Tomb Raider has been split into two very different series. The first is the gritty and dark reboot that came out recently, filled with strong female characters, questionable scenes of violence, and lots and lots of wolf killing. This series brings Tomb Raider into a more modern era. The second series is the top down adventure puzzle series of games started in Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. This wacky game is filled with gunplay, magic, and lots of old gods. It made the plots of the Tomb Raider series more light hearted and pushed the gameplay toward a format that feels like it’s nostalgic rather than modern.

These two series went in totally opposite directions, to say the least. Both series are fun in their own right, offering an experience that scratches two completely separate gaming itches, and both are evolving, the first series with the upcoming Rise of the Tomb Raider, and the second with the recently released Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris.We join our titular protagonist on a journey to perhaps the birthplace of tomb raiding, Egypt. Through the sheer power of her awesome abilities, Lara finds a temple devoted to Osiris. This discovery’s celebration is short-lived as a rival archaeologist, Carter Bell, accidentally awakens Set, the evil god responsible for the death of Osiris. In the process, Horus and Isis, two other mythological Egyptian figures, are also summoned, and now they must team up with the two tomb raiders in order to stop Set from destroying the world, and bring Osiris back to the living. If you are an Egyptian mythology buff, you might notice that Temple of Osiris practically slaughters the actual myths of all of these Egyptian gods, and since I know a little bit about Egyptian mythology this did slightly annoy me. Once you shut that part of your brain up and realize that the Egyptian setting is basically just a paintjob for an awesome adventure, ala old Indiana Jones movies, you just take it for what it is - a decent piece of video game writing that keeps the adventure moving forward.

Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris takes place deep in the deserts of Egypt. In her new adventure, Lara must join forces with rival treasure hunter Carter Bell and imprisoned gods Horus and Isis, to defeat the evil god Set.

In fact, the game itself does its best not to harp on its own story, keeping its cut scenes short and making sure to quickly ferry you from one piece of action to another.Temple of Osiris is broken into two rather distinct types of gameplay. First, we have the action gameplay, which is sort of a combination of a top down dual stick shooter, and an isometric RPG like Diablo or Baldur’s Gate. Each character has their own set of skills and attacks, with Lara firing pistols and the ancient gods firing ancient, magic lasers (yesreally).

The basic beginning and end of the action sequences are “keep shooting the other guy while avoiding getting shot yourself.” This can get dry and repetitive at times, except the game does do a very good job of mixing it up, spawning interesting enemies in hard to tackle formations, and humongous bosses that feel cinematic on a God of War type scale, even if they are viewed from a top down perspective.The second style of gameplay is puzzle solving, and I do have to give the game a lot of credit here. Most games frame their puzzle as “go to switch A to open door B.” While there are a couple of those in Temple of Osiris, most are much more complex, involving a keen sense of timing, awareness of your environment, and even a little bit of split second platforming skill. Solving puzzles gives you a eureka moment, and the best puzzles in the game are the ones that let you bring a bunch of different elements together to forge one solution. The worst puzzles, however, are the ones that rely on platforming a bit too much.

Jumping from a top down perspective just never works out too well.Temple of Osiris has a fantastic attitude toward multiplayer gameplay. Simcity 4 deluxe edition mods. Up to four people can play at the same time, and the game tailors itself to how many party members you have with you.

This isn’t just a simple “oh hey look more enemies are spawning” change. The puzzles in the game change as well. Say you had a simple puzzle where you and a partner would need to stand on two switches on opposite sides of a room to open a door. If you have three people in your party, there would be three switches and four would give you four and so forth.

Of course, this is a very simple example. In actuality, the way the puzzles change is much more complex and interesting than that. The fact that the gameplay experience is tailored to your party size really does make this game feel unique.

Parents need to know that Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris is an action-heavy adventure in which iconic character Lara Croft and three of her allies fight against an evil god and its minions. The gameplay is shown from an angled top-down perspective, and players will use a number of guns and magic abilities to kill enemies. Although some enemies bleed (not always red blood, based on the monster) and may cry out in pain, the camera distance from the action and the bodies that disappear lighten the impact of the almost constant combat. There's very light profanity in one cut scene. Some parents may raise an eyebrow at the body image of Lara, who's frequently shown in a tight T-shirt and very short shorts, which may seem unrealistic for women. And there's unmoderated multiplayer, which could expose kids to iffy commentary.

LARA CROFT AND THE TEMPLE OF OSIRIS is the follow-up to the critically heralded. In this adventure, Lara travels to Egypt and must join forces with rival treasure hunter Carter Bell - as well as imprisoned gods Horus and Isis - to team up and defeat the evil god Set. Played from an angled ('isometric') top-down view, up to four players (online or on the same television) traverse dangerous levels filled with traps and fantasy enemies, collect treasure and artifacts, solve puzzles (such as stepping on pressure plates in a given order), and inch their way to the climactic boss battle. Gamers also can compete against friends, with seamless drop-in/drop-out support, to earn bigger rewards - as well as more powerful artifacts and treasures for your character. Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris proves the axiom 'the more, the merrier.' On one hand, it feels like a classic or quest, with a distinct goal for your actions. But players must work cooperatively to achieve tasks along the way, which is a nice twist on the classic solo adventure formula of the previous games in the franchise.

(Many seasoned gamers may compare the look and feel of the game to Atari's series.) Plus, the mix between combat, puzzle solving, and exploration is nicely balanced, fitting the ancient Egyptian theme well.The game's graphics and sound production are very impressive. Although the action is seen from an eagle-eye view, it fits the fast-paced nature of combat perfectly, while also giving a sense of drama when necessary. For example, the camera tends to zoom in during some of the boss battles against larger enemies, which really gives you a sense of how immense these creatures are. It's a nice treat that heightens the action of each major battle. The game isn't a perfect 10 due to a story that seems more of an afterthought and some minor control and camera issues - it can be hard to time the platforming elements from this isometric angle, and controls don't seem as tight and responsive when there are multiple people playing.

But overall, this is a great and inexpensive diversion for fans of the.