Techtite's PC Game Reviews!

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"The Anti-Lara Croft syndrome...?" 

It seems Eidos/Core is a bit gunshy about releasing any more games with a voluptuous heroin in the lead role. In this game, half the team is filled with women, though you'd never know it. Amber the cyborg is about as feminine as Arnold Schwarzenegger. As for Minoko, well, let's just say her character model could use a rounded polygon here and there.

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Need game hints?

You may wish to consider purchasing:

Project Eden: Prima's Official Strategy Guide

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Eidos/Core have created a big name in the game industry, via their Tomb Raider series. However, two limitations in this popular series keep coming up. First, there's the need for multiplayer, or even co-op play. The second is if they can make such a game without jumping puzzles ad nauseum. Project Eden is the answer to those questions, and while I would've probably preferred a new Tomb Raider in 2001, this game is just as good.

The setting is a future metropolis, where humankind has built up and away from its antiquated past. People now live in huge skyscrapers that tower into the sky, while older, 20th century buildings lie in ruins on "ground level." The only people who still live on those ground levels are street gangs, cults, and...well, it wouldn't be much of a game if there wasn't a mutant or two, would it? Keeping things in check is the Urban Protection Agency, who are trained to handle intense situations like this. Your team's first case involves kidnapped lab technicians, whose disappearance, as you'd expect, is not as simple as it would seem.

In fact, their disappearance involves DNA experiments gone awry, which is half the challenge in this action thriller. The resulting game feels sort of like a cross between Logan's Run and Resident Evil; you explore deeper and deeper into the broken down, forgotten underworld of the city --excellently visualized, thanks to an upgraded Tomb Raider game engine-- to find the source of the mutant problem, and correct it. Of course, the deeper you go, the weirder the mutants become. Get ready to see harmless rats mutate into huge monsters with scorpion tails that shoot acid. Some of these creatures may have been a bit too tough for my tastes (you must continuously fire at some, while some can kill you instantly), though all your weapons are energy based, and there are power refill stations everywhere, so running out of ammo is rarely a problem.

This is where the fun begins; each member of your team has a unique skill, specific to each puzzle you may face. Amber, the not-so-feminine female cyborg, is immune to any environmental hazards (gas, fire, steam, and so on), so she is the person to send into hazardous rooms until the hazard is repaired. Andre is an electrical whiz, who can fix almost anything in no time; computers, doors, heavy machinery, and so on. Minoko is a computer hacker, who can tap into any mainframe with relative ease. The team is led by Carter, who alone has the seniority to access certain code locks, as well as make key interviews with suspects (some suspects will only talk with the team leader). Each level usually involves getting the right team member to the right location for the job. I particularly liked how Minoko can hack into nearby security cannons, thereby turning the tables on your enemies and getting to shoot at them with their own firepower!

Adding to the fun are skills that all team members have, as well as skills you can assign to any of them you choose. At times the UPA boss will "beam down" to you (so to speak) new equipment, which you can get at nearby supply terminals, and assign to the team member of choice. Some of these traits are given to all 4 teammates (the flycam, for example, can remotely fly to a hard-to-reach switch), while others are given to whoever activated the supply terminal. I found each of these tools very unique, and far different from the typical gun, shotgun, and bazooka of the more typical action games.

The best part of all this are the "regen stations." Exploration in this game is half the fun, and the game designers cut you some slack in this department, via UPA regeneration stations scattered throughout each level. If any character dies in battle (or by accident, like a fall of a tall ledge), they will regenerate at the last regen station they visited. I found myself using the tired save/restore/repeat rule much less in this game, and that's a good thing. Even better, your team's AI in this game is actually very good, and by the time you get the regenerated teammate back to his or her comrades, they probably have eliminated the problem by themselves. If they haven't...well, at least you'll be back at the regen station together, to start things off again.

These regen stations are important, because there's a lot of lifelike realism in this game, for better or worse. This goes above and beyond the fact that your team is more vulnerable to mutant attacks than they are to you. No member of your team is an Olympic gymnast, meaning there are no jumping puzzles in this game. In fact, there's no jumping of any kind; your team is so top-heavy with cybernetic attachments, they couldn't even jump a few inches over a simple crack in the floor. This adds some challenge to the game, of course, though also means for added puzzles, to cross a chasm that Lara Croft would jump across with ease. I would've probably liked a feature later in the game, that allowed Amber to use a rocket jetpack or something, though...whatever. On the brighter side of things, Lara always had to worry about gun ammo, while the UPA's energy weapons need only a recharge station. When that fails, they can use a spare energy pack, if they have one.

As for multiplayer modes, you can choose the typical deathmatch play, or, better yet, co-op play. Either mode translates well for Playstation 2, since use of only the four main characters leads to the best multiplayer games. PC gamers, of course, have the added fun of playing with anyone, anywhere, via the internet. Co-op is especially fun, with each player having a specific skill. Deathmatch is an equal challenge, since only Andre can repair items, only Minoko can hack into those nearby gun turrets, only Carter has high security clearance, and only Amber can walk through fire and gas hazards with ease.

This is obviously an intriguing game, with admirable AI, inspired skills for each character, and 11 gigantic, Tomb-Raider-sized levels to explore. However, there are a few gripes that forced me to reluctantly keep this game from Deep Impact status. This includes an AI bug, that would automatically switch a character to use a pea-shooter weapon, when I had set them to use a stronger one (in other words, they won't live long against a tougher enemy). It would also have been nice if AI was smart enough to run-and-shoot at an enemy, and not just stand-like-a-dummy-and-shoot. The story itself is impressive, though (not giving anything major away here) it only elaborates on one teammate's past, and I would've preferred a broader look into all 4 teammates. Last --though, arguably, least-- I'm a bit miffed that the folks that gave us the voluptuous Lara Croft made the two females of the game look so gangly and unremarkable (Why isn't Amber outfitted like some sort of female Robocop, complete with titanium "hourglass figure"?).

Regardless of these grumblings, this is still a great offering from the Tomb Raider gang. As I said before, I would've preferred a new Tomb Raider for the holidays (she's been a mainstay of the holiday season since 1996!), though this is a nice treat as well. If this is a sign of what we can look forward to in Tomb Raider: The Next Generation, count me in!