SOUL CALIBUR
SOUL REAVER
F. FANTASY 8

Unable to disappoint her fans, Lara Croft returns for a third instalment that easily surpasses her prior adventures. The action adventure will once again send Lara spanning the globe from the deserts of Nevada to the islands of the South Pacific.

Here is mine first impression on how Lara's latest outing is shaping up along with a selection of new screenshots taken directly from the game.
 
 
 

Mine First Playtest...
 
      On first loading Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft my vision was immediately transfixed towards her assets... breast reduction! That's right! All you girlies who followed Lara's trend and packed your boobs with silicon had better book a return appointment with the surgeon. The sporty look is in! Lara appeared to be slimmer and trimmer after her well earned break wearing a tight black boob tube and a pair of camouflage leg-ins that must surely have been sprayed onto her lower body.

I hardly had time to practice a few of the new moves when a guard came running towards her with guns ablazing. A couple of direct hits in the torso soon slowed him down. It was at this point that I noticed something that was missing from past Tomb Raider games. Blood! Yes, enemies now spurt blood for the very first time with each bullet that entered the body.

Thankfully, all remained quiet in the darkened corridor for a few moments allowing me to take Lara through her paces. The face buttons are used to draw weapons, roll, shoot and jump... so no change there. Tomb Raider III is now analog compatible although the control sticks take a little getting used to. Lara can now be guided by using the left analog stick while the right allows the camera angle to be adjusted. This feels strange at first but I'm sure with practice and perseverance this feature should be an overall improvement.

The shoulder buttons have been slightly altered to cater for two brand new actions... crawl and sprint. The top two buttons still allow Lara to walk and look around, but stealth has now been added to Lara's repertoire of movements as she can now drop to her knees, crawl along the floor and into narrow shafts. When jogging along at her usual pace a press of the sprint button see's Lara drop her head and move up a couple of gears. This may only be used for short periods of time before she slows back down again as this ability is recharged (which is fair enough as she's only human...!!!!).

Moving slowly along the darkened corridor she accidently wanders through a line of very fine trip beams which set the alarm bells ringing and wall mounted security light flashing. Perhaps if she had crawled beneath the lowest beam this would not have triggered the alarm... too late now... sprint for it.

Glancing out of the window to the left a dimly lit courtyard is only just made visible by the red sky at night and the occasional flash from the revolving security light. Further down the corridor are more trip beams... only this time connected to a wall mounted machine gun. Hmmm... there must be a safer route through. Backtracking down the corridor a small duct is only just visible in which Lara can drop onto her hands and knees and squeeze her way through. Unfortunately this is the alternative route... but equally as dangerous.

Moving on a little Lara eventually ends up in the aforementioned courtyard where an enemy agent armed with a infra-red targeting gun begins stalking her. Combining the crawl motion while shooting allows her to take cover and fire from behind an object. Once again lining up the enemy with her trusty pistols is automatic and not only do they produce a blinding flare when fired... but smoke rises from the barrels after each series of shots. Likewise, when a rocket or grenade explodes a thick black cloud of smoke gradually dissolves into the atmosphere.

Tomb Raider III manages to combine many of the favorite elements from the last two games with the all new features. Lara can still climb, hang, drop, push and pull crates. She can also grapple hand over hand. Oh... and yes she can still perform the sexy handstand.

Leaping across the rooftops of London looks mighty impressive with St Pauls Cathedral captured in all of it's glory. In the Antarctic level the large falling snowflakes look ultra realistic, while the underwater scenes cannot fail to impress as bubbles have been added to the many stunning lighting effects.

So what's new..?
 
      Unable to disappoint her fans, Lara Croft will return for a third instalment that easily surpasses her prior adventures. The action adventure will once again send Lara spanning the globe from the deserts of Nevada to the islands of the South Pacific.

As well as the expected costume changes and new vehicles, Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft will feature a rich array of new elements, technical enhancements and cosmetic improvements.

Tomb Raider III combines the best elements of its two predecessors. There's Tomb Raider's atmosphere, vast locations, puzzle-solving and exploration elements and Tomb Raider II's action and use of vehicles. The combination of these elements offers the player an environment that features a 50-50 balance between exploration and action elements.

Tomb Raider III's non-linear levels present the player with more than one route to complete each level. There is also a new structure for the order of game-play: Tomb Raider III contains 5 separate 'adventures' which link together.

After completing the first adventure, the following three may be played in any order, before the fifth level brings the game to its conclusion. A new save-game system has also been implemented, offering 'easy' and 'difficult' options.

Improved artificial intelligence allows more sophisticated combat techniques since enemies react far more realistically - they may even run away when initially approached. It is now possible to sneak past some of the enemies and duck behind objects whilst shooting.

As well as a completely new landscape system that allows far greater detail than the previous games, Tomb Raider III incorporates a variety of new elements such as multi-colored lighting, weather effects and more realistic execution for flames, explosions and water surfaces. All elements have been designed to give the game more depth and the player more satisfaction!
 

Major improvements..!
 
      There have been many technical improvements to the latest Tomb Raider adventure. First of all there is the use of a faster game engine. Expect to witness multi-colored lighting and improved Dynamic lighting. Each of the enemies AI and combat techniques have been improved, while new landscape system allow for complex architectural structures and organic surfaces / objects.

There is also a vast improvement over effects such as rippling, transparent water, reflections and semi-transparencies. It is expected the PlayStation version will run in Hi-Res from 384 x 240 to 512 x 240. It's also worth mentioning that for the very first time you will be able to move Lara around the levels by using the Dual Shock Analogue Pad.

Apart from a whole new wardrobe of costumes for Lara she will have the use of a selection of high powered weapons such as a grenade launcher, desert eagle and rocket launcher. These will be essential as she must face more enemies then both Tomb Raider I and II combined.

Of course the inclusion of vehicles was a massive plus on her second adventure therefore the inclusion of canoes, quad bikes, mine carts, underwater propulsion units and snow vehicles will be warmly welcomed.

Lara has been practicing to perfection a whole new array of stunning moves. She now has the ability to dash at high speed for several seconds, allowing her to avoid time-based traps. A dive can also be added to this move. Should a missile be launched in Lara's general direction she can now duck to avoid the flying projectile.

Of course during past adventures Lara could only stoop down to pick up health bonuses and power up's. Now she can drop to the ground and proceed forward and backwards in the crawl position. A jump and grab will enable Lara to swing around certain parts of the levels, while the rope swing will be similar to the death slide, in that Lara will be able to hold the rope, swing and release at any time.

There has also been many cosmetic enhancements added to Tomb Raider III. Now leaves can be seen blowing around the floor areas while footprints will remain visible in the snow and sand.

Expect weather effects such as snow, wind, rain, fog, mist and darkness. Other addition include birds flying around certain environments.

Tomb Raider III sees Lara heading off to several locations. Beginning from the Indian jungle she will then move on to the rooftops and sewers of London, the high security compound of Area 51 in Nevada, a little island hopping in the South Pacific before reaching the climax of her adventure on an Antarctic Island.
 

What You Can Expect...
 
      In a nutshell, here are some of the more notable features that will appear in the game.

* Re-vamped game engine includes a new landscaping system for richer terrain detail.

* New reflection system for realistic transparencies and shadows

* Vastly improved AI for Lara's numerous enemies

* Amazing new weather effects including rain, snow and mist.

* Moving water surfaces and particle systems for added realism

* Improved dynamic lighting and multi-colored lighting for more atmospheric environments

* A host of new moves for Lara, including a speed dash to get out of sticky situations

* New game structure enables the player to choose the order in which to play levels

* Hi-resolution screen graphics for the first time on the PlayStation

* Dual Shock Analog support for the PlayStation