-person view is part of the approach, but it's also the arcade-style gameplay, which makes the game feel somewhat like a mix between God Of War and Ikari Warriors. The decision to ditch the Tomb Raider branding was taken because Lara Croft was deemed "big enough" as a character to carry the new game. It's a fairly brave choice, but Lara certainly has enough sufficiently popular, ahem, attributes to make it work.

The story starts 2,000 years ago in South America as a battle between the Light forces led by the warrior Totec and Dark forces led by the fearsome Xolotl wage a fierce battle. When the Light forces gain victory, Totec locks Xolotl and the Dark horde deep in the Temple of Light with the powerful Mirror Of Smoke to remain forever shackled. However, fast forward to the present day and Lara Croft - played again by Ashes To Ashes star Keeley Hawes - raids the temple, enabling Xolotl's Dark army to escape with the Mirror. Despite being understandably miffed by the undoing of his hard work, Totec realises that he must work with Lara to locate the Mirror and send the Dark horde back where they came from.

The main campaign can be played completely alone, or via co-op over local or online. On the playthrough, we tackled the second level playing as Lara with a Square Enix producer being Totec. The aim of the level was to collect sun discs to unlock the Spider Tomb, before venturing inside the shadowy depths. The controls instantly feel very arcade-like - the left stick is used for movement and the right to draw weapons and aim, with the right trigger firing (the player can move while shooting but much slower than usual). Lara has double pistols with unlimited ammo, but she also gets access to a wide range of weapons, including double Uzis, grenade launchers and a flame thrower. However, these weapons need to be restocked with ammo from blue power-ups, with green power-ups giving health. Lara also has a grappling hook launched by pressing the right shoulder button.

Playing as Totec means using unlimited throwing spears and a shield, along with some guns. Each character's equipment is also used regularly in the puzzles. For example, Totec's spears can be plugged into a wall to give Lara a monkey bar run to get across big drops. Alternatively, Lara's grapple hook can be connected to Totec or other designated points, such as creating a grapple line for Totec to tightrope walk across chasms too large to jump. Lara and Totec also have unlimited bombs, which can be placed and detonated with a button press. The bombs are good for clearing out enemies, but they are also regularly used in the puzzles, such as triggering switches or moving seemingly immovable objects.

Crystal Dynamics says that the puzzles start off simply but get devilishly tricky later in the game. There are also bonus puzzles available to increase the options for the player, with additional paths and items available for anyone willing to beat an extra challenge. For example, one gameplay section involved a critical path that just had to be unlocked by both players depressing pressure switches. However, there was another path unlockable by running over a grid of spike-thrusting squares in the right combination. Beating such challenges, along with exploring every nook and cranny of the gaming world, brings in-game bonuses, such as more health or ammo.

In co-op mode, the players operate on the same screen which pans out as they move apart to a set limit before being blocked. Dying results in the player respawning next to the other player, but if both players die then they are sent back to the last checkpoint. Largely, the game is quick, fast and instantly accessible, as you would expect from an arcade title. Despite being a download product, the sense of polish and presentation in Guardian Of Light is admirable. The game uses the same engine as Tomb Raider: Underworld, which delivers realistic physics effects, real-time shadows and some destructible environments. The sense of scale is impressive, with the inside of the Spider Tomb being a detailed and well rendered chasm that would not seem out of place in a full boxed product.

There are a few small areas of concern about the game, particularly with the aiming mechanic which can feel a tad erratic at times. However, the title's pacing seems largely very strong, with a good mix of action sequences and puzzle areas. There are also some intelligent design mechanisms in operation. Anyone playing the game alone becomes just Lara, with Totec relegated to a story character so that the player is not burdened with an irritating computer-controlled buddy. Also, any treasures which are gained co-operatively go to both players, but treasures taken alone reward just one player, which should encourage a bit of healthy competition. Our playthrough ended just before a boss fight, which was presumably going to be some kind of giant spider considering the tomb we were in.

Crystal Dynamics reckons that players will be able to bash through the main campaign alone in around 8 to 10 hours or around 7 to 8 hours with a friend (because shared knowledge will bring quicker solutions to puzzles). There are also numerous collectables around the game to motivate multiple playthroughs, along with achievements and online leaderboards. Considering that the game will be priced at 1200 Microsoft Points (£10.20), it's already shaping up to be very good value.

Alongside Guardian Of Light, Crystal Dynamics is also working on a full retail boxed game featuring Lara Croft, currently under the working title Tomb Raider 9. It's unclear whether the game will take a similar approach to Guardian Of Light, such as whether it will feature co-operative play, and presumably much will depend on the reception to this new approach to the IP. Hopefully, the move towards a more arcade title will not result in a game which fails to appeal to either the Lara Croft addicts or the series newcomers, but instead offers a genuine refresh of this cherished licence that will please everyone.

Lara Croft And The Guardian Of Light will be released on Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and PC this summer.