Tomb Raider III confirms that the series is in desperate need of an ego-puncture.
It's one thing for a computer character to be popular, it's another to exploit them. Topless shoots in video game magazines and the shaping of Nell McAndrew's career is truly disturbing. Suddenly, the world owes so much to Lara Croft, so much that we should ignore that Tomb Raider is actually quite boring. Lara Croft defies the LA bimbo personality, yet she's paired with a contradictory sex symbol status that's just creepy.
Glorious polygonal environments rendered with remarkable graphics and subtly good gameplay has now become tired; cliche and dull events of running from boulders, jumping from high ledges, running over collapsing floors and avoiding the odd spike filled pits are passion killers... However it is these cliches that extends to the heart of the third installment of Tomb Raider, whose only improvements are the extra actions Lara can perform and the choice of route on the globe you can visit first. Added with a few adrenaline rushed cutscenes, there is little to be whimsical about if you're over the busty heroine already.
This time Lara is on the creaky path (that collapses in 0.39 seconds) to finding yet another artefact and stopping the competition. To be honest, the plot is baffling, uninteresting and dire. All you need to know is that Lara's after yet another artefact and will go up against a mad Scotsman in the name of acquiring it. Enhancements in level design have been polished nicely but the premise of Tomb Raider's gameplay is still confined to hours per level and solving puzzles via the landscape to access new areas in the game - token gunplay comes from combating exotic creatures to masochistic men to genetic abombinations.
Lara's new abilities include being able to sprint, crouch, monkey swing and the nice little inclusion of being able (in fact, having to) use vehicles. Such would be the quad bike and the kayak - they add a little excitement to the odd level that can be hampered with the usual tasks of having to climb and jump all over the place. Another grateful return is the save crystal that can be used anywhere in the macabre levels. Core have also tried to include a mild area of stealth, which the control mechanism does not complement whatsoever. After completing the first levels of India, you can choose your route around the globe that has Lara changing her costume. Luckily the camera angle has been modified, repelling some of the antagonism the previous games gained over its hazardous camera angle. Even more so than the second installment of Tomb Raider, Core has proposed more exciting levels and concepts that should keep both Lara and yourself busy in awe and frustration.
In London our Lara dons a very tight black leather catsuit that Catherine Zeta Jones was camel-toeing in back in Entrapment. London has a nasty conclusion involving blonde versus brunette, Dynasty style. And I know exactly what you'll be thinking of when you cast your eyes on those small ripped denim hotpants when she's in the tropical locations; "I can read your lips Lara!" Then, in the desert Nevada, you have Lara performing a stunt with a quad bike that Johnny Knoxville sure didn't teach her - poor Lara shoots over a fence, tumbles off the bike, which explodes, and smashes into a rock; the amazing thing about that is that not one scratch or bruise emerges on her skeletal bones. Lara also finds herself incarcerated in Nevada prison with common criminals, who would probably like a piece of that arse. If that doesn't float your boat then Lara also dabbles in the world of Dino Crisis in the tropical forests when lipstick red raptors lunge at her, she also infiltrates Area 51 and I'm not talking about an airport. These scenarios ought to arouse interest, but don't.
Although it's very hard to understand the extent of Lara Croft's sex appeal, that's not to say Core Design haven't pulled out a hat trick with sparkling graphics that do the game justice. Perfect lighting conforms into lifelike visuals, such as the very detailed water effects and the textures have also been improved making the surroundings less squared and blocky (even Lara's jaws have been reduced slightly). As for Lara herself, she's ageing fairly well with and the Playstation's RAM has been kind to her... arse. However, being forced to stare at it ten hours straight, as it consumes most of your eye precision, causes you to generally think it's a huge one. Splurge the graphics with some first class presentation effects in the form of the CG movie sequences, and Tomb Raider III is Eidos' best looking game to date.
Something that should at last be addressed regarding the Tomb Raider series is its genre. It's not an action game. Maybe if Core stripped Lara of her trademark pistols then the game would be properly tried as an adventure game. There's hardly any use for them, which baffles gamers who expect more action and those who think more gun action is pointless. Lara doesn't come across as that type of girl. Lara Croft is supposed to be more Indiana Jones than Rambo. Then again, she's not supposed to be Pamela Anderson either.
The Tomb Raider's controls have always been the predominant factor in criticism, which has prevented the series from reaching its true potential. As much as giving Lara new features to handle is innovating, Eidos' idea of fixing the much complained speed problem of Lara by just giving her a sprint fixture is just foolish and illogical. Moving her around with the directional butons are still not as responsive as they could be. This includes turning corners. Mapping sidestepping to the R1 button was a clever move, but even cleverer if they had used one of the other shoulder buttons to serve as a camera angle toggler. This would have helped the excruciating camera angle immensely considering that Lara doesn't go into transparency when her big fat bonga is in the way of the perspective. A lock on target mode would have been useful as well as Lara being able to strafe around while shooting an enemy instead of having to run in circles to shoot and avoid enemy attacks.
There is not much to talk about , musically. What has been heard before is heard again, the death ridden traps are attempted to be glorified by adding acoustic fiddles and sometimes, the dynamic orchestra while Lara eludes the boulders, jumps over the sharp spikes, sprints across the creaky floors and slides past the closing walls. Traversing the levels without any music is uncannily claustraphobic with breathy sounding effects as you do so, but it would be nice, and effective, if there was a little more. Voice acting is vaguely present in the characters, with Lara sounding more relaxed than ever.
Other than the story, you have Lara's mansion to play in. Upgraded with more secret areas, including a quad bike race track, a shooting practice feature, a secret museum room gathering the artefacts from her previous travels, two assault courses from the last two games and the chance to lock the old farting butler in the freezer again, there is extra fun to be had in Tomb Raider III. It has to be said as to why her furnishings are shoulder length with her, and how she could use the kitchen sink as a jacuzzi is beyond bizarre.
At the end of the day, Tomb Raider III is surpassed by one thing and that's none other than Lara Croft. Video games are striving for progression and the third addition to the overrated series disappoints. If you can excuse the controls, sleazy Lara, limited experience and the insincere skills Eidos have used to sell the game with, Tomb Raider III is but a fair entry into the series that, whilst having its merits, is in desperate need of an uplift in its gameplay structure to win over the waning audience. Core should stop blemishing any good points by overlooking everything else in favour of a heroine that is nowhere near as popular or endearing as they would care to believe. The demise of what could be a good series is blatantly down to a company who have forced and forced their product onto us until the point where we all just want to vomit.