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Not perfect, but a lot of fun.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: May 08, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I'm somewhat surprised by the disparity in reviews of TOMB RAIDER: LEGEND. I've played through half of it so far, and I think it's a solid game. Not perfect, but a lot of fun.

I haven't played TOMB RAIDER since the very first PS1 game, so I missed the downward spiral of previous games.

The environments are great, and I think the controls are really good. I like the additional "second chance" grabs lifted from GOD OF WAR, and the interactive cinematics. In fact, I wish there were more of them. Every time I see an action cinematic I want to participate.

The puzzle solving is just tricky enough, and searching for the "gold rewards" on each level is -really- hard... but fun. Admittedly, I need the internet's help to find most of the gold prizes. I guess I'm losing my skills.

The motorcycle sequences are lame. I understand the desire to mix it up, but I'm not sure this was the way. If the driving controls were better, if the track environments were more exploratory, and if the shooting element was removed, I think it would be far more enjoyable.

I'm surprised that people are harping on the costume changes. They're non-essential, but they're fun enough. A harmless, entertaining addition, and I like it. Exploring Croft Manor, however, is a little tiresome. The climbing room was boring... I would've enjoyed more secret tunnels and riddle solving instead.

Three final gripes... 1) I wish the camera view were wider. I'm playing WideScreen on an NTSC monitor and I still wish I could see more. Another 10 degrees would've been perfect. 2) As I said, I'm halfway through the game... so it's feeling a little short. If it reported I was at the 33% mark, I would feel better. And finally, 4) I wish that Lara looked better. Given the models in games like Rumble Roses from -years- ago, I think Lara could've been a bit more refined.

In short, I'm glad I picked up LEGENDS.

I Don't Say This Very Often, But...Meh...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: May 10, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is actually my first real experience with a Tomb Raider game. Other than the first couple of games on the PS1, they all got pretty bad reviews, so I never bothered with them. Then I saw that this latest game got much higher scores than usual, so I played a demo to try it out. It looked good, so I rented the game since I had heard it was fairly short.

The game had its good moments, but unfortunately, there were a lot of bad moments in between. The controls were often very glitchy and non-intuitive, leading to Lara falling to her death way too many times. Combat was never much fun, but fortunately you didn't spend too much of the game shooting people. The vast majority of the time was spent on puzzles and trying to navigate from point A to point B. My biggest gripe was the occasional level where you had to ride a motorcycle. It ticks me off when developers feel the need to add driving into a game for variety, but don't spend enough time perfecting the controls. Had I felt like I had any control over the motorcycle, these levels may have been fun, but I didn't, so they were just frustrating.

On the plus side, there was a good variety in levels, ranging from actual "tomb raiding" to raiding a laboratory in Kazhakstan to mountain-climbing in the Himalayas. The story was fairly interesting, although it ended very abruptly, leaving an opening for the next game in the series.

I made it through the game's easy mode in just over 8 hours (which is probably longer than most people would take), so I would definitely recommend renting first. That way you can decide if you like the game enough to buy it so you can beat all the time trials and find all the trophies to unlock everything.

Lara returns with aplomb

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: May 16, 2006
Author: Amazon User

It's always good to see a classic gaming icon makes a comeback, especially when she's a gorgeous lady like Lara Croft. It has been some time since we last saw the tomb raider making her rounds, but in Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend, it seems that she has never been away. In fact, with so much improvement in place, it won't be an overstatement to call this game the best Tomb Raider game ever.

The story begins with a young Lara meeting with a plane crash with her mother. Eager to solve the mystery of the accident, Lara begins a journey that would take her to several locales. And, as expected, each of these locations provides a festival of platforming and puzzles. Controlling the heroine, your task would be to navigate past these environmental challenges, and of course, taking on some baddies in the process.

The platforming sequences in the game won't be much of a problem for the seasoned gamer, especially those who've play a game or two of the Prince of Persia series. Apart from the usual climbing and jumping, Lara also makes use of gadgets like a magnetic grapple to forcefully open locked doors, and to reach to a faraway platform, for example. When taking on enemies, Lara can lock on to an enemy and fire shots at them, giving the opportunity for even a poor aimer like me to enjoy the combat. Her movements are also fluid enough to make the all these feel like second nature.
In addition, the puzzles in this game are mostly simple enough to crack, but some may require more logic than simply pulling a lever. Mastering the environment and its possibilities will therefore make your job much easier as you progress through the game. But, just in case you fall to your death, the game also has many checkpoints within a given level to allow you to save your progress, so you won't have to restart from the beginning of the level again should your game comes to an abrupt end.

With a limited number of levels, the game suffers in terms of play time. You can probably complete it over the course of a weekend if you aren't keen to collect all the rewards that are littered throughout the game. These rewards come in the form of gold, silver and bronze medals, and finding them will unlock special items. Some of them can be found in broad daylight, but the others, especially the gold ones, may require some serious exploration. You can also revisit a level after you complete it to play a time trial game for that particular level, and completing the level in a given time frame will also unlock rewards. These add-ons are probably include to encourage replayability, since the game is really rather short.

Graphics wise, Tomb Raider: Legend will satisfy even the greatest critics. The details are amazing to look at, and the game isn't shy to show them off right from the beginning when Lara was shown doing an Ethan Hunt cliff-hanging sequence a la Mission Impossible II. The environments are truly breath-taking to behold in that cut-scene alone, and it's not the only time you'll feel that way throughout the game. The audios are also an excellent example of how things should be done. The voice-overs are apt, the music is enjoyable, and even the sound effects are purposefully blended to complement the levels. All these add to a very satisfying playing experience.

Overall, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend is a competent title to resurrect a franchise that has long been thought to be over the hill. It may not produce a long, epic adventure; nor does it throw too much difficult challenge in the face of the player. Its simplicity and great presentations, however, make it an immersive game to engage, and therefore, easy to recommend.

The best Tomb Raider game in years

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: June 09, 2006
Author: Amazon User

The Tomb Raider franchise has had a rough time as of late. Besides having Angelina Jolie prance around as Lara Croft in the movie adaptations (which isn't a bad thing to look at mind you) there hasn't been a decent Tomb Raider game since Tomb Raider 2 for the PS1. The last Tomb Raider game, the Angel of Darkness, was abysmal to say the least, but it looks like Eidos is trying to restore the franchise to it's former glory with Tomb Raider: Legend. The first thing you'll notice about this game are the mouth watering graphics. Yes, this is the PS2, and the graphics are simply awesome. Lara Croft looks better than ever as she goes back to doing what she does best: raid tombs! The game puts you back in the dark and mysterious tombs that made the franchise worth playing, and for the most part, they are well designed and challenging enough without getting too annoying to navigate. There's some motorcycle based levels as well, and the same puzzle solving elements and gunplay are well done as well. The game's story may not be the most well written material you'll come across, but what stops Tomb Raider: Legend from being something really special is the game's length. The game can be completed in a matter of hours or a whole afternoon, which is so disappointing it makes Activision's GUN look as epic as Final Fantasy VII. Despite it's maddening shortness, Tomb Raider: Legend is a step in the right direction for Eidos to restoring the franchise to the pedigree it deserves to be at, and maybe next time we'll have something really special on our hands.

1 For the Old School

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: June 27, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Alot of fans will bash this game on the 1 and only thing they can. Length. However for me it wasn't a problem. Sit back and lemme tell you what this game was meant to do. It isn't for the loyal Tomb Raider fans that have followed ALL of Lara's adventures since the early PS1. {Although they too will enjoy it} It was meant for old school TR fans who {in all honesty} thought Lara was played out. I loved the original but thought the second one sucked. {Lara wasn't just exploring tombs .... she was shootin her guns {GASP} at PEOPLE ??!!! I'm all for violence{in games}, but not when it comes to Lil Lara {shes my PUZZLE gal}. I just want her to explore her ancient, beautiful tombs and I'll quench my bloodlust with my more violent games. Although she's still cappin {ahem} shooting people, for the most part its all about the exploration. I haven't TOUCHED a TR title between II and Legend. Didn't have to ... I could tell they were whack by the titles, "Dark Angel" {Lara .... what've they done to you ? They made the games more like that horrid movie. {shudder} But this entry is exactly as it states. It goes back to the basics and shows why Tomb Raider is a legend among games.

AWESOME

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: November 29, 2006
Author: Amazon User

incredible graphics. PERIOD.
the gameplay is exciting. the sound naturally blends into the surroundings. the puzzle-solving is what i like about this game the most. the puzzles neither too hard nor too easy. i finished this game before i got prince of persia and other hardcore puzzle games. those puzzles totally prepared me for games like those and actually got my brain working.
the only downside of this game is that it's too short. if it is just a bit longer, i would've given it 5 out of 5 for everything.

Great Fun and Adventure.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: April 16, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game is a whole lot of fun. I played almost all of the old Tomb Raider games on Play Station. I decided to try it with a PC version this time. It took me a while to get used to all of the keyboard and mouse commands. There are a lot to remember in this game. Since I'm used to a certain way of playing on a PC, I spent some time customizing the keyboard and mouse. Once I got everything set, the game played very well (especially since I'm running it on an old 1.2Ghz laptop with an older Ge-Force card. I really like the environment in this game as well as the challenges.

The good:
- Really Fun to play.
- Stunning graphics.
- Many cool moves to learn.
- Great story line
- Nice cinematics.

The not so good:
- Occasionally, I had some difficulty fighting the animals that attacked me. They always ended up at my feet and Laura's head would be in the way of me seeing them (and shooting them). To be fair to the game, there might be a better way to fight the animals than the way I use.

Bottom line: A great buy. I would definiately recommend this game to anyone who likes Tomb Radier or anyone that likes this type of game in general.

too bad

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 10
Date: April 14, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Angel of darkness wasn't all that bad.
It was those wierd screen-space controls
that made in unplayable. One would think that
this would be the first thing to fix but, no.
Still the same disorientating controls, that are
constantly changing, depending on the (often
just as disorientating) camera.
Why?!
Angel of darkness, Legend, same major flaw.
I gave it 2 stars because it looks nice.

Amazing Return

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: April 14, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Lara Croft is here to stay!!!!!!!!!this game is simply amazing..
It has everything you could think of,reaction commands,intense battles,cool story,a sexy heroine,a challange,and an awsome return to the tombs buy it it is worth every penny

Great pick-it-up and put-it-down game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: April 19, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Always bearing in mind that Tomb Raiders 1 and 2 were epochal ouvres that changed videogaming forever (mostly by defining it -- St. Francis' Folly is one of the Seven Wonders of the Gaming World, even better than Gemity), and Tomb Raider 3 made up in fantasy and imagination what it lacked in implementation and execution, while TR's 4, 5 and 6 degenerated into playable but forgettable footnotes... Bearing all that in mind, this one -- Tomb Raider 7 -- is the first geezer game in the series. By that I mean, you can pick it up, play for 20 minutes (about all you'll need to finish Bolivia), and put it down for hours. The controls are deceptively easy -- Lara's DEFAULT pull-up move to handstand was an Easter Egg in Tomb Raider 1 -- and aggravatingly hard to unlock if you have OLD hands and slow-firing reflexes, but truth to tell, I'm not sure you'll need them. The technical merits put forward by Crystal Dynamics shame everything Ubisoft has ever tried to foist on us. True, Lara is now anatomically incorrect in even subtler ways -- her MCL is impossibly thick, as though she has a mutant knee with muscle where human knees have only ligament. As well, she now keeps several pet eunuchs in her mansion, and has serious issues with hot gothic blondes who may or may not generate sequelae. So, yeah... I'm not very sanguine about the future of this series, which shot its wad when Chronicles came out, but if fans can clean up the "Lara Croft is a subset of entertainment" mindset, Lara Croft can still rock. I'd vote for the hetero version, though.

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