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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun but frustrating; a return to the Tomb Raider of old (almost), 10 Nov 2006
Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars
I was captivated by the original Tomb Raider game when it came out. It has been a disappointment to me that none of the sequels have recaptured the magic of the original.
This is the closest approach yet, but still has a way to go. On the plus side, returning to the original emphasis on puzzling rather than combat is very welcome. Combat is still there, but not as prevalent as some earlier games.
As other reviewers have mentioned, with all the graphics 'knobs' turned up to maximum, the game is truly beautiful at times, and runs smoothly on my ATI X1900XT / Intel Core 2 Duo rig. One or two of the levels had me gasping as Lara dangled on a rope over some very dizzy heights (my favourite level in the first game was St. Francis' Folly).
Having said all that, this is also, at times, one of the most frustrating games I've played. The most annoying elements are:
1. The 'relative' controls. As others have mentioned, the direction that the forward key takes you changes depending on your view. This caused me numerous falls into deep chasms when it shouldn't have. On the plus side, this does make certain tasks (like moving boxes around) much more fluid than in previous games.
2. An inability to tell Lara to put her guns away. Several times in the boss battles you have to use the grapple, but you can't if Lara's got her shooters (I said shooters) out. And she won't put them away if an enemy's about. You just have to keep going over the same bit (after dying) until she finally does what you want. In the original, you could make her put her guns away. Why we can't do this in the current game I just don't understand.
3. A sometimes very annoying camera, which can restrict your view just as you're lining up for a jump over a huge drop, requiring a leap of faith on your part. This is worse during the frankly unnecessary and poor vehicle based sections. Sometimes you end up not being able to see where you're going and run straight into an obstacle. I found myself shouting rude words at the screen on more than one occasion.
4. Why, or why, oh why, do the bosses repeat the same annoying phrases over and over again during your battles with them? It seems like once very five seconds they say the same phrase with the same intonation. After you've just died for the tenth time in the same battle with the same boss repeating the same phrase over and over you're just about ready to hit somebody. And they say video games don't encourage violence?
As you can see, the negative points mostly centre around the controls. To my mind, the keyboard-based control system of the original game was damn-near perfect. Why they've insisted on changing those key binding in just about every successive game is beyond me. At times, you wonder if anybody play tested parts of the game. Which is strange, as in general it's much more polished and better presented than previous Tomb Raider games.
If they could take this game with its plus points: nice graphics, decent plot, mostly excellent voice acting (the choice of Keeley Hawes as Lara is inspired) and combine it with the controls and camera of the original game (plus lose the vehicle-based sections which have always been poor), you'd have a very, very good game of a calibre approaching that of Half-Life 2, in my opinion.
The game is quite short and the plot is obviously intended to continue in a sequel. I live in hope that the issues listed above will be fixed in that, but I will buy (and enjoy) the sequel anyway.
What I've written above seems very negative and may put you off. My advice is, if you liked any of the previous Tomb Raider games then you'll like this. Buy it and play it, but be prepared for some frustration along the way.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Overrated due to great graphics and better controls, 22 April 2007
Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars
As Lara quips on the first level "death by irony is always painful" I later couldn't help thinking the joke was on her. Legend addresses the one major problem that all fans criticised for - the control scheme - yet produces new problems.
Lara is almost dream to handle, something we all would like to hear. The controls depend on the camera angle. If the Camera is facing to the side, jumping Lara in a certain direction will be a different button combination than when the camera is situated behind. In theory so long as you have patience Lara will be hassle free. Truth is when you've limited time to climb and jump before Lara is to be hit by an object or falls it slowly becomes cumbersome. Isolated locations make the camera become inconsistent, fidgety and unreliable.
Tomb Raider wasn't just a pretty face. It was a technical achievement. One of the things that made the game so memorable (or even notorious) was the ingenious and highly evolved puzzles. For all those who found the puzzles in previous iterations easy, be prepared to be insulted. Most make use of Lara's trusty new grappling hook (ain't that original) which she can use to pull objects or allowing her to swing platform to platform Zelda style.
It brings in a little more depth but sadly the simplicity of the puzzles makes this a missed opportunity.
Previous titles used gigantic locations to travel what felt like half a mile, climbing over and under caves and mountains whilst fighting weird and wonderful creatures along the way to solve a puzzle. Considering Lara Croft Tomb Raider has always been about the exploration of Tombs it boggles the mind why there doesn't appear to be much of it in Legends. Lara calls them tombs, I call them caves at best. Locations are so small it's impossible to make any puzzle ambitious. Most puzzles revolve around a small room. Instead of arenas, we get one-way roads. In the context that Tomb Raider held king for being bigger and better than the competition I find this almost unacceptable.
Credit to the varied locations, even if achieved by some pretty cheap plot elements. Graphically the jungles, deserts and tombs are some of the most visually stunning locations in any game. The detail is immense with the lighting and water effects some of the most involving I've ever seen. Branches and weeds stick out the grounds and ancient walls, water flows from every direction, surfaces are uneven and believably ruined looking. This is how Tomb Raider was always meant to look. Urban settings are more to be desired. Japan is as clichéd as it is boring. The only justification for urban settings are an excuse to show off Lara's figure in various revealing outfits or more [forced] action scenarios. What gets me most is one of the major criticisms in previous instalments were these urban environments and yet professional reviewers have been light handed with Legend.
Lets face it; Tomb Raider has never been known for its deep plot development. And why should it be? We play the Tomb Raider to venture into the beautiful ruins of ancient civilizations. What we have here is a `dig up the past' scenario. Frankly, who cares? Although the story does allow it easier for her to dress into some of the sauciest outfits it also allows for some boring and confusing storyline, mainly unfolding within cheesy conversations between Lara and her Yankee comrades watching from her home mansion. They're a scapegoat to explain a rather detached story, instead of having a decent plot cleverly integrated into the level design, as well as many attempts at `humor', but in this case, the U isn't the only thing missing from it. Not only is the voice acting annoying but also it's also obtrusive. Lara's pals choose the worst times to speak - whenever I'm rushing from boulders, calculating a complex jump, or enjoying the surroundings I often couldn't hear them over gunfire, also resulting in possible key plot elements being missed. I also noticed that Lara, both her voice and looks, have dropped the girl with attitude she had in original games. Her lines are quirky and occasionally cute. There isn't anything that forceful or powerful about her presence.
The interactive cut scenes are a waste of time too. To me this is a cheap way of avoiding involving the player in the action with any freedom. Another tedious task were the bike action scenarios. Again, they weren't difficult as you just switch between shooting one man on a bike to another like some rail shooter.
The gunfights are tedious and unprofessional. Whilst running up to an enemy, and using them to jump a number of feet high in slow motion is fun to begin with, accidentally jumping down cliffs whilst focusing on the battle, leaving you contemplating jumping out the window isn't. Neither is spending about 2 minutes trying to kill an enemy from afar as, whilst Lara is the best at athletics, she is the absolute worst at aiming. Zooming in does very little to make distant shots more accurate. Lara's guns are as reliable as a vampire working honestly for the Red Cross. Once you're locked on to someone, it's incredibly frustrating to lock onto something else. Most of the time you'll just jump around. Aiming in focus mode is even worse than when in standard mode. Lara cannot move leaving her as a sitting duck. Thankfully, `easy' mode is more a challenge to be defeated by standard enemies.
Yes Legend is pretty and yes the controls are better but it's still an average game. Every dog has their day, and no amount of makeup for this girl is going to hide that she's probably had hers. Interestingly, not only did Eidos lose original creators Core Design with Tomb Raider Legends, but have essentially lost the core design of what the series has always been about. Now that's death by irony Lara!
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Croft is back just as frustrating as ever., 16 April 2006
Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars
the game has improved a lot since chronicles, however it does still have the annoying and frustrating element to it..... camera angles can get on your nerves and should you go through the acrobatics just to get onto a ledge but then you jerk back ever so slightly and then have to do it all again it does get boring. Also the lighting in some parts is bad, for instance laras house the lighting is very poor and you dont have your torch. It is a half decent game as i say a vast improvment on the previous titles.
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