A must buy ...
The graphics looks good. It's a lot better than most side-scrolling games out there. And although the textures tend to get quite repetitive, it doesn't reach the point that you'll get bored looking at the same old textures because the game does an excellent job of changing the scenery after only a few minutes of gameplay (3-5 minutes per level). And for those who are wondering why this game is not in full 3d. Given that the DS screen is too small, plus the fact that its using low res, turning the game into full 3d is going to be a disaster especially with the likes of Tomb Raider where timing and accuracy is critical. So you'll just probably spend most of your time trying to zoom in/out and rotating the camera trying to see where you should go next. And that's also one of the main reasons why a lot of 3rd person games get shifted to side-scrolling when released in the DS. If some 3rd person games have camera issues when played on the PC or home consoles, how much more on the DS'es tiny screen? Mario 64 this is not.
The cinematics are also quite impressive (not to mention that there's a very good amount of 'em in the game), the video isn't as blocky as most games but the audio in my opinion is already on the low quality side. If it wasn't for the subtitles, I probably missed half of their dialogue because it sometimes already sound garbled. And it's quite obvious how they wanted to show off Lara's "assets" since the camera tend to pan and/or focus on her "good sides".
Given that I'm only on the early stages of the game, I think it's already safe to say that the game is probably as good as it can get on a DS unit. It plays pretty much as what you'd expect out from a Tomb Raider game. You leap, hang on ledges, climb ropes/chains, do acrobatic moves, swim, etc etc. It's all in there. What is really great about it however is that the stages are well designed. And you even get rewarded by exploring because it will allow you to grab a couple of items that unlocks extras like concept arts. There's also a mix of puzzle solving in the game, plus the occasional back-tracking. The action sequence is pretty cool, you can leap and shoot at the same time while dodging your enemy. However, I found it unrealistic when in takes 10 shots to down an enemy using your pistol. There's also a slow-motion effect that allows you to dodge fast falling objects, not something that hasn't been done before but it adds some excitement into the game. The camera however sometimes tend to zoom-in making you guess on what to do next. I sometimes find myself blindly jumping off a ledge (plummeting to my death) because I couldn't see where exactly I should go next.
The controls are fairly easy to use and master. You use the buttons for everything except on few occasions. You use the touchscreen to move things around or chisel artifacts when solving puzzles, and the mic to ... wait for it ... blow dirt off items.
There might not be a lot of new things on offer here, but the combination of things that has been done before was properly mixed in this one. Add to that the good looking graphics and videos, excellent level design, and a few surprises makes this a solid game. Other than the poor cinematics audio quality and long loading time that sometimes reaches 20secs, the game is in my opinion a must buy. Now let's see how the latest Prince of Persia for the DS will stack up against this title.
.:My reviews are only as good as everyone else's. Take every single one of them with a grain of salt:.