The equally iconic training level in Lara's house provides the basic moves a player needs to master in order to get Lara through all sorts of danger. This framing device for the tricky-at-first control scheme is a masterful piece of design being both intuitive and fun. On top of this, the game designers are able to begin to characterize the protagonist and set the tone for the rest of the game before it has even begun, giving the player a glimpse into Lara's opulent upbringing.
That said come the game's concluding stages, the immersion seems to trail-off somewhat, and after the well-thought-out Natla's mine level (seeing Lara unarmed and lost underground) the Atlantis level is underwhelming. It looks like it is set in an amateur H.R. Giger picture; disgusting and frankly annoying mutants leap out of incubation pods and the lava flows and blood rivers suggest the work of whoever did the interior design for DOOM II. Suddenly the game feels less like Indiana Jones and a little confused with the player unsure of where the game has taken them.
But these are arguably criticism's brought about by the numbing fact that the game is about to end. The player is left with that queasy feeling of returning home from a long-trip, happy to be back in comfort but depressed to be out of the way of excitement and adventure. This draws you closer to the feelings of the game's charismatic heroine returning to her manor-house luxury. Both you and Lara are locked in that one depressing moment, when the door has closed behind you and you can't wait for the next chance to plunge into the luring darkness of some lost, eternal city...
4 undead moans out of 5
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