Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend

I suck at video games. Really, I'm godawful at them, but I play them constantly. However, I beat this game and that's one of the reasons I love it so much. As everybody and his grandma knows, the Tomb Raider franchise was rapidly heading down the drain and Angel of Darkness had the distinct odor of sewage about it. (I liked it, but it is pretty darn terrible.) Gone are the days of precision positioning for jumps, and welcome to the new era of "That's close enough; I guess I'll grab it." There were several occasions where my jumps were way off but Lara obliged me anyway. The emphasis in this game is on making the action look good, and not difficult to pull off. This results in a game that anyone can play--a game that many people consider way too easy. I must concur--if I can beat it anyone can. The lesser difficulty is all but forgotten though, when you send Lara jumping and swinging across a room without stopping once. "Damn," you say to yourself, "that was COOL!" Speaking of COOL!, Lara may be practically superhuman but she still has that damned Breath Bar. Purists of the series were glad to see that the Angel of Darkness Grip Bar is nowhere to be found--if you want to hang Lara off a ledge and go eat lunch, she'll wait patiently until you get back.

I have both the Xbox360 and Xbox versions of the game (and I'm getting the 'Cube version as soon as it hits the shelves) and I can honestly say they both look stunning. Lara's character model is practically identical in both versions, but the backgrounds are where the main difference is. The 360 version has a lot more polish to it, with some fantastic lighting effects, but the Xbox version actually features some details the 360 doesn't. For instance, when Lara pulls herself out of the water, she drips. No dripping in the 360 version, but she does get shinier. (Anyone remember the Shiny Everything Period on the original Xbox? Even rocks shimmered in pitch black darkness.) Also, there are several moments when Lara is covered in dirt and bruised after sustaining damage, but the 360 version doesn't show that. Maybe I just didn't get damaged enough, but I never noticed any cosmetic changes on the 360.

Ah, cosmetic changes--Lara looks pretty darn good for umpteen thousand polygons stuck together. She's more muscular and athletic looking, and those breasts are a little less "at attention" than previous outings. In fact, Lara Croft has undergone a dramatic personality change as well, in that she actually has one now. Big thank you to whoever called Keeley Hawes and said, "I know it's not your usual thing but would you be interested in doing some voicework?" She is PERFECT in the role, and I'm not exaggerating. Our new Lara has a sense of humor, and even a little sarcasm. (Favorite line: when she loses communication with Zip and Alister she mutters "All those satellites and computers just to perfect the art of talking to oneself." Not only is that hilarious, but she sounds so irritated when she says it! Now THERE is a globetrotting archaeologist that would be fun to talk to.) That's not to say that she's all sunshine and giggles, because the end of the game actually features some pretty intense acting, and Miss Hawes handles it wonderfully. Lara's intensity is actually a little frightening, but it's what the story calls for.

The story--this game explains why Lara does what she does. She is actually searching for someone that was taken from her when she was a little girl. It seemed that the person (no spoilers here!) died, but perhaps there's another explanation. Lara is determined to find out, and as things progress she discovers an artifact of immense power and a myth with branches that span the globe. (Sound epic? It is!) The journey takes Lara everywhere, from Bolivia to Kazakhstan. It's also nice to note that she actually dresses for cold climates now, as opposed to braving them in that little tank top and those trademark shorts of hers. As if you can concentrate on flinging yourself from one icy precipice to another when you're freezing your butt off! As per usual, I shall end this review with griping and whining--not much though, because as I stated earlier, I LOVE THIS GAME. The camera presents problems, because it frequently shows the most aesthetic view and not the most practical one. The motorcycle sequences are a little tedious, but Zip's cheering makes them more bearable. The game is incredibly short--it took me several hours to complete it, but I was replaying levels like mad. Lara's house can be finished in one sitting with a little patience, so there's no need to visit it more than once. Last and least, the game ends quite abruptly and you'll feel left hanging like you wouldn't believe. In fact, I had no idea the game was over until the credits started to roll--that's how abrupt it is. That's a very minor complaint, though, because it just shows us that another game is in the works.

In closing, the game reinvents and reinvigorates a beloved franchise and it does it beautifully. Let me finish with this statement--IF THE NEXT GAME IS A WEAK TIE-IN TO ANOTHER GODAWFUL FILM WITH ANGELINA JOLIE I WILL MURDERIZE SOMEBODY! I'm sorry for the drama but I've heard the rumor and it scares me.

Yes, this was a fun Tomb Raider game and it is more like the first one unlike a couple of the later ones are. Here you are mainly exploring tombs, granted, you take a side trip to one skyscraper in Japan. The controls are a bit different, but more like real life as you may still have unlimited ammo with the default guns, this time you will have to reload. The game features some very beautiful locales, especially if you are playing on the X-box 360 as the backgrounds look all the more grand on this system. The character looks are about the same. The fighting is good as you are going to be involved in a lot of shoot outs, but for me the best parts of the game were the jumps from here to there and such. Almost like those found in a Prince of Persia game, albeit without the wall run. The story, Laura once again while just trying to find an artifact runs afoul of another group also seeking what she is. This leads to startling revelations into Laura's past as those thought dead might not be and myth and reality seem to merge. Of course, you must go from location to location to search for pieces of an artifact, that is usually a must in most of the tomb raider games. The only complaint I have is this is a very short game. Not that I want a game that goes over twenty hours all the time, but I won this one in only six hours. Still, it was fun while it lasted, though the ending suggests a sequel will be made.

I feel compelled to write something here to counter that ridiculous bad review. Yes, the control is different. That's a GOOD thing. The control in the earlier games was TERRIBLE. I can't believe someone would actually want to go back to controlling Lara like a truck. Yes, you would need a gamepad for the PC version also (just get a 360 pad and plug it in)-but again, this is a GOOD thing. Most ANY game with this type of viewpoint and control will function better with a control pad-so use one! And how many games of ANY type use the keyboard exclusively now? I played the original Tomb Raider DESPITE the control, not BECAUSE of the control… The original Tomb Raider had a great atmosphere and theme, and an interesting character. But it also had a lot of flaws. The control was terrible and unforgiving. The puzzles were frequently arbitrary and too difficult. It was easy to overlook the problems in that first game though, because for one thing it was one of the very first 3D adventure games, and was doing so much new. The problem came when Toby Gard (and I forget the other guy's name) were ousted from Core, and Core then proceeded to remake that same exact game over and over again. The sequels were basically level packs released year after year, without addressing any of the huge flaws the very first game had.

Well Legend gets a new developer (Crystal Dynamics), with a team headed up by Toby Gard-the guy who created the first game to begin with-and it FINALLY fixes everything that was wrong. The control has gone from being a chore, to actually being FUN on a "moment to moment basis". In other words, the act of just moving Lara around and interacting with the environments is fun now. The game has a solid physics engine, which many puzzles use to great effect. The puzzles seem more "organic" now-more "realistic" to the environments, rather than seeming arbitrary. As a result they're also much easier to figure out (which is a good thing, I think). Between that, the vastly better control, and the frequent restart points (at least on the X-Box 360 version), the game has almost completely eliminated the frustrating aspects of the original.

On top of that the dialog is excellent. Lara's banter with her team is quite frequently funny and well acted. (Lara's voiced perfectly by Keeley Hawes from Spooks.) And Lara comes off like she did in the first game (but better)-she has the same feel, and seems smart, competent, interesting…but with a bit of a crazy drive to her. She's once again a more compelling character than Indiana Jones (at least to me she is).

The plot even rises above the minimum. The title, "Legend" makes sense in more ways than one, and the plot is perfect for relaunching the series.

Lastly, both the graphics and music are very well done. As mentioned, I'm playing the X-Box 360 version (which I believe looks the same as the PC version if you turn on that version's "advanced" content on a high-end GPU). It has tons of gratuitous graphical effects. Most aren't strictly necessary, but add to the atmosphere. The soundtrack is similarly excellent. Almost verging on Celtic-ish at times, it always blends in with the environments well.

In short, this is a 100% successful relaunch of the series, and what Tomb Raider 2 SHOULD have been.

All right, here's the deal. Tomb Raider:legend rocks. In fact, this game is sOoOoO much better than any other Tomb Raider, it's safe to say the series has indeed, been saved. Why? Off the top of my head ( as minutes before this online entry I wrapped the game): 1. It's pretty. My only bitch slip is that when Lara is done pumping some baddie or rabid cougar full of the ol' metal injection via her two pistals, shotgun, or semi-automatic, they blip and disappear. Kinda takes the realism out of it, a mistake they should have noted in Angel of Darkness. I know it sounds morbid as more or less I'm demanding the presence of my enemy's corpses, but it's just strange.... whatever. 2. Lara is no longer the stiff, frigid, mechanical, rigid, cubic, movement inclined... OK, you get the point, character from the previous iterations. She -get this-... MOVES! And moves properly! You'll be playing through this game, and the controller literally cradles your every whim with the best controls for this series... EVER! And since this game involves split second button presses, it's an aspect of the game that if not done properly, would have ruined the franchise and damaged it... a lot. 3. The story. What the hell was with Angel of Darkness? You know what, I don't even wanna know. You know what I do wanna know? When Legend will become a movie, it's that good. I loved this story, and I won't spoil it, but wow. It's not the best story ever, not a Final Fantasy or Metal Gear, but it urges you to continue long after an area or puzzle has you stumped, and that's just fine by me. I loved the character of Amanda, and Lara is wicked witty in this game. The ending leads nicely into the next game, unlike Angel which just left me with an urge slathor my game disc with meat sauce and feed it to my dog. 4. TOMBS! A tomb with a view... I love the tomb areas, as... ya know, your raiding again! Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of moments outside the archaic monuments, but nothing even compares to the tomb moments. The puzzles are more organic, and although the "pull the lever crap" is still in this one, it's minimal. So I likey:) A lot! 5.Bottom line, Lara is back. I like where the series is headed. Crystal Dynamics really did their homework for this game. On a personal note, I loved the music as well. The ambiance the music creates is subtle, but just as easily as it can permeate like a whisper, it has thumping moments of bravado, and I love the motorcycle music, of which there are two instances. Yeah for Ducati! This game has restored my faith, and I know it will be successful, as they have retained the essence of Tomb Raider, while importing new ideas ( the grapple mechanism rocks!). I am guessing a movie reprise will surface at some point or another as the games begin to become more refined. Now that Cyrstal Dynamics has stepped into the water, I wanna see what they have planned next. BUY THIS GAME!! * (the mansion you get to explore kicks a lot also!:)*

Believe it or not this is the first Tomb Raider game I've ever played. I've been familiar with Lara Croft ever since I've owned a PSone. Although Lara Croft, whose character is mainly inspired by Indiana Jones, Lara is a heroine with her own style and personality. I never played any of the games in the series; this is due to the fact that I've had fairly any interest in the midst of FPS. Having owned an XBox 360, I decided to purchase this game out of curiosity. And by that I'm glad because Ms Croft has made me a new fan of her adventures.

The game has good production values with a stunning, James Bond-esquire intro that details our heroine's exploits across distant lands of the world. The controls are well-made and made playing the game a lot of fun though it took me awhile to get accustomed to Ms Croft's world. But after beating the game, I became more and more anxious to get my hands on the next installment in the franchise. And it's got great graphics to boot though they looked at bit too cartoonish for my liking; this is evident that the game didn't take full advantage of the 360's hardware. Even though I never played TR, I knew the story by reading a detailed synopses online back in the mid '90s. Not a great story per se, but it later on foreshadows future events in the franchise. As for TRL's plot, I say the story is really good, even going into the Arthurian mythology and Lara's past with plot twists and a few dangerous surprises for good effect.

I also liked how Zip and Alister provided useful hints and insights into the story with a dash a comic relief, giving the game a hip attitude to an otherwise dark story of betrayal and retribution. And the voice acting doesn't hurt either with Lara voiced superbly by Keeley Hawes and Amanda Evert played by Kath Soucie(my fave voice actor, BTW) and others as well. And the musical score is another achievement that encompasses rock, techno, and orchestral. It gives the game atmosphere and dangerous tension and excitement. Not one to accuse anything of plagiarism but if you listen closely to some of the music, it sounds a lot like the score in Batman Begins. Not that it's a bad thing, but it does give the game an added punch to some of the action scenes, that are, simply stunning in their execution.

It's true that combat isn't one of the series strong points but I wasn't fazed by it. Not by a long shot. And being a fan of FPS and action games, this is a nice change of pace as violence isn't the only option out of a dangerous situation(which our heroine constantly finds herself in). This game does what it does best: Exploration and discovering/raiding tombs.

Tomb Raider wouldn't be called...well, Tomb Raider, without huge levels. They are HUGE with pits, platforms, and crevices to climb on and jump/swing from not to mention some deadly critters. These levels are the main aspects of the franchise. Ironically, despite it's title character, the levels themselves are the TRUE stars of the show and almost steal the spotlight away from Ms Croft. A combination of brainpower, reflexes, and sheer skill are required to complete them. Some of them can be infuriating but that's part of the fun of it. And after solving them, you feel a great sense of satisfaction prior to what's around the corner.

After the disappointing The Last Revelation and the truly execrable Angel of Darkness, Lara has made a grand comeback as one of gaming's greatest stars. With improved controls, huge levels, more organic (and at times seemingly complex puzzles) and just great fun, Legend is the best out of them all. If your new to the franchise or just want to play a good adventure game, then Tomb Raider: Legend is a treasure worth seeking.