Tomb Raider

I will admit that when I heard the hype of the game just after it came out that I didn't even want to SEE it, much less play it. One day, however, I saw a friend's roommate's friend playing the game and just watching I knew I had to play too!

This game is one of the best games out there (better if you have the cheats) and is very addictive.

It's not just action / adventure, though there's a lot of that. One needs to stop and actually take a look around, to THINK about where Lara is and where she needs to go next.

I suggest this for all to play.

Tomb Raider was a sort of a technological revolution in 1996 because it used a fully 3D environment and polygons when compared to most other games which used sprites. It also made many advances when it came to interactivity because a large portion of the environment was actually fully navigable. If one does not expect the blasting, weapons and gore from the traditional 3D-shooters of that time, Tomb raider would have delivered a very unique and enjoyable gaming experience. The environments were not really varied until the sequel to this title but it was still fun. Its also quite fun to play this game on your Nokia while your old computer at the time, had a hard time coping up with the polygons.

The first game in the Tomb Raider series is undoubtedly the best. Although designed to run under DOS and SVGA graphics the design of the levels retains a beauty and originality rare among games. (True devotees using a PC can download a progam called GLIDOS, which allows high resolution graphics in the game, and patches to allow the game to run under XP) The soundtrack, including the trademark theme, is also wonderfully atmospheric. Lara Croft was the first third person perspective videogame character to make a mark in the gaming world. Control of the character is relatively straight forward, and the game itself quite exploration rather than action orientated. In hindsight, the puzzle standards of pulling levers or pushing moveable blocks, have become a bit tired to today's players but there's still plenty here to challenge the intellect, and more than enough action at times to quicken the pulse. Lara's first adventure sees her explore the Andes, the Classical World, Egypt and finally Atlantis. Perhaps the plot is a bit derivative from Indiana Jones (after all Indy did Atlantis in videogames three years before Lara)but hey I'd rather Lara than some old smart alec with a whip anyday...

There are many gaming franchises out there that have affected people's lives and One of my favorite game series of all time is none other then Tomb raider. I remember back in the day my father had purchased the game and had loved it. He came home from work and would play it to death. As a kid I didn't see the appeal and I wasn't a fan of it's controls etc. But later in my life around my teen years I decided to give the game another shot. My father had bought me a walkthrough guide for TRs 1-5. I had played laras home which is a fun training level just to get used to the controls. I then played through the entire game and I was hooked. Fun puzzles, platforming, action and exploration. The games music is beautiful, the atsompshre is great, the graphics were great, sound effects solid and it had a solid storyline. The levels themselves are big, the games content is great for it's time. I simply love this game and After finishing it I wanted to play every tomb raider afterwards. I have finished all of the games and this is in my top 5 TR's for sure. The only flaws are due to the games age which are the controls and visuals. But other then that It's a masterpiece in my eyes.

Tomb Raider is one of the coolest CGs of all time. At the time it was released, its quality was groundbreaking and it changed computer gaming forever. Its FX were literally the first and only of their caliber. That may not be true anymore, but it still rivals games that are coming out today. The plot is interesting, the levels are fun, and the weapons, puzzles and general gameplay is great. For once there's a game that's both hard and fun at the same time. And of course, Lara Croft just rules.