Tomb Raider: Legend

Dave Poehlman · 04-13-2006, 02:57 PM

I know most people have given up on the series... but from what I hear, this game is getting good reviews.

Eidos has gone with Crystal Dynamics instead of Core Designs on this one. Core seemed like they were just going through the motions on the last few games.

Are there any Tomb Raider fans still out there?

Dave Poehlman · 04-13-2006, 04:27 PM

Ugh... what a noob I am.. I meant to put this in Video Game Software. Could a mod please move?

Unless the HTF site is designed to reroute all my posts to After Hours since that's where I spend most of my time.

George_W_K · 04-13-2006, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Unless the HTF site is designed to reroute all my posts to After Hours since that's where I spend most of my time.

Scott_lb · 04-13-2006, 10:10 PM

Yes, I do plan to buy it..... but not for $60.00. I downloaded the demo and was taken back to memories of the original Tomb Raider. While the game doesn't look quite as good as some of the other 360 titles available, it does a very nice job capturing the feel of the older Tomb Raider games.

Dave Poehlman · 04-14-2006, 08:41 AM

I sent the Mrs out to buy it last night... so, hopefully I'll get a chance to sit down with it this weekend.

Tomb Raider was one of my first PSOne games (I hadn't owned a console since the Atari 2600!), so I have fond memories of sitting in my basement with a warm blankie and a cold beer figuring out puzzles.

From what I've read, the game could be longer, and more challenging.

**HTF Ads**

Dave Poehlman · 04-16-2006, 08:58 AM

Okay... played a little bit of it (on a PS2 mind you)...

The graphics are the best of the TR series.. but, by today's standards.. could be a little better. You get reflections off of water and glass. When Lara gets wet, you can see her skin glisten. But, some of the characters look a little "cartoony" with the exagerated muscle definition.

The controls are better.. but I still fumble with remembering which button to hit sometimes. The gun buttons are a little cumbersome, IMO. I don't know why they ever changed the controls from TR2. If it ain't broke...

Difficulty... I've yet to run into one of those "stumper" puzzles that leaves you searching every nook and cranny. Especially since Lara now has a pair of binoculars that will basically give you hints. I've been playing at "Tomb Raider" (hard) level because of what I've read about it being easy and it still hasn't been too rough.

The story line so far is compelling.. Lara seems a little more feminine in this one showing a little more emotion than in other games.

I wish they'd allow you to snipe more with the weapons... Lara's aim ain't what it used to be, apparently.

She does have some cool moves.

MarkHastings · 04-18-2006, 09:58 PM

I just downloaded the PC demo and I loved it! I liked the dripping water (off her face) when you get out of the water. I can't wait to get the full version.

Quote:

Lara seems a little more feminine in this one showing a little more emotion

not to mention a little more 'crack' (wink wink) - I'm sure she could use that Neutragena coin slot cream

Mark Schmitt · 04-21-2006, 05:03 PM

Bought it, played it, finished it, loved it.

I never played Tomb Raider at all (never had a PS1), but I like these types of games (Prince of Persia being one of my favs), and this was one of those games I couldn't stop playing. I got it for the 360, after playing the demo (I love downloading demos on the console). It's not perfect, but here's some good and bad.

Good: The music was excellent. Don't know who wrote the music offhand here, but it was orchestral and moody. The environments were beautiful, varied and very well done. Lara's animation was smooth. I spent a couple of hours just jumping around the manor, doing flips and dives. Enemy AI was good. One guy will spot you and everybody starts shooting and throwing grenades. Also, many cutscenes are interactive (like the old Die Hard arcade game), where you have to hit the button that flashes onscreen. That was fun.

Bad: It's true, the game isn't too long. I finished in a few days, and I was not playing 24/7 (not even close). Although I did spend a couple of late nights playing. The difficulty. I played on the hardest level and still was able to do pretty well against most enemies. You just have to move and jump around a lot while locked on. Just watch out for grenades. And the final battle wasn't as hard as it could have been. It only took me a couple of tries. Maybe I just got mad skillz.

The "meh": The puzzles. I love puzzles in games. And some of these were a lot of fun. But not terribly hard to figure out. I can only remember one time where I was really stuck. The binoculars give some info away, but only in identifying those things that you can manipulate in some way. They don't say what you need to do with them. But in that one puzzle I was stuck on, my only problem was that I wasn't looking in the right place. I never consulted gamefaqs or anything while playing the game, but I did have to check it a couple of times after I finished to find some artifacts I missed. The driving sections were pretty mundane as well. OK, but not great. I preferred the ones in 007 Everything or Nothing when it comes to occasional driving levels. The storyline...well, I don't pay as much attention to that, but it was good enough. I was hoping for more at the ending though. Like one more level.

In all, a lot of fun to play. Definitely rent if you can get it. I'm still hanging on to my copy for now, because it was a lot of fun (good enough to play again) and I need those last artifacts. Also, there's a time trial for every level but I probably won't get that far.

Ahhh...my little digital hottie...much better to play around with Lara than with Prince of Persia. And as for coinslot, check out Amanda in the game. Oh geez.

Len Cheong · 04-21-2006, 09:51 PM

Sold my Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter and Blazing Angels on the 360 to buy this game and actually preferred playing it. Got the PC version since they were selling it for $30Cdn. For people with a 30 inch display (not me), the resolution goes up to 2560x1600. Wow! Looks great at 1920 x1200 though. Lara looks hot just like the model she was designed from (Karima Adebibe). Costumes galore and the other women look good too.
Environments were breathtaking and I'm glad this is the first Lara Croft game I've played. My computers not cutting edge but framerate is at full.