Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation

Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation is the fourth video game in the Tomb Raider series. It was developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. It was released on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation and eventually to the Sega Dreamcast with exclusive graphical and sound enhancements.

Plot Summary
The story begins with Lara Croft's teenaged tomb-raiding origins, accompanied by her former mentor Werner Von Croy. They travel to a Khmer temple in Angkor Wat, Cambodia in the hope of finding the mystical "Iris". However, the trip is cut short by an accident where Lara is forced to abandon her companion in order to save her own life. Back in the year 1999 in Egypt (this is the only game in the series to keep the globe-hopping to a minimum, aside from the prequel level the entire game takes place in one country), Lara Croft uncovers an ancient tomb where the fearsome Egyptian God Set 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 Set himself and he makes things considerably more difficult. Lara travels across Egypt to collect the pieces of Horus's armour in order to defeat Set. They are found in Pharos, Temple of Isis, Temple of Poseidon and Cleopatra's Palaces. She combines them (with the Amulet of Horus) in the Temple of Horus to finally defeat her enemy. However before Horus can be summoned, Set 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 Set imprisoned for eternity. As she reaches the exit of the temple, injured and exhausted, 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.

Storyline
"I Semerkhet, High Priest of Horus, forewarn that he who removes the Amulet shall have released Set. He who walked abroad with the Jackals at the dawn of man shall once again violate the Earth".

"Set, ruler of evil, will again be free at the turn of a distant millennia. At his heel plagues and locusts. Harvests fail under the broken skies".

And Set sayeth:

"I am the shadows across the sun: I am the bringer of plagues. My wrath will consume all lands, and shall be ceaseless."

The story begins in 1984 when a sixteen year old Lara Croft is on an expedition to Angkor Wat in Cambodia at the Temple of the Iris. Lara follows Werner Von Croy, her mentor, through the various traps and pitfalls of the area and soon discovers a crawlspace containing a skeleton of another unlucky archaeologist and takes possession of a familiar looking backpack. They soon reach a fork in the road. They can choose to go through the Path of the Heretical or Route of The Virtuous depending on the players actions on choosing whether or not to collect 8 golden skulls scattered around the first area. Either way, Lara races Von Croy to the location of the Iris which is located inside a large globe of the earth that is opened by pressing two switches at once. Once opening the globe, Von Croy picks up the Iris but is trapped by the ankle upside down inside the mechanism as it begins to close and an earthquake causes the tomb to collapse. Lara initially tries to help him but leaves when she realizes that the tomb is caving in. In December 1999, Lara and a guide make their way across the Kings Valley and open up a gateway into the tomb of Set, which consists of a series of sloping caverns that dig deep into the ground. After using the Time of Sands hourglass to drain a room of sand her guide flees once reading some inscriptions that warn of the dangers ahead. Collecting two golden pieces of an amulet, she is able to form the Eye of Horus which grants her passage to the Burial Chamber where she finds the sarcophagus in the center of his tomb. Lara then takes the Amulet Of Horus, an artifact she has been searching for for some time, and as she does an unearthly light pierces out of the sarcophagus from where she placed it and blood pours from the bottom into channels on all four sides. She makes her way out of the tomb and reads the inscriptions written on the amulet, realizing she is too late and that she has just unleashed the dark god from his slumber and unleashed Armageddon onto the rest of humanity. At that point she is interrupted by her guide who, with a gun to her head, demands the amulet. An explosion knocks him backward and although she manages to turn the tables on him a jeep arrives causing a sandstorm to divert her attention allowing him to escape. Lara then chases him in another jeep across the desert until landing in a boat on the Nile. Von Croy arrives too late to catch her and the guide warns him of the danger posed by the amulet.

Lara arrives at the home of her friend Jean-Yves who informs her from ancient scrolls that details the means to secure Set's imprisonment once again. She must travel to the Tomb of Semerkhet at Karnak to collect the armour of Horus and perform a ceremony to awaken the deity that once before imprisoned his foe. Once there, she navigates back and forth the temple, the Great Hopostyle Hall and the Sacred Lake where she combines the Sun Disk and Sun Goddess to open a way to the tomb of Semerkhet placing the amulet at the entrance to open it up. She encounters Seth but he ignores her. Von Croy appears and she engages him a gunfight and he decides to retest her sprinting skills by removing the amulet from its place trapping her inside. Now trapped inside she must battle the spirit of Semerkhet in a game of Senet and delving further down learns that she must perform the ceremony to summon Horus at the eve of December 31st when the constellation of Horus’s falcon comes into prominence. This is to be done at the Temple of Horus and have the armour placed on a stone statue of him. Further deeper down the tomb Lara discovers a detailed map of Egypt which gives here a key to continue on her journey but also an an invincible and deadly bull that she tricks into letting her escape by breaking down walls and passages. Lara climbs out of the tomb and sneaks up behind her former guide and puts both pistols to the back of the guide's head. He reluctantly reveals that Von Croy is on his way to Alexandria. Taking his robes and clothing she finds herself on a train headed to the city while Seth consumes him back at the tomb entrance. Jumping from carriage to carriage and battling Von Croys henchmen she makes her way to Alexandria after detaching the front of the train from the other carriages. Here she meets Jean-Yves who tells her that the pieces Horus armour are scattered around the area where including the nearby Catacombs and the remnants of Cleopatra's Palaces which are under attack by Von Croys men and diggers. Going back and forth between a run down theme park, catacombs, a temple devoted to Poseidon, the Lost Library of Alexandria, temples devoted to Demetrius of Phaleron and Isis and finally the Palace of Cleopatra. During these exploits she battles reanimated skeletons, a metal horseman, ninjas, an air wraith and meets Von Croy again who disregards the coming Armageddon seeing the Amulet, Armour and ceremonial tablet as being only of archaeological value. While in Cleopatra’s palace she accidentally awakens guardians while trying out the throne for size and finds the very last piece of armour and returns to Yves study at night to find the place in disarray and a note left by Von Croy indicating that he has taken her friend hostage in Cairo in exchange for the armour. Von Croys crew are attacked by a horde of locust and he soon becomes an avatar for Set.

Upon reaching Cairo (specifically the Islamic district) she travels back and forth the city, The Mosque of Ibn Tulun, a citadel, trenches and a bazzar. Here she battles a minotaur, Egyptian soldiers, giant mutant scarab beetles, crocodiles, a water wraith, zombie crusaders and also a large dragon which blocks her path. An Egyptian sergeant called Azizas sacrifices himself by driving a truck full of explosives thus killing the beast after Lara meets his comrades. After freeing Jean-Yves from his prison she meets the Set controlled Von Croy inside the Citadel who offers her immortality and the power over life and death in exchange for her worshiping her. She declines and instead retrieves the Amulet of Horus. When in Giza, she descends into the depths of a sphinx complex collecting the four holy scriptures before making her way to Menkaure’s Pyramid where she battles elephant sized scorpions saving one of her friends in the process from there she finally makes her way to the Temple of Horus located deep in the pyramid of Khufu wherein she assembles the holy scriptures, armour, amulet and summons Horus. Just as Horus is able to fully take control of the avatar, Set arrives, interrupting the procedure by taking physical form and battles Lara. Knowing she cannot fight a god, instead seals him in the tomb for all eternity. On her way back as the temple crumbles Lara encounters Von Croy at the entrance and her reluctance to take his hand leads to her downfall as she becomes trapped inside.

Features
The game features many new moves. Lara can now grab a 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 installment has a smoother, more refined appearance prior to the previous installments. This is due to moving and flexible joints between meshes, creating a more realistic approach to the heroine.

In this game, Lara has the ability to return to previous levels, with some levels taking place in a non-linear order. She also has the option of taking different routes through some of the levels, each with their own set of challenges.

Instead of the previously used "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.

Characters

 * Lara Croft - Hired anonymously to raid an unopened tomb at the Valley of the Kings in Egypt.
 * Werner Von Croy - Lara's former mentor who later becomes possessed by Set.
 * Set - The evil Egyptian god who Lara unwittingly releases when removing the Amulet of Horus.
 * Jean-Yves - An archaeological friend of Lara. He helps Lara by giving her valuable information.
 * Ahmed Ben Trayal - A guide hired by Von Croy to lead Lara into Set's tomb and later betray her.
 * Azizas - A sergeant in the Egyptian Army who assists Lara in getting into the Citadel in Cairo.
 * Saida - A soldier in the Egyptian Army who was killed by a creature from Set's army of darkness.
 * Horus - The Egyptian god of light who defeated Set and imprisoned him in a secret tomb.
 * Semerkhet - Horus's high priest during the time of plagues.

Levels
Cambodia King's Valley: Karnak: Alexandria: Cairo: Pyramids of Giza:
 * 1 - Angkor Wat
 * 2 - The Race for the Iris
 * 3 - The Tomb of Seth
 * 4 - Burial Chambers
 * 5 - Valley of the Kings
 * 6 - KV5
 * 7 - Temple of Karnak
 * 8 - The Great Hypostyle Hall
 * 9 - Sacred Lake
 * 10 - Tomb of Semerkhet
 * 11 - Guardian of Semerkhet
 * 12 - Desert Railroad
 * 13 - Alexandria
 * 14 - Coastal Ruins
 * 15 - Catacombs
 * 16 - Temple of Poseidon
 * 17 - The Lost Library
 * 18 - Hall of Demetrius
 * 19 - Pharos, Temple of Isis
 * 20 - Cleopatra's Palaces
 * 21 - City of the Dead
 * 22 - Chambers of Tulun
 * 23 - Citadel Gate
 * 24 - Trenches
 * 25 - Street Bazaar
 * 26 - Citadel
 * 27 - Sphinx Complex
 * 28 - Underneath the Sphinx
 * 29 - Menkaure's Pyramid
 * 30 - Inside Menkaure's Pyramid
 * 31 - The Mastabas
 * 32 - The Great Pyramid
 * 33 - Khufu's Queen's Pyramids
 * 34 - Inside the Great Pyramid
 * 35 - Temple of Horus

Sega Dreamcast Exclusive Content
The Sega Dreamcast version of Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation included a remix of the main theme by Paul Oakenfold and a Gallery option at the main menu. As the player progresses through the game, more images are unlocked. The images consist of exclusive artwork and higher quality screenshots of the game's FMVs.

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 in-house design tools for any of the Tomb Raider series.

Beta Version
Several levels included in the final version of the game underwent changes as development proceeded. The most noticeable change was to The Lost Library which was used as a demo. Although the main room remained, the layout of the rest of the level was drastically changed. Other possible beta levels are included with the Tomb Raider Level Editor.

The Times Exclusive


The Times, in association with Core Design, designed a one-off special level to celebrate the finding of Tutankhamun's Tomb.

Voice Actress
Jonell Elliott replaced Judith Gibbins as the voice of Lara Croft. She would voice Lara over the next two installments before Keeley Hawes took over in Tomb Raider: Legend. Judith Gibbins voiced Lara in both Tomb Raider II & III.