Tomb Raider (Arcade Action) Reviewed by MerC PC Pentium 166 32Mb RAM GraphicStar 600 Rating 96% - highly recommended Sometime in the dim and distant past of last year's soccer season there was a report that David James, the Liverpool goalie, had been carpeted for missing work because he was addicted to a computer game called Tomb Raider. His version was played on a Sony Playstation, but even on a PC I can see why he might have missed the odd Monday morning on the training ground. Although this is by no means a game for the thinkers amongst us, it is, nevertheless, great fun to play. (Which is a point I feel James missed in his slating of Diablo). On the downside, I'm afraid it needs a pretty powerful engine to run well (though the detail level has three settings). It is very definitely 3D - there ought to be a warning on the package that this game is likely to cause vertigo. When you're inching along a narrow crevice, hanging by your fingers, don't look down - or, rather, do look down, as you will need to drop off at the right spot. If you miss, it could be a couple of hundred feet to a bone-crunching (realistic sound) demise on the rocks or flagstones below. You play the part of Lara (Right, Lets Go Adventuring) Croft, who is not only conically endowed, but must be the most athletic character this side of Golds. Your point of view is just behind Lara most of the time, though you get closer in tight corners. This can be annoying - she will often run round a corner and into danger before you've had time to prepare. However, you can always walk if you're suspicious. She can run, walk, jump in any direction, climb up or down, roll, leap back, drop, drop safely, dodge, look round, shimmy, push, pull, swim, dive, (drown if you're not careful), move switches, turn keys, shoot and much, much more (well, maybe one or two other things I can't recall). Fortunately, before loading any game you can visit Lara's mansion and in the gym and pool you can practice the more difficult moves to your heart's content. You can customize your keyboard (or use the defaults) or a joystick / gamepad. You will need the keys, rather than the gamepad alone, a. To perform some of the more delicate manoeuvres and b. To program all the possible actions. (If you want a laugh, have a look at Microsoft's suggested spelling of manoeuvre). Even then, it takes some time to get the hang of it - and you'll need to, since a couple of places have complex timed events, and you can'0t hang about. At the start and throughout the game there are FMV sequences which attempt to add some sort of a plot. Forget it. All you have to do is to get through each level to the next. All the necessary actions are fairly clear, but there are some tricky optional ones, known as Secrets. As well as the assorted creatures you have to terminate before they do the same to you, there are characters from the story-line that keep appearing. Just shoot at 'em until they either die or go away. You'll recognize these guys as being far harder to deal with than the assorted wildlife, one species of which tear your companion to pieces at the beginning. Good start. On one of the later levels you have to apply a bit of thought, since the antagonist is a mirror image of you - whatever you do, she does - so you cannot just shoot her. There are no statistics: all you have is your life bar, which shrinks if you are attacked successfully or if you are injured in unsuccessful physical actions and grows if you use the medical kits. When underwater you have a blue breath bar which can be renewed by surfacing now and again. If it zeroes, you drown. Give yourself plenty of time to play this. Some figures: there are 15 levels and you can collect around 330 items, mostly ammunition and medical kits. Improved weapons are discovered along the way. Your basic pistols have unlimited bullets, but any upgrades have to be loaded with the ammo you find (Who left it all just lying around?). You will also need to knock off some 270 pests. Each level has extra goodies in the form of secret items in difficult locations. Even with Mark Smith's cheat sheet (37 pages long - around 2.5 pages per level) there were a couple of these I never managed to get to. Once you've completed, though, you can go back with infinite ammo for even the best weapons and have another look. Game mechanics are straightforward, though it takes 6 key clicks to save a game (automatically named and numbered - a real boon) and 10 to quit. By the time I'd finished, I had saved 1128 games, though fortunately only the latest 16 are actually on the drive, unless you relocate them whilst outside the game. You cannot reaccess a level you've left, except by reloading or waiting until the end. The graphics are excellent, though the PC struggles a bit, and you do get peculiarities now and again (such as Lara half disappearing into a wall, or flashes of objects appearing in mid-air.) Sound effects are realistic - when you miss a running leap to a high pillar, or drop off an edge you thought was safe, you'll hurt yourself (sometimes to the point of death) with a crunch of breaking bones and a whimper. One limitation of the game engine is obvious. Though it draws locations in good detail, and handles movement superbly, it does not do proper rendered creatures, so your pumas, crocodiles and aliens look a bit like Lego - though they don't behave like toys. Clearly the PC game is not identical to the Playstation version, though Mark's walkthrough is correct in almost every detail. The big difference comes down in favour of the PC, because in the other version you cannot save games ad lib. You must wait until you find the Save Game Gems, which are few and far between. Saving before every dangerous situation may be wimpish, but that's just the way I am. If you haven't played this yet, get it - you won't be disappointed. You could, of course, wait for the second episode, though if it's as long in coming as Lands of Lore II, you'll probably be too old! (By the way, if you want a real laugh, watch 3rd Rock from the Sun (BBC 2 9.00 Thu, and Sky 1 8.00 Thu. You'll be amazed). @~I haven't played TR but I can vouch for 3rd Rock ... Sue - o -