Tomb Raider: Legend

"Fun while it lasted."

Tomb Raider has been a series on the decline. Angel of Darkness was a very low point and many felt that this once great series had come to a bad end. So it was with worry that I went to purchase this game. Would we get another Angle of Darkness or a game worthy of the Tomb Raider title?

Story: 8/10

Lara Croft is back on her trademark quest for a rare artifact. The story is very clever and is well scripted allowing Lara to travel all round the world. The story has many clever twists and turns and does keep you gripped. One problem however is that the ending is poor. Without spoiling it, it does cliff hanger end and perfectly set up for a sequel.

Controls: 9/10

The games controls are well thought out and work well. They are responsive and are well thought out so performing all the twists and jumps is very simple. Croft Manor (Lara's home) has a clever obstacle area that allows you to practise your skills and is very useful for getting the practise before getting into the game. One slight annoyance with the controls is that it does hold you hand a lot by giving you the required buttons for each move as the need to use them arises.

Sound: 8/10

The game has sound that effective but does not stand out to much. The game has some clever sounds that our used to create atmosphere but the actual music itself is not particularly atmospheric. It blends in well with the game but fails to stand out and really make itself noticed. The guns and voice all sound good and work well and are realistic for example when Lara is in a cave you hear a slight echo.

Graphics: 10/10

The games graphics are eye catching and are very impressive. As Lara travels around the world the environments also change and all the areas look varied and are very impressive. What makes the graphics truly brilliant are the little touches the developers have put in. For example as Lara leaves water we see droplets of water on her and on the floor below. The actual Tombs and caves look very impressive and work well with the sound to great a brilliant atmosphere.

Lara herself looks very impressive and highly realistic. All her movements are well animated and are believable. She has come a long way from the Playstation games when she was just simple blocks. She now looks lifelike and you do feel as if you are controlling a person and not simply a collection of odd blocks like before. She has clear emotions and has a variety of facial expressions that are cleverly used.

Gameplay: 8/10

Tomb Raider Legends has been cleverly created to take the best things from the previous games and also add good new touches to create a good fun game to play. One major problem with previous games was the was you had to perfectly line up a jump, measure the run up and then quickly press several buttons to execute a simple jump. Now however, the jumping is far simpler and much more rewarding. Gone are the frustrating drops after missing a ledge by a few centimetres and in is a brilliant jumping model that suits the game well.

The shooting also works well and is very clever. Locking on to a target is simple and then dodging attacks whilst firing back is simple to perform. One slight problem is now you can only carry one extra gun along with Lara's trademark pistols but this does give the game a slight twist and personalises the game a bit as you decided whether to continue with an assault rifle or a Uzi.

The main part of Tomb Raider is the tombs but unfortunately these are not as good as they could have been. The games puzzles are much simpler and involve a lot of moving one object on to a pressure pad so a door opens. Unfortunately all the old puzzles involving collecting objects for example have gone and this does mean the game loses a lot of its challenge. The major problem however is like with the controls the game hold your hand too much. I understand on the first level for example but when you embark on the game the moment a puzzle appears you get a movie that highlights the key things for solving the problem and then lets you solve it. This makes the old puzzles that used to take a lot of thought and were much more rewarding have gone replaced by oversimplified simple puzzles.

Lara now has some clever gadgets that are very useful in the game. She carries a light which saves you from having to cover a darken room in flares and so is the most useful of all the additional gadgets. Lara also carries binoculars which have a mode that allows you to identify objects and it tells you if they are movable, destructible or can be used a lever. Like the puzzles it does make the game much simpler but if it is a problem you can simply not use it making the game a much bigger challenge.

Lifespan: 7/10

A major problem with this game which has been voiced by nearly all that play it is that the game is far too short. The levels whilst being clever and work well could have been made longer and more of a challenge or even more levels added. The game's story feels more like half a story as the ending shows rather than a complete game and it was a disappointment when the game's story ended so soon. The game tries to add some length by adding a lot of rewards which do give the game length but the actual story itself which is why you buy the game itself is far to short.

Plus Points:
No grid system movement
Brilliant varied levels
Clever touches throughout the games graphics

Negative Points:

Story lacks length
Puzzle oversimplified
Levels a little short

In conclusion I find Tomb Raider Legends is a rewarding experience and a good step in the right direction after the steadily worse previous sequels. But the game is too short to recommend it to be purchased. Instead I recommend the game is rented as you will probably complete the game in this time and can then decide whether the rewards are sufficient for you to buy it. The last thing is to thank you for reading this review and I hope it was useful.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/17/06