The Last Revelation
From Tomb Raider Wiki
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation
Developed by Core Design Published by Eidos Interactive Music by Peter Connelly Engine: Custom: Tomb Raider Level Editor Platforms PlayStation, Dreamcast, Mac, Microsoft Windows Release date(s): 22 November 1999 Rating: ESRB: T |
In The Last Revelation, Lara travels to Egypt in order to enter the tomb of the Egyptian god of destruction: Seth. Lara is searching for an amulet known as the Amulet of Horus. Once she takes it from Seth's tomb, she discovers that she has unwittingly released the angry god back into the world. In order to save the world before the new Millennium, Lara must travel across Egypt in search of the Armour of Horus in order to stop Seth's evil plans. She is pursued throughout the game by Werner Von Croy, a former mentor turned enemy, and Seth himself.
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Storyline
The story begins in 1984 with Lara's teenage tomb raiding origins, accompanied by her then mentor Werner Von Croy. They travel to the temple of Angkor Wat, Cambodia in the hope of finding the mystical "Iris". However, the trip is cut short by an accident in which Lara is forced to abandon her companion in order to save her own life.
15 years later in Egypt (this is the only game in the series to keep the globetrotting to a minimum, as aside from the prequel level, the entire game takes place in one country), Lara Croft uncovers an ancient tomb where a fearsome Egyptian God Seth was once imprisoned. She unwittingly unleashes him and finds herself in a deadly race against time to restore the god to his resting place before an apocalypse befalls Earth.
Unfortunately, Von Croy becomes Lara's new rival as he is possessed by Seth himself and he makes things considerably more difficult.
Lara travels across Egypt to collect the pieces of Horus's armour in order to defeat Seth. They are found in Pharos, Temple of Isis, Temple of Poseidon and Cleopatra's Palaces, all of which are in the Alexandria area. She combines them (with the Amulet of Horus) in the Temple of Horus to finally defeat her enemy. However before Horus can be summoned, Sethh arrives and destroys the armour, knocking the amulet into the water. Lara quickly recovers it and exits the Temple, sealing the entrance shut with the amulet. She must leave it in place to keep Seth imprisoned for eternity.
As she reaches the exit of the temple, badly injured she is confronted by Von Croy. Fearful that he may still be possessed, she is reluctant to hold onto his hands and so falls into the darkness beneath the collapsing temple.
Gameplay
Features
The game features many new moves. Lara can now grab hold of ropes dangling from the ceiling and swing from them. These can be used to cross large gaps. She can climb up and down ropes and poles also. She can now shimmy around corners unlike previous titles.
Lara herself in this instalment has a smoother, more refined appearance prior to the previous instalments. This is due to moving and flexible joints between meshes. This creating a more realistic approach to the heroine.
In this game, Lara has the ability to return to some previous levels, with some levels taking place in a non-linear order. She also has the option of taking various different routes through some of the levels, each with their own set of challenges.
Instead of the old item "ring", the inventory screen places the items into a "line." There is also a compass in the lower left hand corner of the inventory screen, but it is only important to activate cheats or to help solve a puzzle in the Citadel level.
Also, when in the inventory, some items will have the word "combine" in its menu. Selecting it will cause a second item line to appear. The player must then select an item to combine it with to form a new item.
A new weapon, the revolver, can be used in this game. Though it does not appear until late in the game, it is very powerful and effective at stopping enemies. When combined with the laser sight, which lights a red dot at the point where the bullet will strike, the player can use it to shoot specific small targets. The player can also attach the laser sight to the crossbow.
Locations
Most of Tomb Raider:The Last Revelation locations are based in real places, most of them being ancient ruins of the Egyptian empire.
Cambodia
- Angkor Wat, (training level):
Angkor Wat is a temple built in the 12th century. It used to be a religious centre, and it was made to represent Mount Meru, home of the Hindu deities. In Lara's adventure, she and Werner Von Croy go there into an expedition to find an ancient powerful artifact, the Iris. After Werner recovered the Iris, the temple collapsed and Lara barely escaped alive, while Von Croy was supposed to be dead since he was imprisoned inside the temple.
Egypt
Characters
Adventurer and tomb raider.
Lara's former mentor. Trained Lara on an expedition to Angkor Wat when Lara was 16. He carries a grudge against his former pupil after she left him for dead when part of a temple collapsed around them.
Lara's archaeologist friend from Egypt.
- Seth :
Ancient Egyptian god of storms, chaos and evil. Imprisoned by his nephew Horus and bound by the Amulet of Horus.
- Horus :
Ancient Egyptian god, nephew of Seth. Using the Amulet of Horus, he imprisoned his uncle in a tomb.
Ancient High-Priest of Horus. Fortold that the one who removes the Amulet will have released Seth, and unless they can summon Horus to do battle against him, will have endangered the planet.
Reception
While considered to be one of the best of the Tomb Raider sequels by fans, The Last Revelation was praised for its more dynamic and central plot than any of the previous installments, and the fact that most of the explorable levels were reverted to being classical tombs and temples once more. The critical response was somewhat mixed with gaming review sites such as GameSpot saying: "The Last Revelation is far and away the best of the sequels", while other critics complained how the game's mechanics remained practically untouched, along with what some felt was frustrating camera positioning and similar graphics engine. Critics argued, similar in the case of Tomb Raider III, that the originally excellent premise of Tomb Raider was becoming stale and that the game simply hadn't moved along with the times. Many also thought the game would have made a great Tomb Raider II, as the changes that happened in the game should have been made a long time ago, and the series has been criticized for adding small changes over a long period of time which made not too much difference in terms of gameplay and looks until the last revelation.
The game was also met with much public scorn because of its ending, as it was believed by most players that Lara was dead, as the game ended with Lara trapped inside a collapsing pyramid and her fate unknown. The game's title, The Last Revelation, added to this impression. This, however, quickly subsided when the sequel was released.
The "classic" Lara would wrap up loose ends in the Tomb Raider Chronicles before the series received a long-awaited design overhaul, including graphics as well as game control, towards the next generation of Tomb Raider games.
Level Editor
In 2000, Core Design released their level editor for Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, as part of the PC CD version of Tomb Raider Chronicles. This is the only release so far of an official in-house design tools for any of the Tomb Raider series. The level editor CD also includes a few levels from The Last Revelation, some of which vary from the original levels in minor details, as well as a level editor tutorial level.
The Times Exclusive
The Times, in association with Core Design, designed a one-off special level to celebrate the discovery of Tutankhamen's Tomb. This single level is freely available for download.
