Tomb Raider: Legend

When I heard that Eidos was actually going to make another Tomb Raider game, I was floored. Were they that stupid? Had the incredible flop of Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness not completely killed the series? Or were they just trying to make a quick buck again? I wasn't sure, but I honestly didn't believe this game would even be worth touching, or even worth the DVDs it would be printed on.

Well, so I finally got my hands on this game, and I can happily say it's not as bad as it was looking to be. Tomb Raider: Legend is essentially going back to the basics with the series, ditching the RPG-ish modes that many are familiar with that killed the series in Angel of Darkness and returning to what made Tomb Raider fun- running, jumping, shooting, and puzzles. It's taking that ugly 3D Lara Croft that was overdone and somewhat stupid, the Lara Croft that Angelina Jolie ended up messing up and reverting her to the oldschool.

Tomb Raider: Legend plays quite a bit like the older games, as I mentioned before. As I played this on the PC, this was actually surprisingly familiar to me- move with WASD, and shoot/look with my mouse. While I never have been an extensive fan of the Tomb Raider series, I can definitely say this is nice and responsive, as well as somewhat easy- just like Max Payne and other third person games like this. Lara moves nicely and quickly with no kind of annoying meters or payouts, which is a nice trade off from the Angel of Darkness, “I pushed the box, now I feel stronger!” kind of gameplay. While the game's controls and overall scheme do keep you from blatantly cheating the system (Such as preventing you from hanging onto a rock ledge for a straight hour), it never seems obtrusive or annoying, which is a blessing.

Tomb Raider: Legend's story plays out quite a bit like any other generic adventure game. Lara Croft is made out to be hardcore and awesome (And not so butch as in the older games), and she finds out that bad guys intend to do things when she's off doing Raider-like things in South America. In no way is this going to win any awards, but like select adventure games (I'm looking at you, Devil May Cry), the story is there just to give a reason to do what you do. The characters are somewhat bland and predictable, and remind me of countless movies out now with stereotypical characters. That being said, this entire game could be played by just ignoring all cut scenes and enjoying the gameplay. Nothing wrong with that.




The whole engine and gameplay itself is what really makes this game shine. Much like the Legend of Zelda series, this whole game really is a mix between action and puzzles, and requires simultaneous amounts of cleverness and skill to get through the places you will visit. For example, way early in the game, Lara must go into a tomb like structure (No way!), and a hallway has collapsed, making it impassable. By jumping on chains to climb up, you can go up- but the chains are counterweighted, meaning they slowly go down as you go up. With different methods, you can get your way up, be it just selective jumping and fast moving or positioning yourself just right- whatever floats your boat. Then, of course, there are all-too-fun box puzzles requiring you to move things, find secret places, et al. Thankfully, Eidos realized that not everyone is a rocket scientist at finding out what they want you to do, and Lara is equipped with binoculars that can examine different key items/things and tell you what they do, to some extent.

There's a reason for those binoculars, and that's the fact that the environments unfortunately look quite a bit the same, and generic at that. Everything is weathered stone or lush green, and I really had a hard time finding things that really distinguished one part of the area from another, excepting generic room sizes and whatnot. Don't get me wrong- the game is absolutely beautiful- but in no way are the environments new or unique, but they get the job done. Considering the alternative was Angel of Darkness' cityscape theme, I'd rather have this any day.

The graphics in Tomb Raider: Legend are actually not bad, which explains why this game has been simultaneously released on the XBOX and XBOX 360. All of the graphics equate to the low end of next-gen, meaning that they are impressive (And on the 360 and PC versions, definitely an improvement), there isn't anything there to truly tell you “This is a next gen game”. When this is put up against similar XBOX 360 games, such as the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion or even the port of GUN, one is left with kind of a bad taste in your mouth. But, overall, the graphics are not bad by any means, and they, as I said above about the environments, get the job done to some extent.

One of the things that may be a plus or minus depending on who plays this game is the fact that in this game, just like the entire series, really try to show off Lara Croft. Be it the fact that you can zoom in on her breasts in this game at about every point (Instead of doing that back-her-into-a-wall trick that people used with the original), or the fact that every bit of clothing she changes into in the game is obviously showing off her figure, you might as well just label this game softcore porn. Hell, the team at Eidos even went to the effort to code in where if you dunk Lara in water and make her swim, the water will make her body glossy and dripping when she gets out. That's not to make it real, folks. That's to make it sexy.




When the game is boiled down to the basics, though, it ends up coming off as remarkably stupid. While the engine is good and the overall game is fun, it's somewhat hard to ignore how Eidos really overdoes the presentation. Lara Croft is presented as some kind of adventuring god (Somewhat like how Dante from Devil May Cry always seems “Too” cool) and just knows everything and does everything, including being able to raid huge ancient tombs with spears and poisonous snakes in stuff that makes underwear look big. Not that I'm complaining about the clothing, but just like the Tomb Raider movie, it's groan worthy rather than entertaining. Questions will fill your mind as you play this game, like “If Lara really needed a shotgun that bad, why not just bring one?” or “Instead of hooking everything to her belt, why not use a rucksack like most explorers and carry useful things like more medpacks?”. I may be being too critical, but still, it did hit my mind.

When this whole game is boiled down to the dregs, it's nothing special, but it saves the series from the horrible reputation Angel of Darkness gave it. While Tomb Raider: Legend really doesn't deserve a good rating or even much attention, it is much better than previous games, so this may be the beginning of an upswing so far as the whole series goes. If you're looking for a game to play over a weekend with not much difficulty or real skill required (And you can put up with the overdone characters), this is something that I would recommend renting. But buying this game? I say pass- there are too many better adventure games out there.

3.5 star(s) out of 5

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