Atlantean Centaur

Atlantean centaurs are enemies that appear in Tomb Raider, Tomb Raider: Unfinished Business and Tomb Raider: Anniversary. In TR1, they resemble Half-Man, Half-Horse hybrids, but have no skin. In TRA, however, they have monstrous torsoes and a horse-head, as well as having skin.

Appearance
The centaurs look much like their Atlantean cousins: red, fleshy skin, muscles showing etc. They look like a regular Atlantean Soldier, but replace the legs with a horse body. In Anniversary, they lack pupils from their eyes, as does every enemy in Anniversary, so that is more than likely an error than an actual thing. Also in Anniversary, their heads look much more like horses but smaller than those of the Atlantean Soldiers.

Tactics
In Tomb Raider, the centaurs usually stand still and shoot their fireballs at Lara. They only move when Lara is out of range. They have a quite a lot of health. Side-flipping left and right while shooting is the best way to take them down, if they're alone. They explode once defeated.

In Tomb Raider: Anniversary, these centaurs in the Tomb of Tihocan run at very high speeds, attempting to stomp on Lara as well as pelting her with fireballs. They have far more health than the average atlantean and are capable of quickly sapping Lara's health away. Here, they have the ability to turn Lara into stone with their greenish colored energy when they get enraged the first time. This can be avoided by looking away from them. Though, if Lara does end up turning into stone, the player must repeatedly move the joystick left and right to break free. When they are enraged the second time, one of them will charge towards Lara. Successfully perform the adrenaline dodge and use the grappling hook to disarm the stunned centaur of his shield. Now Lara can use the shield to have the centaur turn itself into stone. Shoot the stone centaur until it's dead and repeat the process with the other centaur. While they are first encountered as bosses in front of the Tomb of Tihocan, they later appear as regular enemies in Atlantis.

Tomb Raider

 * Tomb of Tihocan
 * Sanctuary of the Scion
 * Atlantis
 * The Great Pyramid

Tomb Raider: Unfinished Business

 * Atlantean Stronghold
 * The Hive

Tomb Raider: Anniversary

 * Greece - Tomb of Tihocan
 * Egypt - Obelisk of Khamoon
 * Egypt - Sanctuary of the Scion
 * Lost City - Final Conflict

Development
In a September 4th build of the original Tomb Raider, all Atlantean Centaurs are untextured at this point in development, appearing only in flat red or white colours. In The Great Pyramid, a lone centaur can be found in the chamber housing the Scion. In the final version, no centaurs appeared in The Great Pyramid, though the enemy can still be found in the level's WAD.

Trivia

 * It was rumored that the Centaurs along with all the other Atlantean creatures were going to return in Underworld, only two of these were true: Jacqueline Natla and the Doppelgänger.
 * While the Centaurs in the Tomb of Tihocan are bosses in TRA, they are not really bosses in TR1 since the rest of the centaurs encountered later in the game are just as tough as them.

Appearances

 * Tomb Raider: Featuring Lara Croft (First appearance)
 * Tomb Raider: Unfinished Business
 * Tomb Raider: Anniversary