Tomb Raider: Legend

"Fantastic Fun...while it lasts."

I loved the first game and played it through from beginning to end on my trusty Sega Saturn. I bought the next couple games hoping to find a game that was interesting and FUN like the first was. Unfortunately, that never happened. I found myself running around cities shooting at people instead of exploring booby-trapped ruins. What tombs there were had such convoluted puzzles that I don't see how anyone without a strategy guide or FAQ could finish them. After Last Revelation I gave up...until now.

Legend's graphics are very well done. The environments are quite detailed and all of
the characters have been designed with some basis in reality (inspired by the movies perhaps?). There's a definite attention to detail such as Laura's inventories being reflected by the objects carried on her during gameplay. Lighting effects are done well and really enhance the mood of some of the levels. As can be expected from a late PS2 game, there's nothing groundbreaking but everything is more than sufficient. The levels are more organic now and seem less like they were put together with building blocks.

Gameplay is the biggest change with legend. It's all about action. Lara now has the ability to climb like a monkey and leap between ledges, poles, and grapple points. The grapple tool lets you grab objects from a distance so that you can pull switches and sometimes pull Lara around. You can also use it to pull enemies in for the new close-up combat (which can be fun). Lara's helpers back at base comment on the situations while you play, so new information and hints are given without slowing things down. The controls have also been adjusted to allow for quicker action. Gone is the spinning rings of inventories. All items are accessed immediately via the D-Pad. You no longer have to pull your guns as hitting R1 will pull them and shoot. All of these controls are well executed but...

The camera is horrible at times. Since controls are relative to the camera, it can be really frustrating that while making a big jump 40 feet above the stone floor of a temple, the camera shifts in mid-jump making you miss your target and fall to your death. Continue points are fairly frequent, but it still can be infuriating.

Some of the sound effects are quite good and help convey the dangers in the tombs. The voice acting is well done and quite humorous at times. It's only annoying when you die and have to hear it repeat. The music is nothing much to speak of, but it's not that bad either. I'd say that it also has taken some influence from the film scores.

While the story isn't that amazing, it's true to the Tomb Raider universe mixing powerful, rich people with mystical artifacts. I was a bit annoyed to have yet another revision of Lara's childhood story, though. Cinematics are done well to progress the story along. There are so many hints at the past throughout these that it took the second time playing it though to really piece together all the clues. The Dragon's Lair-inspired press-the-right-button-at-the-right-time sections are very minimal and seem like they're more there just to keep you involved though the cinematics,

Overall, it's a lot of fun. It's a shame that the game's so short. But I'll take "short and fun" over "long and drawn-out" any day. Probably not worth full price though. I beat the game over the course of a rental.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/11/06