Tomb Raider: Anniversary Update 5

St. Francis Folly:

• Did the original level also not have an apostrophe somewhere in the name?
• The beginning is ok, I suppose. Got mauled a bit on the way to the movement puzzle. I'm still using the pistols, as is my habit. I should probably look into the shotgun since it used to make big animals go down in one or two shots.
• Maybe I'm the only one, but I found the "push around a huge globe" puzzles to be more frustrating than rewarding in Legend. Not really feeling the fun here either.
• Shooting jewels = keys? Yuck. I hope they didn't screw up Palace Midas like this.
• Never did figure out how to open the gate to the secret in the first area. I have some ideas now, but will have to replay it later.
• The main room with its huge central column has been mostly straightforward. I'm still working on how to access the last two rooms, but haven't been completely stymied anywhere.
• Hephaestus room - This is the old Thor room with its electric orb and giant hammer. The puzzle is not that elaborate. The magic disco floor is really kind of annoying, but passable. The hammer bit was amazingly easy.
• The trickiest part was getting out, but I figured the trick out by just standing and looking at what was happening instead of actually attempting to go through the door. That might be a point in favor of the game there -- observing and thinking wins the day.
• I was amused when I pulled the switch and the door fell down instead of opening. Cute, but I hope it only happens once.
• Atlas room - Ok, I admit I didn't see the *ahem* the first time and got squished. Instead I tried to jump under the trap the other direction, thinking this might be a place where leaping into apparent danger would pay off. Wrong. When I did go the right direction, so to speak, I still got squished but saw where I should have been on the way down to my death.
• Also found a secret, which was barely concealed at all. Guys, it is not much of a secret when it glows and the glow shows through obstacles.
• I've unlocked the Damocles room but haven't accessed it.
• The movement up and down the column and along the walls has been quite reasonable, I think. I've gotten the nasty twist in my stomach when I've almost fallen off a ledge or let Lara stray too far in a jump. That's precisely the sense of danger I wanted to feel, and the checkpoints are just about far enough to make falling a deterrent to letting Lara die capriciously. I think they could be a bit less numerous, but that's just me, I suppose.
• They could have fewer checkpoints as a way to change difficulty. I wonder if I'll ever read the manual to see what it says about difficulty levels?