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Lara Croft: Dog Killer

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: December 26, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Lara Croft-size leaps and bounds beyond previous handheld incarnations of the series, the latest Game Boy edition of Tomb Raider still falters due to hardware limitations and questionable design choices.

Tomb Raider is all about exploring vast, glorious 3D worlds, so it's hard to resist the urge to classify this claustrophobic pseudo-3D-but-really-2D (think Warcraft) game as anything but the latest cash-in on the lucrative Tomb Raider brand. Like the Game Boy versions of Tony Hawk, the game uses an impressive bag of programming tricks to make the game feel 3D, but it suffers from the same problems -- it's difficult to align jumps and tell which platforms are above others. Combined with a complete inability to look around (an inexcusable design oversight), and spikes that trigger instant death (even when you merely walk up to them!), this leads to much frustration.

Not that the game is hard. The only enemies for much of the game are, inexplicably, dogs. I suppose they're wolves, actually -- somehow, it's more humane to kill wild animals? -- but Tomb Raider games in general feel so much like zoo shooting sprees that you wonder why PETA doesn't raise an eyebrow. Someday, game designers will learn that gamers don't want to kill dogs, or rats, or spiders, or bats. I suppose it's laziness on their part, or lack of imagination.

Gunplay is thankfully simplistic, as it has been in most Tomb Raider games. Fights generally boil down to drawing one of three guns -- the only strategy being, always use whichever is the most powerful on hand at any given time -- and running around enemies (read: dogs) blasting away at them while they cycle haplessly through their eight turning animation frames.

The majority of the game is spent solving puzzles, which means finding various switches and pushing them, then finding the doors they opened. The strategy, as in most games, is to push every switch you come by. Fortunately, the designers have seen fit to show you which door is attached to which switch, an obvious feature the lack of which crippled previous handheld versions. This feature makes the puzzle-solving intuitive and bearable, if not necessarily fun.

That said, the game is not horrible. The pace is quick, the levels are of a decent size, and while the gameplay isn't exactly fun, it has a certain quality that lulls you and keeps you playing. The challenge is so low, the puzzles so obvious, and the pace so constant that it's difficult not to enter a zombie-like trance while playing. All of this adds up to a great diversion, if not a great game.

If nothing else, this edition of Tomb Raider proves two things: One is that Diablo or Warcraft (or some such isometric exploration game) could work really well on the Game Boy Advance. And the other is that Tomb Raider, by its nature, doesn't, but that this series will shine on the next generation of (3D-capable) handheld hardware.

An original Tomb Raider game that isn't so original

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: November 14, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Lara Croft's first adventure on the GameBoy Advance could, would, and should have been better, but for action/adventure gamers and fans of old school side scrollers will find some fun with this original GBA installment. You get to play as Lara and run and gun through various platform levels while solving puzzles to proceed. The graphics are pretty well rendered for a side scroller, and Lara herself is nicely rendered as well, but the level design itself is repetitive. And speaking of being repetitive, the "puzzles" are atrocious. Typical "pull the lever, hit the switch to proceed" puzzles that may fit in a 3-D platformer but don't fit in well at all with a side scroller. If the puzzles don't get to you, the even more repetitive bongo background music will grate on your nerves. Control is pretty tight for the most part; running and gunning has never been easier. All in all, hardcore Lara fans will definitely be checking out this game, as will most GBA owners, but those seeking more to a game are better suited to look elsewhere.

Ugly graphics

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: December 20, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Ok, it's fun, it's collectible, it's Lara Croft (sort of), but... the little figure of Lara is ugly, badly drawn, godawful. It SUX! Lara climbing up a ladder has splayed legs and looks like a broken swastika. This "Lara" does not remotely resemble the clever and evocative animations in the older Game Boy Color versions (Nightmare Stone, Curse of the Sword). This game is dumbed down, easy to walk through without too much thought and maybe even just a tad bit boring. The GBC games are 4 stars, easily, maybe even 5 in places, but this one seldom gets beyond 3. For all that, it's a must have collectible, and a joy to have in its own small way.

Fun game

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: March 16, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The graphics are good, The sound is good. The boring part is that you have to type in passwords. If you always liked Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and you tought that the game was like the movie, it isn't anything like the movie. I would recommend it if you have patience.

Great

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 10 / 12
Date: January 03, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Since 'Angel of Darkness' isn't out yet, I'd say this is the best Tomb Raider game to date. The graphics aren't as good as the Playstation or PC but the control is so much tighter. The main problem with previous Tomb Raiders is that the control was so bad you'd find yourself fighting with landing a perfect jump onto a rope more than actually playing the game. In this game, the controls are very responsive and the GBA button layout suits this game perfectly. The graphics are also very good for GBA. The sound isn't all that great but what can you really do with Tomb Raider besides making Lara grunt? The puzzles get old but it keeps with the style and feel of past games only it's not near as difficult. 'The Prophecy' is a great title for GBA.

Graphics: 4.5
Control: 4.5
Sound: 4.0
Fun Factor: 4.5

Pixels Unite!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: November 16, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Well, without much fanfare or fuss Lara Croft has returned to the world of video games in a tiny, handheld way. The result "Lara Croft:Tomb Raider-The Prophecy" is a nice little video game treat. As Ms. Croft your job is to find a relic before and evil cult gets their hands on it and ends to world. So fresh and new right? Well tired story aside the game really works and makes for a fun gaming experience. Using the quasi-3D/bird's eye view, you control Lara to jump, run, flip, and shoot, all while avoiding fire traps and the like. The controls are responsive (unlike her other forays into the portable world) and the graphics aren't too shabby either(animation is quite good). Thankfully music was included this time around, as well as Lara's trademark grunts and groans. My only complaint is the lack of enemies...so far the meanest thing I have seen is the pixled gray wolf who can sometimes float on air! For fans of Lara, this game should provide you with some refreshment, it is more Tomb Raider than would be expected. All none believers might wanna try this out too...you never know. Alright kids get to it.

Tomb Raider

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: November 18, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Tomb Raider:The Prophecy is a must buy for any Tomb Raider fan. My only complaint about this game is that to continue once Lara dies you have to use passwords and when you use the passwords to continue you lose any items you got before you had to continue. Otherwise this is an excellent game.

The Best

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 13, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Tomb raider the prophecy is very good.It has great graphics and 32 levels.The enmies are good but there could be more types.Since I don't have a P.C. that will run the angel of darkness.This is the best new tomb raider.I love it I play it all the time.I sure hope they make more tomb raider games for gba.

TOMB RAIDER IS AWESOME!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: November 26, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is awesome. I was hooked on it for months!! The graphics are weak but its still cool! Go buy it now!

A masterpiece!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: January 31, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This adventure takes place before Lara's adventure in Egypt( in the game ''TOMB RAIDER:THE LAST REVELATION''). Lara must find the blackstone, so she can understand what magic was, or still is.
A masterpiece, and the best GBA game so far. Gotta have it, either you are a TR fan, either you are not.

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