BelatedGamer

It's cool, good work with the soundtrack! I'll be purchasing a copy of the PSX version later today -- no guarantees as to whether it will actually work or when it will get here, but it's not a huge amount of money so I'm taking the plunge. I'll keep you informed once I get it. I definitely plan to play through it and give you a rundown on how close it is to the original plans to adapt The Demiurge. I might record at least some of my play as well if I can figure out how, seeing as there's very little gameplay footage online.

As for supernatural elements in Tomb Raider -- you may as well start with the first game. It takes some really unexpected turns if you were expecting something typical of the genre. Without spoiling anything for you; I guarantee the very first "tomb" in the game will have an area that you aren't expecting. It's a very surreal experience when you first get to that part, I'm confident that you'll know what I'm talking about once you reach it and that it'll have a good chance of hooking you if you're looking for the unexpected. The game also takes a hard dive into horror later on, almost like some kind of fantasy Cronenberg. I played TR1 for the first time a couple years ago expecting something relatively grounded so lots of elements from the game were downright disorienting when I encountered them. I can't speak for whether or not the remake of TR1 kept those elements, I haven't played it yet. Sorry if this actually got resolved in the chat, I paused the video to note this down while it was still fresh in my mind!

Hm I'm not sure I have the technical know-how to run a PC game of that era, especially considering I'm on a mac. If it isn't on dosbox or GoG then I'll probably have trouble; that's why I'm considering the PS1 version (which is still relatively hard to find in America even in physical form). But if you can play it then by all means I would love to hear about it.

I've considered buying a copy for some time out of curiosity, but finding a copy isn't as cheap as I would prefer. I'll consider it with my next paycheck though and report back whenever it comes in. It does look somewhat generic but Cryo hasn't disappointed me in the past when it comes to weird games from them, plus odd clunky PS1 games are sort of my thing.

Yeah, Aeon and Trevor look similar to their movie counterparts, but the game is otherwise mostly based off the series. They actually wear their original outfits in the game, and the Bregna troops look how they did in the show as well. There are plot points from the movie in there, but it's mixed in with episodic levels reminiscent of the animated show and none of the plots in the game are taken directly from either the show or the movie. It's a very surreal mix but it works. For instance; the weird reincarnation/cloning plot from the movie is present in the game, but it's used to good effect as the plot actually takes place over hundreds of years as the characters scheme and kill each other; each level is its own mostly self-contained storyline on the timeline. There's a killer fashion show level, one where you have to sabotage Trevor's amoral human experimentation labs, one where you have to run across the border to meet with Aeon's sister, etc. It's not quite as well written as the show but the tone and aesthetics are all there, there's even hidden audio logs and videos you can find to flesh out the world. The gameplay is kind of reminiscent of Devil May Cry I guess -- a mix of gunplay and hack and slash where you perform finishing moves to replenish health. There's a fair bit of free-running and platforming and puzzle elements as well. The game is nothing groundbreaking but I have a big soft spot for it because it's clear the designers actually cared and it so often gets dismissed because people think it's purely based on the terrible film. The trailer they released ( ) gets the message across well; classic Bregna troops, action very reminiscent of the series, bug droids, Aeon dies. If you ignore Charlize Theron's likeness it's almost perfect.

Not only that, but the fact that Raven Software was behind it was a huge point in its favor from the start. Raven was an established developer with a lot of FPS experience at the time, whereas so often these licensed products are given to shovelware companies that only survive off of making sub-par games to cash in on trends. But Raven was proven as a company dedicated to good games first and foremost.

Well Ross did say that one of his biggest problems is when tie-in games rehash the plot of the movies, which in your examples only Goldeneye does. And even with that one it's not a big deal because the game really only skims over the plot to deliver a lot of action. Those are all examples of really good games though, I've always found the stigma unfair because most commonly used examples of bad licensed games only include the really bad ones like Superman 64, and stuff based off of kids films where they typically don't have much to work with anyway. They tend to gloss over the good ones. Even Star Trek -- which has a reputation for bad licensed games -- actually has at least half a dozen kickass titles I can list off the top of my head.

Actually there was an official Aeon Flux video game for the PS2. It was mostly based off the animated series with a few elements from the film thrown in -- you can tell the developers were fans of the show and only included the movie elements because it was technically supposed to be a tie-in. I own the game, it's actually shockingly good. Not the most amazing thing ever, but fun and faithful to the show. Right down to the fact that Aeon dies at the end of some of the levels.