It's been 10 years since the first Tomb Raider game was released and the series flourished on PSone but it all went downhill on Lara's first opening on PS2, when Tomb Raider: the angel of Darkness first came out back in 2003 everyone was dissapointed not just the fans of the series. Even the first level was hard not because of the content, there was no endless streams of enemies but because of the terrible controls, just jumping from a ledge meant a constant repitition of deaths and at some points throughout the game you had to play as Kurtis Trent, Matalan's answer to James Bond. To be honest when we first got the news from eidos that they were making a new Tomb Raider we weren't that excited because of the last game after all we'd been excited right up to the release of it but now we admit we're wrong. Lara returns to solve the mysteries of her past, investigating the death of her mother years before and eventually it involves King Arthur and Excalibur(you get to use the mystic sword!), it may seem farfetched but it's entertaining but a little short. The sword is in lots of pieces and scattered around the world which gives Lady Croft the excuse to traverse the globe, ranging from locations like snowy research facility of Kazakhstan to the sundrenched tropical paradise of Ghana and the neon-drenced rooftops of Japan but by far the highlight is Cornwall where you enter a closed King Arthur museum which when you knock a wall down turns out to be King Arthur's and his knights tomb. The variety of levels is great although you'll basically just get the usual puzzling and platforming sections as games before it but with a sprinkle of gunplay thrown in. The puzzles are never very hard, most are just basic switch puzzles as you work your way through the level for the next bit of the sword. The platforming bits are really fun as you makes use of Lara's skill in acrobatics as you swing, jump, swim and climb you're way through each section. You also have to make use of Lara's new gadgets like the magnetic grapple which allows you to swing between platforms and pull rocks or scafolding towards you and the PLS (personal light source) which lights up the dark caves, you also get binoculars which are only useful when you're looking for a switch. All this becomes so simple with the precise controls, meaning you rarely time a jump badly and even if you do she'll grab on with one hand and with a quick tap of triangle will not fall. The only problem with these sections is the camera which you have to continually reposition and can be frustrating especially in tight spots where it's hard to get a good view of where you're going and is the only real way to misjudge a jump. Of course when you can't go around raiding tombs without getting into trouble and so Lara has some fancy gunplay where you can slide tackle or kung-fu kick enemies and jump off their heads which kicks in a bullet-time mode until Lara touches the floor again or use the magnetic grapple to pull enemies towards her. You get a small array of wepons with only Lara's signature twin desert eagles, an aussalt rifle, a shotgun, some grenades and excalibur (which you only get for one level). Sometimes you can shoot at certain things in the environment like explosive barrels and stone pillars and watch them explode/collapse on enemies but the gun play never feels that fun because it's too easy even on the harder difficulties, the lock-on is not very good as (like in GTA) it locks onto the wrong person and occasionally dissappears altogether and the accurate aim is only useful when you need to shoot locks etc. in the environment and is pointless against the enemies as you rarely hit them and yet the gunplay is still too easy. The enemies are usually just mercenaries but you also get the odd leopard, yakuza and dog to fight and some boss battles that aren't fun because they seem as if they've just been thrown in as they had no other ideas. Aside from the puzzles, platforming and gunplay there are alot of other things. There are two motorcycle chases in which you ride a handily placed ducati and speed after other vehicles and shooting goons on other bikes with your desert eagle and flying off jumps which are highlights of the game but the handling isn't as good as it should be. Also there's a few interactive cutscenes like the ones in Resi 4 but are more like leisurely gaps in the gameplay than the frantic, nerve bending button presses of Leon's story. The graphics are superb in the outside environments but not as good inside and only a few characters like Lara have much detail and alot look cartoony. The sound is good too with okay music to set the scene, plenty of ambient noise and excellent voicework to add personality to each character. It's a brilliant return to the glory of the PSone games but is over before it really begins.
Graphics 9 Sound 9 Lifespan 6 Gameplay 8 A return to greatness for Lara which is way too short with little replay value but still great fun.
After Angel of Darkness disappointed thousands of Tomb Raider fans with its clunky controls and uninspired action, most did not know what to think when Legend was announced. The earlier Tomb Raider games were so excitin... Read Full Review
Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider series first made it's debut almost 10 years ago. Since then Lara became some what of a video game idol, spanning T-shirts, magazine covers, and even having two large budget movies made aft... Read Full Review
