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Review
The names of the TR levels have often left a lot to be desired. "Lost Valley",
"Caves", "Jungle", "Antartica", "Venice", and "South Pacific" are just some of Core's uninspired default titles, evidently left included in the final product because no-one could match the more suave musings of a backroom boy working on Quake or Goldeneye. "Obelisk of Khamoon" then must rank as one of the better TR level titles. Anything to make the young bucks of this world take their eyes away from the screen for 5 minutes and go consult a dictionary. I can just imagine the shrill voices of those refusing to undertake such a chore ; "Mum, what's an obbawhisk?". Despite the welcome inclusion of a title that's more MTV than CBBC, you have to wonder why this level constitutes being labelled an 'obelisk', and the previous area does not. Furthermore, what exactly qualifies that same previous level to be judged 'a city', and not this level? It seems Lara Croft has just as much a license to kill as the people behind her have an artistic license.
Irrelevancies aside, the concluding part to the Khamoon saga is another worthy addition to TR1's gallery of classic stages. It deserves 9 out of 10 for the artwork alone, which is brash, brave, creative, and luscious. Every room seems to have something different to look at. What I'm most impressed with are the occasional appearances of green vines. They compliment the yellow and gold perfectly and give some areas the look of an indoor desert oasis. If the 'city' should have been played listening to Martin Kemp singing 80's music, I'd suggest that a good pena colada with an umbrella be your journey's companion for the Obelisk. Pause every now and then and take a sip.
Although there are no new enemies in the level, we do at least get some new keys. A very observant person might have finished the previous level and wondered why he hadn't had to fill the four keyholes found at the beginning. Most people though (and that includes me) would have completely forgotten about this and been very impressed to find themselves come full circle at the end of the 2nd part. It's a wonderful moment to experience, a moment made even more special by the timely arrival of one of those ghostly TR1 tunes that pop up every once in a while. The music deserves credit not just here but throughout the rest of the level too. Examples include the playing of the TR theme at the beginning, and also the somewhat racy track which comes on right after you've spent half an hour shimmying around the outside of a huge room because to drop down immedietely would kill you.
I have to raise a smile at the way those four main keys have been designed though. The 'Ankh' looks like a voodoo doll of Kenny from South Park, the 'seal of anubis' a straw dinner mat, and the 'eye of horus' like quite a few things. On the one hand you could look at it and see a very futuristic sub machine gun. You also wouldn't be totally losing your marbles if you decided it looked more like one of those microwavable dinners that come in plastic cases.
How can I possibly describe that huge pole that much of the level is centred around? Well, because of the four wooden doors that fall down away from each of its sides, I shall name it a 'quad-pole'. The quad-pole is an extremely intuitive commodity for the designers to have in their locker. It's the perfect tool for a game of this nature, and enables some of the finest brainstorming to be realised. How appropriate though that the hardest of the four doors to drag down is the one with the scarab key sat behind it. We can look back at this with a glint of irony given what would happen later on in the series. For now the scarab is just how I've described it - a key. But little did TR1 players know where this would lead.
Qualities are immense in the 'Obelisk of Khamoon'. Hats off to the little windows that enable you to see parts of the area you've either been to or haven't yet been too. Hail too the boneyman whose place of dwelling is a room that looks like its played host to Cinderella's tea party. Perhaps the big oafs are as harmless as little doggies at heart and only jump up at Lara because they're pleased to see her. Myself? Well I'm always pleased to see her when she discovers places like this 9/10
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