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A lost star for length

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 37 / 43
Date: May 04, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I feel short changed.

Well, so this is the new Tomb Raider....after all those sequels which were derided for apparently lowering the quality of the game every time (I actually quite enjoyed most of them, with only a few exceptions), Tomb Raider Legend has been lauded as the return to form. Well in my opinion, it's more like an expanded demo of a potential return to form. However it looks great, and as I started playing, I was hoping for the thrill of the very first game to come back to me. I played the original PS1 Tomb Raider game again recently and I couldn't believe how well it had aged. The levels were long, the explorable areas were huge, and the puzzles were multi-layered, often built out of smaller component puzzles. The game as a whole had a good solid length and satisfying difficulty curve. This is a game that is now a decade old, and I'm still impressed by it.

So how far have we come? Well, Tomb Raider Legend has definitely played true to the original spirit. It has enhanced the character of Lara Croft, as well as re-invented the control system. I'm very happy about the former update (Lara is still beautiful, upper-class and indomitable), but not so keen on the latter. It came as quite a shock to me to find that the definitive control system had been completely re-worked and, with no option to customize it, I was initially bewildered. X is now jump? Triangle is action? No walk button? No sidestep or sidejump? No backstep for those tricky jumps? It took some getting used to, and I'm not sure whether it's an improvement or not. The grid of jumpable distances and calculations that all TR fans will surely recall has been dumped, and instead Lara behaves like all other platform game protagonists...if you want to jump across a gap, just run at it and leap when you think the time is right. The game does the rest...in fact here it does a bit too much. If the gap is deemed as passable, the game will compensate for any small miscalculation on your part and make sure you end up on the other side. This seemed a bit odd to me, and I found that I missed the feeling of knowing whether I had accomplished anything or not. This new scheme also allows you to perform acrobatic tasks like jumping directly upwards from hanging off a ledge to another ledge about 6 feet above, which is surely physically impossible! As are sideways and backwards jumps from ledges and poles that magically dump Lara safely on another ledge or platform if the game deems that that was the way to progress. Does this sound picky? I know that in the past Lara could do cartwheels while firing her guns, and do a backwards somersault to land on a platform higher than her own head, but I didn't seem to mind that as much! I think it's because the game does not present enough physical challenges anyway that I felt further hand-held throughout the exploring phases by this new scheme.

Another thing, is that the weapons mode is a real let-down. The old auto-aim has been replaced by a targetting mechanism that only stays locked on target intermittently. This is very obvious on the final boss, where Lara's aim is constantly lost when she runs to dodge any long range attacks. I would have liked a way to lock-on, and then strafe while firing, but this is seemingly no longer an option - unless I missed it. But in bizarre opposition to the boss fights, regular gun fight sequences are incredibly easy, you only have to run around wildly firing non-stop and the enemies will all drop. I never came out of a hugely out-numbered fight (say Lara against 6 or 7 goons) with damage more than about one medipack's worth, and that's when I wasn't being the least bit careful.

I've got still more gripes - you can't stockpile anything. One additional gun at a time is all you get, and a maximum of three medipacks!! Thats just criminal. Mind you, with the game this easy, arriving at the last boss with 20 stored medipacks would be a pushover! Oh well, Lara's previously bottomless rucksack was always a bit far-fetched, I suppose.

Ok, I've left the worst till last, and that is undeniably the games length. I finished it in about 4 days, and that's unheard of for a TR game. Short levels, few puzzles, not enough secrets, not enough booby traps or variety of enemies. Every level is like a taster for what the development team are obviously capable of. They just needed to make them all 3 times as long. At least. The levels look great (time for some praise at last, now!)...they are leafy and organic, dank and spooky, or full of ruined temples as and when required. I could have done with some larger and more awe-inspiring architecture, though, and the sense of immense scale has not been maintained. I don't recall many of the towering structures and giddying drops that made climbing so perilous in the earlier game. Fans of TR1 will surely recall the Atlantis level - a constant climb through a kind of giant floorless shaft ending up on a platform where the boss appeared - one slip off the edge meant a fall down through the entire level to a final sickening thud on the floor. There's nothing like that in this game, and I think what I miss the is the sense of realism you get when you can see where you've been climbing from and it's dizzyingly far down. Tomb Raider Legend doesn't play with layered or cyclical environments, and all the levels are pretty standard: start travelling from Point A and keep going as far you can and you'll get to Point B. There are two motorbike riding leves but they are very arcadey and almost impossble to lose.

Tomb Raider Legend is a wonderful taster, passed of as a full length game. A lot of care went into design and execution, but it's still a bit glitchy (although with nothing like the game-halting problems of Angel of Darkness, thank god!). I look forward to another game from this team, and let's hope it's a biggun next time.

Amazing, beautiful, addictive... and short.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 27 / 34
Date: April 18, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Tomb Raider: Legend is an amazing game.

It's beautiful to look at, it controls like a dream and it's got an excellent plot. Seriously, if you made a list of all the things that you loved about former Tomb Raider games, then Legend will almost definitely fulfill all of those criteria - as well as coming up with a few new ones for you to enjoy.

Unfortunately, while you're busy enjoying all of these things, you'll probably not notice the game's extremely short lifespan creeping to a close, and before you know it, you'll be finished, and mad as hell that there's not more of this excellent title to enjoy. But while you're in the middle of it, 'Tomb Raider: Legend' is an almost-compulsory title for you to own.

GRAPHICS: 5/5
FINALLY, this is one Tomb Raider game where the secondary characters look as good as Lara does! Bye bye, Bouchard and Mme. Carvier, with your big square hands and lousy textures - Zip, Alistair, Amanda and others are here to take your place! Top marks must go to Visuals here, with the developers are squeezing every last ounce of power from the seven-year-old PS2 technology to create a world for Lara that's as clever in its level design as it is jaw-droppingly beautiful to look at. Leaping about on rooftops in the Japan level, dispatching mercenaries in Bolivia and unlocking huge temples in Ghana all made me sit up and go "Wow! ". Lighting effects, animation, colours - you can't appreciate it from screen shots: this is an incredible-looking game.

SOUND: 5/5
Again, top marks to the wonderful aural atmosphere that the music, voice acting and sound effects create in 'Tomb Raider: Legend'. From the remix of the original TR theme at the title screen, to the really cool bike chase level music, the tunes in TR compliment the game's environment and add atmosphere like no other Tomb Raider game before it. The West Africa and Japan levels are awesome to listen to, too, with ambient city and jungle sounds pouring out of your speakers to lend real depth to the already-amazing visuals. And voice acting, happily, is some of the best in a videogame since 'Second Sight'.

PLAYABILITY: 5/5
What, top marks again? Yup, Lara's got a completely new and redesigned control system, and it's amazing. She is now totally, completely analog - and it works. No more Walk button, no more tapping back once to make a running jump, and no more auto-lock for super-easy combat: it's all changed for the better. Now, moving boulders and crates is a joy, and Lara goes through her animation cycles much faster than before, so it's far easier to stomach when you do something wrong. Puzzles are of a usual mix, but there are several that bear the hallmark of the excellent TR design we've come to know and love. Combat is changed: now, enemies can *gasp* knock Lara over, and the auto-lock feature of former games is gone, meaning you can no longer take out bigger enemies with just your pistols and a backflip, but to counterract this, there's a whole host of hand-to-hand combat moves to learn, and a really cool grappling hook with which to tag and hurt the bad guys. All in all, this game is a dream to play.

LASTIBILITY: 2/5
And here's the problem: 'Tomb Raider: Legend' is just too damn short. Compared to most other contemporary games, it's not too bad - around eight to ten hours play first time through - but for a Tomb Raider title, the insanely short nature of the game is a real disappointment - particularly since the actual gameplay is just so damn good.

Now, it isn't all bad news - you can replay each level multiple times, and unlock new outfits, cinematics, concept art and costumes for Lara as you do, as well as expand on the excellent Croft Manor sub-level - but I know I speak for all TR fans when I say that I'd rather have more levels to complete one time than fewer multiple rides through the same levels - however pretty they might be.

OVERALL: 4/5
If this game was longer it would stand alongside Final Fantasy 9, Silent Hill 2 and Shenmue 1 as one of my all-time favourite games. As it stands, it's a beautful-looking, brilliantly-executed game that's just too damn short. A real shame, but you should get it anyway: EVERYONE needs to play this at least once. Welcome back to the top of the pile, Lara, we missed you!

Totally recommended.

Lara's gotten her groove back and has been successfully resurrected! Amazing!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 17
Date: April 11, 2006
Author: Amazon User

After Angel of Darkness, which I did like, people immediately lost hope in getting a fun Tomb Raider, the kind with great gameplay reminiscent of the first installment. After three years though, fear no more for Lara is back in a solid, fun game for everyone to enjoy!!!

Graphics: 10/10

Okay, the graphics are mind blowing. You definitely feel an epic scale production here, from the massive temples to the intricate details in almost every thing in the environment! The water and other effects are beautiful to look at and even Lara, upon closer inspection, exhibits many different realistic qualities such sa getting wet.

The characters, especially Lara, are all greatly well-done. Lara, in particular, is very detailed, moving with grace and showing high fidelity to an actual human person.

On the PS2, You may even feel like playing in the next gen consoles! Amazing!!!

Gameplay: 10/10

Gameplay is great, as compared to the previous installments. The exploration of lost tombs has returned, after departuring from this concept in Angel of Darkness. No more frustration here for Lara moves fluidly and realistically, making her more agile.

Also, combat is more fun here. New moves are introduced and the unlimited pistols are re-introduced for more shooting fun! THe long explorations are punctuated with little cut scenes requireing you to press particular buttons to help Lara along a bad situation. These things balance everything out, giving you a wider variety of activities to tackle, including vehicles and more stuff.

Puzzles are easier, less martian-like, and utilizes actual physics, giving a fresh challenges for players. Great concept has been put into the game, you can tell.

Sounds: 10/10

Voice acting was superb, far better than other games. The ambient sounds mixed with some effects and the chirping of birds and flowing water support a great atmosphere. The music, sometimes punctuated by stronger sounds, are spot on. Everything works, leaving nothing feeling forced or unnatural.

Longevity: 7/10

This is the only boo-boo of the game. It is simply too short. After 7-10 hours, its over!!! There are, however, unlockables like costumes... by collecting bronze, silver, and gold statues lying around the stages. Going through this maybe fun but after that, boasts minimal replay value. If it was longer, it would have been a perfect game.

Overall: 10/10

Still 10, after everything Lara has been through. Buy this. Totally worth your time and money! Lara's back, back for good. she is here to stay.

What happened to our beloved Tomb Raider???

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: April 23, 2006
Author: Amazon User

What is going on with Tomb Raider Legend? This series has been my all time favorite game. (I've played every one) This game does not retain any of the trademark Tomb raider perks, ie necessary hidden switches, mind boggling puzzles, interactive landscapes, and feats of skill. "Legend" practically plays itself. What do they need us for? The moves are way too easy and the story is well, way too movie-like. The monsters and villians do not have half the bite they used to. I think the producers have been listening to their own hype. Why would anyone want to use Lara Croft as a dress up doll? Seeing Lara in a ridiculous evening gown made me want to throw up, slinky dresses is not what Lara Croft is about.

With that said, I hope they never stop producing the tomb raider series(I still have hope), however, I hope the producers stop getting so wrapped up in the hype of technology and get back to the basics--story, detailed interactive landscapes, thought provoking puzzles, eerie tomb music and situations requiring study and skill.

Tomb raider has become a family traditon in my household, it's a shame they dropped the ball on this one. We can only hope the next one will be more reminicent of the past.

Generic brainless 3D Platformer, no return to past glories :(

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 12 / 18
Date: April 16, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Tomb Raider 1 (On Playstation) was a landmark. Tomb Raider 2 was breathtaking. Tomb Raider 3 spoiled the formula somewhat with too many 'sudden death' traps and overly complex levels, but was still generously huge, engaging and varied. Then they gradually lost the plot, and the rot had truly set in by 'Chronicles'.
'Angel of Darkness' was a major disappointment, being the first serious overhaul of the series. Lara ran as if through treacle, the camera didn't track you effectively - leading to diastrously misjudged leaps into the abyss, and the levels were unpopulated, with often simplistic problems to overcome. So all us Tomb Raider fans were praying for a return to form when 'TR Legend' was first mooted. Now it's out, I fear many reviewers have heaped praise on it after a superficial glance, or without any memory of the qualities of the first three.
Legend fails spectacularly on several fronts:
There is no exploration, it's absolutely unerringly linear, and compared to all previous Tomb Raiders, very short. Part of TR's charm was exploring; seeing a ledge far above and wondering "how do I get there?". Trying to see a ledge at all. WORKING IT OUT.
All that is gone, and to make matters worse they've dumbed it down even further by giving Lara a pair of binoculars that can reveal all the moveable/switchable/grabbable objects in view. No challenge. Facing leaps over crevasses, a floating X icon indicates your grapple hook is needed. No challenge. No thought.
Levels are punctuated by awful QTEs (Quick Time Events) that are basically sudden FMV clips requiring specific button presses. Always unexpected, requiring annoying reloading if (that is, when) you die.
Lara talks far too much (she used to be the strong silent type!) and now has two idiot assistants who 'joke', bicker and offer yet more 'useful' information on a regular basis (like "Hey! Now THAT'S really COOL!"), shattering the silence that used to be part of the series atmosphere.
Instead of making the bonus items hard to work out how to acquire, they just made lots more of them. Mysteriously, some can be drawn in with your grapple (Yawn) but identical looking ones can not, even within the same range.
The distinctive theme from the first 3 is gone, a big mistake - now they have a generic techno-bond theme for the titles, and a tuneless, oppressive soundtrack during play.
The motorcycle levels don't bear description - useless, but mercifully few of them.
In actual play, the game is a clone of Prince of Persia, which is kind of ironic as Tomb Raider was originally a 3D interpretation of the original 2D Prince of Persia. But Prince of Persia was totally linear too - yet far better than this within such limits. Very little of the old Lara remains.

Tomb Raider should have stayed true to it's roots and delivered exploration with 'big reveals' (Lost Valley, St Francis Folly, remember those levels?).

Eidos should re-release the original 3 PS1 games for PS2, or maybe PS3, heck - all formats, with nothing but a graphical smoothing. Leave the grid based system intact, leave the music intact - change *nothing* except the option of Analog stick control, and let those who haven't experienced them see what they are missing. I'd buy them all over again - THEY were the legends.

But not another one like this.

Tomb Raider not a legend

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: April 18, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I have been a huge fan of the Tomb Raider series since the very first one came out. Like most Tomb Raider fans I could not wait for Legend to come out. This game falls way short of my personal expectations. The major problem is that the game is way way too short and surprisly easy. I would expect that with a title name of "legend" this would be of far great superiority than the rest but it fell way short. The graphics and scenery are really nice and some of the new moves and controls are great but as far as game play goes I was rather disappointed.

Better than AOD but not meeting expectations!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 9
Date: April 16, 2006
Author: Amazon User

O.k. don't get me wrong I did like Legend but there are some flaws with this game. I thought all the previous flaws from AOD would be worked out but sadly not all of them were. A BIG improvement yes!! but not perfect by any means. Here are the flaws with this game.
1. Some of the camera angles were bad.
2. The button sequence parts got annoying after awhile.
3. Blasted grenades! Yeah you got them but so do the enemy and they love to use them!!
4. Tigers & leopards. Annoying plus how many bullets does it take to actually kill a leopard. Too many if you ask me.
5.Sound wise sometimes it was hard to hear Lara talking to Zip and the other guy. This lowered my enjoyment of the game since I didn't really know what they said to each other half of the time.
6. THE MAJOR FLAW WAS IT WAS MUCH TOO SHORT!! THE ENDING WAS VERY GOOD BUT MUCH TOO SHORT!!!
7. NO replayability much like KINGDOM HEARTS 2.

The stuff They improved:
1. The detail in this game was awesome!! From the smoke coming from her just fired guns to when she gets out of the water she actually looks wet(her hair, her clothes, her skin), realistic shadows, her breath coming out when it's cold.
2. Love Lara's new moves!!
3. Love the motor bike parts in the game.
4. New Personal Light Source Yes! so much better than flares!!
5. Plenty of health packs
6. plenty of ammo and weapons
7. Cool outfits (what can I say I'm such a girl)
8. Sound wise (music) pretty good.
9. Binoculars (RAD mode) pretty dang helpful
10. Excaliber oh yeah!!
11. The ending though short was good!! Pistol whipping Amanda was priceless. She So deserved it!!
All in all good game but still kinda of disappointed with it. The shortness factor. If it would have had a longer ending it probably could have redeemed itself.

Improvement in a Declining Series

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: April 15, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Tomb Raider started off Great on the original Playstation. Over time, though, the series began to decline. Tomb Raider: Legend is much better than previous installments, but not really the best game out there.

An ancient sword has been broken and its fragments are scattered around the world. Lara is out to find these fragments which will ultimately lead her to unravel the mystery of her mother's death years earlier. There's nothing complex about the story, and it'll take Lara to many different places all over the world.

The gameplay is pretty basic, keeping mostly with the gameplay established in the original. As Lara you'll get in plenty of gun fights, swing from ropes, hang from ledges, and solve various puzzles. Most of these puzzles involve you opening up a pathway to take yourself further through the games levels. They're not overly complex, and they're not really hard at all. In addition, you'll be able to pull of many of the same acrobatic moves you pulled off before. The camera angles aren't very good at most parts, but that doesn't really present much of a challenge. The game makes it hard to miss certain ledges you're jumping to anyway. You couldn't miss some ledges even if you tried. This doesn't really detract from the gameplay either.

There aren't a whole lot of bad guys populating Tomb Raider Legends. From time to time you'll run into a wild animal or someone's goons and you'll have to take them down. You can lock on to enemies and then just cut loose. The gameplay, unfortunately, isn't a challenge. Some of the moves you can pull off look spectacular, but that doesn't make a game hard. There's little--if any--challenge to the game at all. There are moments, however, where during a cutscene you'll have to press certain buttons to keep Lara from meeting her demise. The mechanic works about the same as it did in Resident Evil 4. If you're not fast enough (or press the wrong button) you could die. The controls, safely to say, are better than what you'd expect in a Tomb Raider game.

The game is also fairly short. Five or six hours to complete all together, and the replay value doesn't really serve highly either. There are different difficulty level settings, but they're not really much of a challenge either. You can play through levels again on a time trial, or to try and collect everything, but that's all the replay really offers. Nothing much beyond that. Which is sad to say. The game is fun overall, there's just not much of it. It's short, of little challenge and of little replay. Even in gunfights, they're aren't very many of them, and when there are, again, it's not really a challenge.

The game does look good though. Not utilizing the full power of the PS2, but looks good nonetheless. There are moments where the game slowsdown, though. To the point where it got on my nerves. A little slowdown is all right, but here, there's more than I'd like for there to be. It's still a beautiful game, though. It also sounds pretty good. The voice acting is really good. The voices work really well to flesh out and help develop characters. Easily it's one of the strongest parts of Tomb Raider Legend.

The game isn't perfect, I'm sorry to say. Better than most of the previous Tomb Raider games, but not perfect. It's too easy, and lacks great length, and those two things alone keep this game from acheiving the greatness it was capable of. It's good for a rental, but not really worth forking over fifty dollars for.

On the Positive Side
+The game looks good
+It sounds good
+The gameplay, for hardcore Tomb Raider fans, remains the same
+Improvement in the controls

On the Negative Side
-A few framerate issues
-The game isn't really a challenge at all
-It's just too short
-There's no real depth to the storyline
-It lacks replay value

They Should Have Called It "Tomb Raider: Redemption..."

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: April 24, 2006
Author: Amazon User

...because this game more than makes up for all of the faults in Angel of Darkness. There are no bugs here; the camera will not suddenly decide that we need to see Lara's face RIGHT NOW and swing around in the middle of a critical jump. The controls once again feel light and agile, as they should, instead of feeling heavy and tanklike.

Some of my favorite features are as follows...

-Lara now has a host of close-combat moves in her arsenal, including a nifty "aerial" attack that allows her to vault off of an enemy's head, "heightening her awareness" and allowing her to do more damage.
-Lara now carries a PDA that provides you with information about the guns that she is currently holding, as well as listing the objectives of a current level. I find this useful because I usually just pause the game instead of getting to a stopping point, and sometimes I need to refresh my memory.
-No more flares! Lara now has a PLS (personal light system) mounted on one of her backpack straps. The PLS lasts longer than a flare and is recharged via kinetic energy.
-Lara wears a headset that allows her to keep in touch with her friends at Croft Manor. Their conversations provide you with tips, background information, and witty banter. This feature, (along with a well-developed storyline, great cutscenes, and even flashback levels) makes it seem as though you are "playing" a very action-packed movie.
-New "interactive cutscenes" require you to press buttons with the correct timing to get Lara out of some tight spots.
-A physics engine adds depth to puzzles and new strategies to combat; a rockslide will kill your enemies just as dead as a bullet will.
-A new interface replaces the clumsy inventory system.

The puzzles are not particularly challenging, especially if you already know how the Tomb Raider games work. A good rule of thumb is that if you can't do it easily, you're not doing it correctly.

I just started playing this game today, but the story is already moving at a breakneck pace. Other people that I have talked to say that they have finished playing the game in a weekend. This is why I gave the game only four stars overall. However, every level has a "time trial" mode that you can play to unlock cheats, and finding all the artifacts unlocks information, special features, and new outfits.

In short, this is a great game, and a shining example of what the Tomb Raider series - and adventure games as a genre - should be. Definitely a must-play for fans of the series, and worth renting (at least) for everyone else.

Doesn't Live Up to the Hype

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: April 21, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I'm a diehard Tomb Raider fan so I was very excited about the game and couldn't wait to play it. I popped it into the PS2 and to my surprise it was more like the TR movie then the game that I knew and loved.

Although the graphics and controls are good I am a bit disappointed with the game. First it's very short. 8 small levels is all you get. You can finish the game in about 10 -12 hours and that includes finding all of the rewards. Another thing is that by gaining rewards you get additions to Lara wardrobe. It's like a dress up Lara game. I can't understand why anybody would think of putting this kind of thing into a Tomb Raider game.

Secondly the mansion is boring. It looks just the one in the TR movies which is fine but the obstacle course in the gym was weak. You can't go outside of the mansion and there really isn't much to look at either. The butler Winston is there but all he does is stand by the fireplace. In the old TR games he use to follow you around with a tray of drinks and you use to be able to shoot him and lock him in the freezer.

Lastly there is the music. It's ok but the TR theme is not there and some of it is just plain irritating.The music from the original TR games really set the theme and feel of the game and it's missing in this one.

If you're a real TR fan you might want to rent it first to see if you want to invest $49 in this game. It really doesn't have any replay value.
If you new to the series you might like it better but I would still suggest renting it first.

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