[PS3] Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light ROM Download

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light ROM Description

An ancient evil deity has awakened. A vengeful Aztec god rises from his tomb and will destroy the world if not stopped before dawn. Fortunately, the Guardian of Light and this god’s ancient nemesis, Totec, have also emerged. Totec and Lara are partners in the journey to thwart evil. There are differences in form. The gameplay is more Totec than the traditional Tomb Raider. He has a shield that can block bullets, or Lara can stand on it to jump higher. He primarily wields a spear, capable of hurling it towards adversaries. Lara is more agile; she has a grappling hook that can latch onto fixed points to swing. She can also use Totec as a grapple point if he’s in the right position.

It only takes about 5 and a half hours to play through Lara’s campaign, even though some puzzles can leave you stuck for quite a while. Dropping the Tomb Raider name from the title foretold, this is not a traditional Tomb Raider. Instead of a third-person action-adventure, Guardian of Light is a top-down shooter and puzzle solver. It’s actually pretty good.

Puzzles seem to be the focus of Guardian of Light, and there are some really standout puzzles. Most require you to think in three dimensions. When you enter a puzzle room, the goal is always clear—usually an item or artifact locked behind a door or gate. To retrieve it, you must play in a team with your partner, standing on switches at the right time, using the grapple hook to create paths, etc. The developers really maximized the value of the small toolkit.

Guardian of Light has many weapons and unlocks throughout the story, but they don’t affect how you solve puzzles, except maybe the grenade launcher. However, due to the small puzzle-solving toolkit, the game still impressively ramps up puzzle difficulty with overall low complexity. The game’s realistic physics approach achieves this. You can keep pushing a ball, but a moving object will keep moving until friction stops it, or you can place a bomb underneath to propel it upwards. It’s all very real.

The platform alone wouldn’t keep you playing through. The puzzles do that. Some of my favorite moments in Guardian of Light were when all three gameplay styles combined. The Belly of the Beast level is impressive, with the entire level being one extended boss battle with a dragon. It takes place on a large floor with an unlimited ammo supply at the center, only accessible when one player stands on switches while the other runs up ramps to collect ammo, all while fighting the dragon and endlessly spawning minions. This battle is excellent because the game uses everything it has to offer.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is a simple game. Its origins as a low-budget digital release tell you much about its nature. It doesn’t aim high; it’s just a few hours long and extremely accessible. The platforming is serviceable, the combat is good, but the puzzles are excellent. Overall, it’s an enjoyable, fun experience, and like everything, better with a friend.