Review: Jump*Start Preschool

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you already know a lot about the Tomb Raider series. This review is aimed at those of you on the fence, those of you who aren’t sure if you’re interested in taking on the Tomb Raider challenge. A checklist of things to consider is provided at the end of the review.

I should mention that I’m reviewing the whole Tomb Raider suite because neither game is exactly new, and because I’ve played both Tomb Raider Gold (TR I plus four new levels) and TR II rather extensively--so why not talk about the whole enchilada? On the other hand, why bother reviewing this much-reviewed game again? Well, Rafi (my editor) told me to [Editor’s Note: Correction. I ASKED Ed to]. But that's not the only reason. This game has been on the PC market for quite awhile, and it, along with the original TR II, has been much praised. Now it is available for the Mac. Do I agree with all of these glowing reviews?

No, because TR II is still clearly behind Mac classics like the Marathon trilogy in various technical ways, despite being far newer. Then again, what else have we Mac gamers come to expect from PC ports? No, because the plot in this game is laughably bad. No, because various aspects of the interface are enough to drive a Mac enthusiast to chipicide (see ref to "ports," above).

Yes. Then again, I do agree with many of the comments that I've seen elsewhere about TR II. Like a bad movie you can't help but like, TR II comes at you with a new way of seeing computer gaming that makes up for its many faults. Playing this game is like watching an action movie, something I'm sure you've heard about the TR series before. Imagine an action hero going through her paces with an army of invisible camera-persons surrounding her. That's how this game works. That's why it is a hoot to play despite being a clunker in so many respects.

While these multiple camera angles sometimes cause problems (it is no fun getting a close-up of woodgrain, for example, though a close-up of Lara's bum can be amusing), they provide a ride like no other I've experienced. Rather than relying on animated clips for key sequences, this control over perspective allows you to enjoy key action sequences as they are happening, from a cinematically appropriate range (from close-up to wide-frame approach shot--gotta love that boat shot in Venice!).

You've heard all there is to hear about this game, from half a dozen other sources. I won't go into any more detail about the game itself. Here are my thoughts for those of you considering purchasing this game. This is definitely a joystick or gamepad game--and tweak those gamepad settings. You will still need the keyboard for various functions (unless your gamepad has many more options than mine) but controlling Lara any other way is a pain in the bum.

Training Tips

The save-anywhere, anytime option can be used to short-circuit skill development. Don't let that happen.

The key skills here are movement skills--learn to jump to the sides, forward and back, and to manipulate Lara's direction while mid-air.

Fighting like you fight in most other first-person shooters is possible, but dull. De-training the "aim at target" reflex is tough, but necessary for full enjoyment of the game. Watch the opening demo (the game, not the opening movie) carefully. Lara enters a room, ducks, rolls, shoots, jumps, shoots...great fun. The biggest trick to master is keeping track of perspective and not jumping out of combat by mistake. Just keep your eye on those guns--when they point, shoot.

The new combat model is pretty fantastic to watch. If nothing else, download a demo and give it a look. Be prepared to unlearn Doom/Marathon/Quake habits! The focus on acrobatics over gun-aiming takes a little getting used to, but watching a TR pro play is truly humbling (and I imported a German pro just so I could watch him play. Thanks, Hannes!). Lara Croft is drawn pretty poorly--er, from a Politically Correct perspective, anyway.

3-D hardware is a good idea for this game; it helps bring the game alive and cuts down on the annoying graphical glitches you can probably see in some of the screen shots we’ve provided from an unaccelerated TR II.

On the downside, the bad guys are dumb, dumber, and dumbest. The plot is inane--do your best to ignore it. The same is true with some of the environments: trying to keep any sense of internal logic going is futile. Don’t bother trying. One final downer is the interface: it lacks common safety checks. It takes more care than it should to avoid loading a game instead of saving a game, for example.

If you like an action-oriented semi-shooter with moderately challenging puzzles, have a joystick or gamepad, and 3-D hardware of one kind or another., then this is a great game for you--run don't walk to your modem and order it right away. The game becomes progressively less enjoyable, however, without each of those hardware requirements, being barely acceptable on a non-3d hardware, no joystick or gamepad machine.

Face it. 3-D is here. For those of us without it, it is time to think about shopping....