Lara Croft And The Guardian Of Light HD

Lara finally makes her iPhone and iPad début and it’s a treasure!

DEVELOPER Square Enix Ltd

PRICE £2.99 US$4.99 3,99€

SIZE 397 MB

AGE RATING 9+

It’s Lara Croft, but not as we know her, and that’s a very good thing! The view point has changed from third-person to isometric, and the branding has lost the two words that would, long ago, have been accompanied by the sound of cash resisters ringing in games shops the world over; Tomb Raider. Most shockingly of all Lara Croft, having adventured alone throughout the entire franchise, now has a playable sidekick, a 2000 year old Mayan warrior named Totec. Considering the changes and re-branding, Ms. Croft’s first iPhone adventure is one of her best yet.

The plot is fairly generic, dealing with the usual tomb raiding, a cursed artefact and the unleashing of an evil god bent on the destruction of the world, so business as usual! Flimsy story-lines are part of the franchise and have rarely been more than an introduction to the next level and an excuse for hammy dialogue. Narrative niggles aside, the gameplay is excellent, blending the core elements of puzzle solving, exploration and gun battles that have made the Tomb Raider franchise a household name.