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Perusing Pixels is a photo diary of my expedition through the Tomb Raider series. Use the links to the right to find a particular game or level, or see below for the latest post.

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Saturday 25 February 2012

Catacombs of the Talion

I don’t know whether this level is incredibly short or if it just seems that way because of the previous level, Barkhang Monastery, which may have well been its own game for the time it took me to complete it.  People have speedrun the entire of Tomb Raider Legend in less time (although admittedly that’s not saying much).

Whatever the actual length of this level was, I was grateful for its perceived shortness.  This was partly because I didn’t want another seven weeks to pass without updating this blog and partly because I BLOODY HATE YETIS, and Catacombs of the Talion seems to delight in cramming them in every dark corner it has (that is, when these dark corners aren’t harbouring a giant pack of snow leopards).

Using the Seraph, Lara unlocks some catacombs deep within Barkhang Monastery and begins her search for the Talion (which apparently she’s looking for now (yeah, no-one told me either)).

A suffocating side-angle view of Lara greets us as we begin Catacombs of the Talion.

 

One of the many dark pits Catacombs invites you to venture into (a invitation I politely decline whenever possible).

 

Actually, I don’t think there’s that many yetis in this level – maybe five? – but I took about 200 pictures of this one which explains my confusion.  On the plus side, this level was largely boring photographically-speaking (to be honest, it was no trip to the carnival gameplay-wise either), so the following images serve as good padding for what could end up as one of my shorter level entries.

Anyway, I love the way this yeti looks in this photo.  Kind of like he’s doing some kind of marching dance. "Is this the way to Amarillo?…”

 

That’s the worst attempt at a piggy-back I’ve ever seen.

 

Oh, the horrifying terror.  On a side note, why on earth would a yeti have dreadlocks?

…actually, I suppose out of all the hairstyles a yeti would sport, dreadlocks make the most sense.  Your logic has bested me again, Core Design.

 

Another deadly dance in the yeti’s repertoire is the human baton-twirl.

 

Yeah, alright, you killed me.  No need to burst into song.

 

This may look like a thrilling action shot of Lara narrowly avoiding the pounce of a cultist, but actually he just died in that position.  Like a corpse canopy.  That kind of decoration would work well in Vilcabamba.

 

Betwixt escaping rolling snowmen and shooting yetis, Lara finds time to do a little shopping.  “This’ll do for Winston’s Hallowe’en costume…”.

 

Hey look!  It’s a sheer wall of ice, like the one Natla promised you’d get in Peru, but you never did, which was most likely due to budget constraints, knowing Natla Tech.  Natla probably blended up the ‘wall of ice’ fund with some yoghurt and used it as a face-mask.

 

This was an awful room.  It was pitch-black and all you could hear were screaming yetis.

 

At least this level ends in a slightly more cheery corridor than the last one.

 

Well, 59:09 isn’t a particularly swift level time, so I suppose this level wasn’t as short as I thought…

…still longer than a speedrun of Legend though!  Hahahahaha!

Oh, how I love bashing Legend.  See you in Ice Palace.

3 comments:

  1. Oh god, that screaming yeti darkness room scares the bajeezus out of me every time.

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  2. Levels in Tibet are fantastic, I love this location. I remember time when Yetties scared me so much that I wasn't able to move but now I can play with them for hours... they are like Winston - scary and lovely at one time:)

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  3. Not my favorite Tibetan level, but I still remember my panic in this dark room the first time I played it :-D

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