Tomb Raider: The Lost Artifact

The Good
What I liked the most was the level design (two or three levels are large) and the new art here and there, the fun the game has, the intrigue... But the most interesting feature of this add on is that it has special secrets. These secerts aren't just hidden places with pick ups (unlike the other TR games), some of them are large areas with new enemies, weapons, quests and unseen tombs or treasures. That makes a new incentive to care about secrets, although they are vey hard to find.

The Bad
Besides the new levels and art and the special hidden areas, this add on is more of the same. The weapons are the same, the enemies are the same (some of them with new clothes and palettes, but their weak AI hasn't changed), the difficulty is the same (sometimes the game is annoying and way too hard, just like TR 3), the reunion with the final boss is disappointing and adds nothing new. Also, the game has no new cutscenes to back up the story, which, by the way, borrows too much from TR3, is lamely forced and makes little sense (they resurrect a character from the original without any good justification).

Anyway, this expansion pack feels recycled, cheap and with little interesting to offer the player.

The Bottom Line
Play it if you liked the other Tomb Raider games, specially if you liked Tomb Raider III.

The Good
I found the game to be very challenging and in some parts very difficult. You are dropped off, by helicopter, near a Scottish Castle. Lara's quest, of course,is to retrieve the lost artifact. The scenery is striking and although Lara is all business there is a slightly whimsical part to the game. This castle is built on a cliff mostly surrounded by water and if your lucky, you might catch a glimpse of the Loch Ness monster. The game has six levels and this time Lara's enemies are Highlanders, quilts and all. She must of course do the usual climbing, diving and shooting to achieve her goal.I enjoyed the game thoroughly and plan to play it again. I was able to retrieve some objects located around the castle. A few of the jumps are extremely difficult but retrieving all the objects does not effect the outcome of the game.

The Bad
I found a few of the objects, ammo etc., impossible to reach.

The Bottom Line
Buy it and play it. If you like a challange or just for the fun. This game is one you will probably want to play more than once.