Tomb Raider: The Dagger of Xian Demo
At the end of August 2017, Nicobass released the long-awaited demo to his remake of 1997's Tomb Raider II, his version simply titled Tomb Raider: The Dagger of Xian.
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If you like Crystal Dynamics' earliest efforts at Tomb Raider games then you'll probably enjoy Nicobass' demo as it is more than just inspired by them. Elements from Core Design's classics have also been employed. Pleasingly though, there are no painfully obvious white ledges telling you exactly where to go as in Crystal Dynamics' games.
For a one-person effort, the results in this remake are extremely impressive. The demo has the feel of a well polished professionally made game. The loading screen artwork by Inna Vjuzhanina is quite beautiful and consistently captures the Great Wall Nicobass has created in the game. Cutscene sequences are used on occasion and to good effect in making the player's experience a little more interesting. |
Music is used sparingly, allowing the ambient sounds the chance to shine, creating a pleasant, memorable and immersive atmosphere.
Speaking of music, Dean Kopri's score is well suited to the kind of game Nicobass has presented us with. Finally Out is my personal favourite track in the demo, echoing Nathan McCree's original A Long Way Up. |
If one bothers to check Lara's diary, Lara (voiced by Jennifer Milward) will have something to say about her surroundings, thankfully without dropping any significant hints about what to do next.
Visuals are excellent and I found the Great Wall itself to be the highlight and centrepiece of the whole level, an experience completed by the atmospheric ambience I mentioned above. |
Puzzles are not particularly challenging however and the only real challenge in the demo is the trial and error of getting Lara to jump where the player thinks she might need to go.
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The inventory items are wonderfully faithful to their 1997 counterparts. I found myself smiling in delight at seeing that the flares were charmingly the same as the original. In addition, the secret dragons can no longer can be mistaken for ducks!
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Neither easy nor hard, the combat system is of course very much the same as in Crystal Dynamics' early Tomb Raider games. The spider enemies certainly create a sense of urgency if Lara gets too close. They will jump on her arms and cling there until she rolls, dislodging them.
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Another thing I appreciated in this demo was the inclusion of some dead-ends which was a staple of Core Design's games where they would create a pathway or room which Lara could go to and explore only to find that there is little of interest to see or do save for maybe a pickup or two.
The diaries Lara discovers from various skeletal corpses are engaging and add more to the story which the original Tomb Raider II was lacking somewhat. Although I do think these diaries (and the loading screen text) could've been a little betterly written considering the high quality of the rest of the game. All in all, Nicobass has without a doubt produced something special with this game and I think there's something for everyone to enjoy here. In my opinion, this demo is more along the lines more or less of what the Tomb Raider series should be like today. |
We're looking forward to seeing more from Tomb Raider: The Dagger of Xian, Nicobass!
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Written by Kaejaris
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