Tomb Raider fans may be unsettled by Ms. Croft’s latest adventure, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, but rest assured, the different approach to the series doesn’t come without its own set of perks. Made in the same vein as games like Baldur’s Gate or Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Guardian of Light aims to provide great action, co-op gameplay, and a new angle. Rather than an over-the-shoulder perspective that is commonly used in Tomb Raider games, this is an isometric adventure, accompanied by a new focus on cooperative play, as opposed to the usual solitary adventures.

Accompanying Lara this time out is Totec, a Mayan warrior armed with a spear and shield, allowing for some interesting new gameplay elements, complimenting the new isometric hack-and-slash focus. With the inclusion of Totec, a whole new slew of options and abilities come into play, complimenting Lara’s core abilities, and how they’re used. Lara comes with her grappling hook as was found in the more recent Tomb Raider games, but now, you’ll be able to use it to overcome long gaps, create a tight rope over gaps that you wouldn’t be able to jump over, or even grab Totec and pull him to you.

Totec brings another angle to solve various environmental challenges with his spear and shield – some challenges will have torrents of enemy fire coming your way, with the only way to overcome them being to block them with your shield, have Lara stack up behind Totec, and safely bypass the danger. Another handy ability is where you can hurl spears at a wall, allowing either you or Lara access to higher platforms, or use the spears as steps or hand-holds to traverse otherwise impassable terrain.

Throughout the game, you’ll also find artifacts that you can equip to alter your abilities – things like stronger attacks, health regeneration, or quicker cooldowns for various skills, allowing for a bit of customization to your game. While this game has a heavy emphasis on cooperative play, should you want to play the game on your own, you’ll find that it’s a slightly different experience, but not necessarily in a bad way.

Rather than running around with a second character on-screen, you’ll only be guiding Lara through the adventure, with the game story and mechanics tweaked to account for the lack of a second player. Though I didn’t get to see this mode in action, I’m told that Totec won’t be helping you out, but the story will change to something where Totec gives you his spear and shield, allowing access to some of his abilities that you’ll need to see this adventure through to the end.

Though Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light doesn’t tie into the continuity of the Tomb Raider series, it is still a Lara Croft game and it uses familiar devices, so fans of the series will still find something to enjoy. In fact, the game’s looking rather solid, promising a great challenge and some fast, kinetic action. I was a bit skeptical of the game at first, but after seeing it in action, I see that it has quite a bit of potential, and it’s something that I’m keeping an eye out for.