Tomb Raider: Legend

Lara Croft Tomb Raider Legend is the sequel we’ve all been waiting for since the original Tomb Raider hit PSone.

Between the plotting, level design, and gameplay, Tomb Raider: Legend does an admirable job of rescuing the franchise. Crystal Dynamics have torn down the franchise, consulted with the creator, and rebuilt it from the ground up as something significantly different…Something great.

Where Legend is successful is in capturing the charm and feel of the original games and truly feels like the first modern take on the series.

Great controls (except for those stupid motorcycle parts), amazing graphics, a solid storyline and wonderful vocal performances add up to not only a reinvigoration of the series, but the best Tomb Raider game yet, and a worthy purchase for everyone, not just the fans of the series hoping for a real sequel.

The most important thing is that Crystal has recaptured what made the first "Tomb Raider" so fun: climbing through tombs, discovering artifacts, and piecing the puzzle together to find the solution. Archaeology is finally cool again. [May 2006, p.84]

Every second of this game screams skillful design and the result is a liberating game world that feels open and responsive. Nearly every object in the game reacts to Lara's influence, and this applies to the gamer holding the control pad as well - it's impossible to play this game and not fall under its tempting spell.

Tomb Raider: Legend is the definitive sequel/prequel/quadquel to the Tomb Raider series. It's hard to imagine where it can go from here.

Tomb Raider fans finally once again have that must-have.

I wouldn't complain if they'd given us a little more, though, but this is definitely a stellar start.

Tomb Raider: Legend fails to be a reinvention of any genres, but succeeds in every way at reinventing itself. [May 2006, p.96]

Tomb Raider: Legend successfully brings the legend back in a movie-like experience. Great on atmosphere, tempo and diversity, but a bit short on content. The gunfights are passable, but the bike levels are just plain weak. [May 2006]

While it has modernized the gameplay mechanics, Legend feels like a walk down memory lane, recreating the feel of the original games. This is somehow comforting; no matter how many times Lara misses a ledge, is crushed by a boulder or dies in a hail of bullets, you feel she will always be there for you.

The voice acting sounds good, and is made better because the dialogue is well written. The background music is solid and fits the game well.

While the gameplay is serviceable, fun and current, the art design and visual production are head and shoulders above similar games in many respects.

I know that it almost sounds too good to be true, but after wishing and hoping for years, Lara finally kicks ass again. [Apr 2006, p.64]

With a revamped control scheme, massive levels to explore, and tons of secrets to unlock Tomb Raider Legend will keep avid gamers busy for a very long time to come.

Crystal Dynamics has finally made Lara into the female Indiana Jones she’s always threatened to be, and even managed to fill the game with memorable moments, such as an incident with a motorbike on the rooftops of Japan, swan diving off a high cliff into a lake, and even base jumping into the middle of a combat zone.

So while Legend may not innovate, it works, and I had a ball playing it. [May 2006, p.97]

Legend is a fine continuation of a classic series. Unless it inspires another Tomb Raider movie. In which case it sucks.

While it’s not a radically new direction for the series, the return to the familiar elements that made this series such a joy are back and the action-packed moments scattered throughout make this a game fans will definitely enjoy.

Lara's reinvention outshines a game that's too slick for its own good - with better boss battles, more epic environments and taxing puzzles, it'd be a classic. [May 2006, p.40]

Legend is a largely tremendous update of the classic Raider template, only let down by the short lifespan and lack of challenge. [Apr 2006, p.80]

The cliffhanger story is well put together. The action is simple and effective. The controls not only work, they're fun...Best of all, the sense of discovery and adventure is captured with a fresh sensibility.

The more advanced physics engine adds some welcome variety though, as objects can be manipulated more naturalistically. For instance, there's a bit where you need to get a box onto a raised area, something that can be done by dragging it onto the end of a glorified seesaw and jumping on the other end, propelling the box through the air.

For the first time ever, Lara Croft controls fluidly -- her world isn't divided into little squares, and she can perform complex series of acrobatic maneuvers without a pause (and often has to, later in the game).

A huge, huge improvement over the last few wretched Tomb Raider titles. Prince of Persia fans should definitely take note.

If anything, Legend succeeds in assuaging frustration. Puzzles never encroach on the aggravation of yester incarnations due to a RAD (“Remote Analysis Device”) that identifies objects of note. It’s reminiscent of Grim Fandango in the sense that you’re not left to hunt around wildly for the key elements in a conundrum.

The best new addition is a magnetic grappling device that allows Lara to move faraway items and swing across chasms. Puzzles are beautifully integrated into the environment and frustration rare.

It took me just under 8 hours to complete 90% of the game, and it's not a terrible stretch to imagine someone rushing through it in 5 or 6. It's a good sign for a game when players want more, and it's further proof that the Tomb Raider series is back in a big way.

Most players probably able to breeze through in less than eight hours, but there's never a dull moment.

Some may argue over what the series should have become, but what’s important is that it has made that tough decision for itself, and established a rock solid foundation for inevitable, now justified successors. [May 2006, p.86]

Most importantly, the puzzles are back on track. Traps, levers, pulleys, chains, chasms, secret passges, underground lakes, rotating knives — there’s a cunning solution to each, designed to keep you puzzling for just long enough to gain satisfaction in the solving, but not long enough to make you want to hurl your own internal organs at the screen.

Certainly, anyone who enjoys the idea of exploring vast, beautiful environments and leaping from the edge of one perilous chasm to another will get a lot out of this game.

The best in the entire series. Still, some aspects are scuffed up enough that it is quite as legendary as it could be and I'm not yet convinced that Lara is a truly compelling character.

Legend actually has a coherent plot that makes sense, even as fantastical things arise, which is more than I can say for the previous Tomb Raider titles, which seemed to be little more than glorified excuses to eyeball Lara's sweater puppies (nostalgists beware: they ain't what they used to be).

It doesn't do anything new or different, but it has a great blend of action and adventure that will always keep you moving and interested. The problem is that it moves a bit too fast, and it's all over way too soon.

Over in a flash, Legend is great in parts, rubbish in others. There's simply not enough tomb raiding. In fact, there's not enough of anything. Despite some great moments, there's just not enough gameplay, leaving this sadly lacking. [Issue#139, p.66]

Legend is the best Tomb Raider game that has yet been made. Despite the game’s few grating problems, that’s quite an accolade. [May 2006, p.102]

While Tomb Raider: Legend is a solid game, Crystal Dynamics just haven’t taken any chances with it – all of the design choices throughout the game feel too safe.

Less than ten hours of content simply doesn’t justify the game’s price, regardless of how improved Legend is over the last few Tomb Raider games.

It's fun for a bit, and fans of Lara will welcome this new addition as a breath of fresh air.