Lara Croft: Tomb Raider Legend
Yes, okay this game has been out for a while... something a lot of gamers consider a negative feature, however these are also the types of gamers that cannot bare a graphics setting less than Max, buy games only to look at and try and justify Counter Strike as a sport to excuse their addiction and it?s need for improvement. I?m sorry but if gamers can start branding computer games as sport then psychopaths can brand murdering people as a hobby. The only way Counter Strike is in anyway like a sport is in the way that it is overly simplistic, repetitive and overrated. Oh and yes, I can begin to hear you now... ?it?s coz ur sh1t n00b?, and yes I admit I?m not a skilled CS:S player but then again I?d like to see you try to explain to me the whole plot of the Legacy of Kain without double backing on yourself at least twenty times. A single player experience is much more enjoyable, it gives a story, characters and variety! Oh, I hear you again, ?but wot if u want to play wiv oth3rz??, you ever heard of passing the control around each time you die? When you watch a film you only need one person to use the remote... Same difference here really. Also the argument that people are more intelligent than NPCs can be easily be counteracted by reminding you that these are the same people who think CS:S is the same as Basket Ball. The truth is that people who play multiplayer only games should be probably take up a sport... kind of ironic really?
This long rant has not been without reason, well more than the reason of infuriating about half of the forum and brining the prospect of having a good old argument with somebody who can?t admit an addiction. Tomb Raider Legend is without multiplayer capabilities, instead it offers a gaming experience of the past, one so often forgotten in today?s society. Gameplay these days has become a competition to see how much time a game can squeeze out of you, I don?t want that! ?ooo wot disc of FF VII u on?? to that I answer, ?All of them and none of them?... as in I?ve had one turn based battle, it isn?t going to get any harder than that, so I threw it in the bin, the gameplay doesn?t evolve at all yet I?m still expected to play it for a good 50 hours??! no way! Yes CS:S players, single player games can be as much fun as Counter Strike...as in not at all. ?but... but u want 2 get your moneys worth ?? NO, in fact I?d gladly pay more to have all the rubbish taken out of my games, I wish there were some sort of low fat console, with maybe a treadmill on it, which took out all of the fat. Don?t get me wrong, plot is the most vital part of a single player experience, however the longer a story is stretched the more disappointing the ending will be. Besides if a game was fast paced and quick I?d be more likely to replay it, if it were long and boring I wouldn?t... Again Ironic?
The story of Tomb Raider: Legend gives an insight into a Lara?s past and links it to a future affair regarding pieces of a legendary sword, a friend assumed dead and Lara?s guilty conscience. Like the Batman films this game is now remaking the story of Lara to be better and more improved, it seems Eidos don?t want the coffee stain that CORE left behind to make the series an eyesore, so why not start over again? The name of the game itself really has little to do with anything though ?Legend?, it?s simply a cool sounding name and we?ll probably see this a lot in the future with Tomb Raider: Rumour, Tomb Raider: Oldwives Tale and Tomb Raider Urban Myth
Tomb Raider Legend features 8 levels, all of which can be finished in under 40 minutes and once completed there is a time attack feature to unlock more costumes, most of which being the same costume in a different colour. Don?t look disappointed you wouldn?t have bloody used them anyways.
There are two distinct parts of the gameplay experience. Firstly there?s the classic jumping element, the only thing remaining classic is there is a button that makes you jump. Lara now moves like water and not like a brick... a brick that has been used to build a house... like she has in previous games, in which a reverse pedal would have been better than a back button. This is probably thanks to CORE who originally made Tomb Raider making a pigs ear of Angel of Darkness... (and all the rest that came after III, although that?s not official) and being replaced with Crystal Dynamics who brought us Legacy of Kain, a game which I?ve brought up more times than is healthy for one review... which is subsequently the best game series for plot ever (besides maybe Silent Hill). Now Lara is a lot more agile jumping sections are required to be a lot faster, this again adds to the pace of the game putting the players skill over endurance. In fact the game reminds me more of a Prince of Persia (Sands of Time onwards) or any other type of game that uses the term ?acrobatics? instead of old school ?jumping about?. To top it off Lara now has a grappling hook which can aid her with puzzles, combat and of course, jumping. However it does seem to be a glorified quick time event, as you press the button when it tells you to... that?s a quick time even right?
The second part of gameplay is combat, now don?t lie Tomb Raider has never had good combat. It used to consist of jumping backwards whilst shooting so the enemy couldn?t hit you. Now the game has an auto targeting feature from which you can either shoot the nameless thug, roll into him knocking him over, use the grappling hook, kick him, or jump over him which makes the game go into bullet time making the game suddenly seem unrealistic... until you realise Lara is wearing next to nothing but is yet unscathed and her skin is in top condition.
The game also throws two driving segments at you which aren?t much to scream about, the idea being to shoot everyone else before they shoot you and engaging in jumps to lose your pursuers. Despite these sections being the most repetitive they do help split up the gameplay and add pace.
It is because the game changes from jumping, to action, to motorbike, to puzzle, to cutscene that the game doesn?t get boring and before you know it the game is over. The games ending doesn?t disappoint with there being a twist and a sudden realisation at the end which delivers the most satisfaction it can. What?s more this game is cheap and cheerful, if you don?t like the previous Tomb Raiders, STILL PLAY IT, its unlike anything the series has delivered before.
BUY IT
Yes, okay this game has been out for a while... something a lot of gamers consider a negative feature, however these are also the types of gamers that cannot bare a graphics setting less than Max, buy games only to look at and try and justify Counter Strike as a sport to excuse their addiction and it?s need for improvement. I?m sorry but if gamers can start branding computer games as sport then psychopaths can brand murdering people as a hobby. The only way Counter Strike is in anyway like a sport is in the way that it is overly simplistic, repetitive and overrated. Oh and yes, I can begin to hear you now... ?it?s coz ur sh1t n00b?, and yes I admit I?m not a skilled CS:S player but then again I?d like to see you try to explain to me the whole plot of the Legacy of Kain without double backing on yourself at least twenty times. A single player experience is much more enjoyable, it gives a story, characters and variety! Oh, I hear you again, ?but wot if u want to play wiv oth3rz??, you ever heard of passing the control around each time you die? When you watch a film you only need one person to use the remote... Same difference here really. Also the argument that people are more intelligent than NPCs can be easily be counteracted by reminding you that these are the same people who think CS:S is the same as Basket Ball. The truth is that people who play multiplayer only games should be probably take up a sport... kind of ironic really?
This long rant has not been without reason, well more than the reason of infuriating about half of the forum and brining the prospect of having a good old argument with somebody who can?t admit an addiction. Tomb Raider Legend is without multiplayer capabilities, instead it offers a gaming experience of the past, one so often forgotten in today?s society. Gameplay these days has become a competition to see how much time a game can squeeze out of you, I don?t want that! ?ooo wot disc of FF VII u on?? to that I answer, ?All of them and none of them?... as in I?ve had one turn based battle, it isn?t going to get any harder than that, so I threw it in the bin, the gameplay doesn?t evolve at all yet I?m still expected to play it for a good 50 hours??! no way! Yes CS:S players, single player games can be as much fun as Counter Strike...as in not at all. ?but... but u want 2 get your moneys worth ?? NO, in fact I?d gladly pay more to have all the rubbish taken out of my games, I wish there were some sort of low fat console, with maybe a treadmill on it, which took out all of the fat. Don?t get me wrong, plot is the most vital part of a single player experience, however the longer a story is stretched the more disappointing the ending will be. Besides if a game was fast paced and quick I?d be more likely to replay it, if it were long and boring I wouldn?t... Again Ironic?
The story of Tomb Raider: Legend gives an insight into a Lara?s past and links it to a future affair regarding pieces of a legendary sword, a friend assumed dead and Lara?s guilty conscience. Like the Batman films this game is now remaking the story of Lara to be better and more improved, it seems Eidos don?t want the coffee stain that CORE left behind to make the series an eyesore, so why not start over again? The name of the game itself really has little to do with anything though ?Legend?, it?s simply a cool sounding name and we?ll probably see this a lot in the future with Tomb Raider: Rumour, Tomb Raider: Oldwives Tale and Tomb Raider Urban Myth
Tomb Raider Legend features 8 levels, all of which can be finished in under 40 minutes and once completed there is a time attack feature to unlock more costumes, most of which being the same costume in a different colour. Don?t look disappointed you wouldn?t have bloody used them anyways.
There are two distinct parts of the gameplay experience. Firstly there?s the classic jumping element, the only thing remaining classic is there is a button that makes you jump. Lara now moves like water and not like a brick... a brick that has been used to build a house... like she has in previous games, in which a reverse pedal would have been better than a back button. This is probably thanks to CORE who originally made Tomb Raider making a pigs ear of Angel of Darkness... (and all the rest that came after III, although that?s not official) and being replaced with Crystal Dynamics who brought us Legacy of Kain, a game which I?ve brought up more times than is healthy for one review... which is subsequently the best game series for plot ever (besides maybe Silent Hill). Now Lara is a lot more agile jumping sections are required to be a lot faster, this again adds to the pace of the game putting the players skill over endurance. In fact the game reminds me more of a Prince of Persia (Sands of Time onwards) or any other type of game that uses the term ?acrobatics? instead of old school ?jumping about?. To top it off Lara now has a grappling hook which can aid her with puzzles, combat and of course, jumping. However it does seem to be a glorified quick time event, as you press the button when it tells you to... that?s a quick time even right?
The second part of gameplay is combat, now don?t lie Tomb Raider has never had good combat. It used to consist of jumping backwards whilst shooting so the enemy couldn?t hit you. Now the game has an auto targeting feature from which you can either shoot the nameless thug, roll into him knocking him over, use the grappling hook, kick him, or jump over him which makes the game go into bullet time making the game suddenly seem unrealistic... until you realise Lara is wearing next to nothing but is yet unscathed and her skin is in top condition.
The game also throws two driving segments at you which aren?t much to scream about, the idea being to shoot everyone else before they shoot you and engaging in jumps to lose your pursuers. Despite these sections being the most repetitive they do help split up the gameplay and add pace.
It is because the game changes from jumping, to action, to motorbike, to puzzle, to cutscene that the game doesn?t get boring and before you know it the game is over. The games ending doesn?t disappoint with there being a twist and a sudden realisation at the end which delivers the most satisfaction it can. What?s more this game is cheap and cheerful, if you don?t like the previous Tomb Raiders, STILL PLAY IT, its unlike anything the series has delivered before.
BUY IT