Laura Croft and the Guardian of Light (XBLA) Review

The final game of this year's Summer of Arcade is Laura Croft and the Guardian of Light (LCGL). With stunning visuals and excellent gameplay, the Summer of Arcade couldn't have ended on a stronger point. Let's just say this is going to be a short review.

When Laura Croft finds the Mirror of Smoke she is soon apprehended by thugs who steal the Mirror and let out the prisoner inside it, Xoxolt. Laura and her very newly found ally, Totec must fight against all the ancient minions and other enemies along the way to retrieve the Mirror of Smoke and make sure that Xoxolt is put back in his place.

To go with the almost 80's B-movie styled story, LCGL features very arcade-like gameplay and very easy to use controls. The game is immediately addictive and very fun and will keep you hooked for hours. From using cool features like a grappling hook, to throwing spears into walls and jumping on them, the game keeps you in with cool gameplay that almost any type of gamer can enjoy. The isometric camera angle lets you see big chunks of the environments and where you need to go next. The only drawback with this type of view is the limits to camera positioning in hard to see spots.

Visuals in LCGL are absolutely stunning. From the smooth, almost seamless cut scenes, to the moving environments, to the player's animation there are no issues with what is to be seen in LCGL. Nothing bad to say about the visuals in the game.

As for audio, once again there is almost nothing bad to be said. All the sound effects in the game are slick and supremely well done. From falling rocks, to gunshots, to spears making contact with stone (I bet they recorded this actually happening to make the sound) the in game sound is great. The music in LCGL is an epic orchestral number that is completely fitting to the game's action-packed style. The only weak point in the audio, is the voice acting for the cut scenes. The majority of the characters have very typical and fairly bland voices that do take away from the otherwise fantastic cut scenes.

So as was mentioned before, the game is almost flawless. The stunning visuals, great sound effects, and awesome gameplay make Laura Croft and the Guardian of Light a must buy for anybody who wants on good time on their Xbox 360. Go get the game as soon as you can. Once again don't forget about the deals with buying games of the Summer of Arcade 2010!

-Jeremy M.