Ambitious and challenging

Being a huge Tomb Raider fan and wanting a challenging game for the Color Gameboy, I opted to add this to my collection. One major thing I noticed from the get-go was the lighting. TR utilizes a mix of high resolution images and therefore may seem rather dark. The Gameboy does not have a contrast wheel so you'll need strong lighting in order to be able to see the screen in certain scenes. The actual gameplay is challenging not only skill wise but also in lighting. You'll need a good light source (strong natural lighting or external lighting) in order to keep up with the sprite. The sprite of Lara is bigger than most and the animation is incredible compared to many GB games. It will take some time to get used to the controls - the makers went through a lot of trouble to cram as many maneuvers in to one game and not all of the moves are intuitive. This may prove to be frustrating at first. Luckily there are plenty of save "gems" which is useful especially in the higher levels. You'll start to notice more frequency in save options. Enemies are easily dispatched with the auto-targeting and with the variety of weapon options. Lara has an unlimited supply of ammo with her regular guns but can pick up power-ups (heavy duty ammo and quick shooting ammo). There are plenty of medipaks to be picked up and dynamite is available to blow up doors that can't be opened with switches. If you accidentally use dynamite to open something that can't be easily blown up, another stick can be typically found just around the corner.

There is a lot of travelling that has to be done and some may seem redundant. Good memory or excellent note taking will be a plus since you may end up going back to a room that you visited earlier in each area.

Area's are typically broken up in to 3 sections (A,B, and C) and you'll move from upper levels to the Caverns. The controls seemed a tad buggy at times. Your inventory screen can be accessed with a press of a button but sometimes it doesn't respond and may require certain movements in order to get it to do what you want. Timing is everything especially in the final stages. You definitely want to make sure you get the run, jump and hold maneuver down. Unlike the console game versions - there is no practice area so it may take a few times before you can do a move without throwing yourself off a ledge thus plunging to your death. Be sure to utilize the option to look around you - response may vary depending upon where your avatar is but its a game where you definitely want to look before you leap!

The actual ambient lighting in this game is remarkable.

A side-scrolling game very much like Prince of Persia, this game is challenging and the perfect eye-candy even for the smallish screen of a Gameboy.