Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend Reviews

  • TopDog229TopDog22941,342
    15 Sep 2009
    20 8 1
    Ah, good old Lara. We fell in love with her in '96, and we still love her today. But after the deadpan game The Angel of Darkness, lots of Lara Croft fanboys hope that Tomb Raider: Legend will be Lara's "comeback," so to speak.

    In the game, Lara goes on a race against time to find the extraordinary and all-too-well-known Excalibur (of the King Arthur myths fame), while also trying to piece together clues about what happened to her mother. Heh... classic Lara. Anyways, she goes around the world, killing mercenaries, Yakuza henchmen, and even some animals (PETA will not love that...), all while trying to find Excalibur, which has been broken into 4 pieces scattered all around the globe.

    Legend is just a simple third-person shooter/puzzle game. You hold LT to lock onto enemies in range, and you press RT to fire Lara's signature dual pistols. Sadly, there is no function for hand-to-hand combat in Legend. That being said, it's a medium-hard game. It ain't hard to get through some of the levels, but some of the puzzles in it will chew you up and spit you out. Hard puzzles in creepy, entombed environments... isn't that what we expect from Lara by now? Heh. But you're not alone. Zip, the computer hacker in AOD, and Alister Fletcher, a British bookworm, are at Lara's side throughout her whole adventure. However, they're only for comic relief, and their constant tirades will leave you wanting to kill them.

    The only bad part I see about the game is the LOOOONG motorcycle sections. I know they fit in with what's happening at the time, but couldn't it be like in LEGO Indiana Jones, where Indy, during one of the chase scenes, kills the Nazi and jacks him for his ride?

    Can I forgive this game for it? Sigh... yeah, I can. Legend is just a great game, and after all, who can resist killing some idiotic mercenary as Lara?
    4.0
    Showing only comment.
    exceptionthrownGreat review TopDog229!
    Posted by exceptionthrown on 22 Oct 09 at 21:11
  • Sashimi X13Sashimi X13644,472
    16 Jul 2011
    9 2 0
    Every so often I'm guilty of hunting down older (yes, cheaper) games. I guess that all I'm expecting is something remotely playable. Admittedly, I had apprehensions when I bought Tomb Raider: Legends. I guess because there really hasn't been a good Tomb Raider game for a while.

    This game reminds me that we play video games because they're fun. This one is very, simplisticly fun. I almost hate to use the words simple or simplistic, because I don't want it to be confused with boring, because it is not. So many games now place so much emphasis on stunning visual effects, complex combat systems and multiplayer modes that they forget to be fun.

    Aided by backdrops like the Himalayas in Nepal and the highrises of Japan, the graphics are actually quite impressive without being pretentious. Gameplay is short, but makes up for it in replayability. Usually I don't call searching for unfound objects replayability, but some artifacts require you to get creative and find ways to manipulate the level, sometimes in complex ways to find them. I'ts a little more challenging then finding the discolored portion of the wall and merely kicking/shooting through it.

    The combat system is pretty basic. You have (lock-on and) shoot and that's pretty much it. There was some explaination of some melee attacks at the start of the second level, but I could never get them to work. It was just easier to shoot them. Plus, there are interactive cut-scenes that are just in essence trial and error/remember 2 or 3 button combinations. Kind of cheesy but not too annoying. Plus the time trials can be frustrating, because there is very little room for error to complete it in the alloted time. There really isn't much combat anyway, just minor annoyances with guns and poorly thrown grenades.

    The hardest difficult rating is "Tomb Raider - Hard", but it really isn't that hard. For me, the most difficult part was trying to figure out the puzzles than it was any "tourists" trying to shoot at me. Plus the damage that they do isn't much and they drop health power-ups everywhere.

    For the achievement score hungry population, and you know who you are, this is a good game for the price. The first 800 or so can be easily achieved in a day or two. It might take a bit of time and effort for the other 200.

    People's biggest complaints are going to be:

    1. It's to simplistic
    2. Graphics aren't very good
    3. It's too short

    For those that just appreciate good platform gaming this is a very good choice for the price. I would say rent it before you buy it, but you just may finish it first.
    4.0
  • Lt DavoLt Davo251,006
    21 Dec 2014 21 Dec 2014
    7 1 0
    Lara Croft: Legend is the first installment of the Tomb Raider series to be available on the XBox 360. Released in 2006, the 10th anniversary of the game on PC, it served as an introduction to Lara Croft for many console players. As such, it revisited some of the busty British archeologist's biography and set a stable foundation upon which future Xbox 360 games would build.


    STORY (5 stars)

    A colleague of Lara's has informed her about an artifact discovered in Bolivia that she knew Lara would be interested in. Lara finds that the artifact is a piece of a bigger artifact. Through flashback cutscenes and a player-controlled flashback section, we learn that the artifact is connected to the disappearance and presumed death of both Lara's mother and one of her friends. Lara then goes on a quest to find the remaining pieces of the artifact, so that she can solve the mystery of what happened to her mother.

    Throughout her journey, Lara is aided by her two assistants, who see what she does through a camera she has equipped, and talk with her via a headset. Zip provides technical expertise, while Alistair chats with her about archeological matters. Of course, Zip and Alistair's main purpose is to help the player understand what to do next and explain the story as it unfolds, but the writers did a great job of keeping them in the back seat and letting Lara be the driver. Many games mess this up and turn the protagonist into a simple follower of directions, e.g. "I'm your guide and I'm telling you that you need to go over there and do this, this, and this," but in Lara Croft: Legend, Lara and the player remain in charge at all times. As she goes, Lara maintains a chipper, upbeat attitude. Initially, I took this for shallowness, but after a few missions, I began to enjoy her ever-optimistic outlook.

    The story exceeded my expectations. Unlike with a lot of games, where I think, "remind me again why I'm fighting these people" or "what does what I've been doing for the last fifteen minutes have to do with why I'm here?" the story in Lara Croft: Legend does a good job of explaining the protagonist's motives, and it doesn't involve any distracting sidequests. The story unfolds as it goes, both building upon elements already established and foreshadowing elements yet to come.


    GAMEPLAY (3 stars)

    Your main job as you control Lara is to jump across chasms, swing on vines, avoid deathtraps, and solve puzzles so that she can find the artifacts she seeks. Most of the maps have some form a danger unique to that level, such as electrified passages or ledges that break away. These features help bring variety to exploration. While Lara is exploring, she can pick up "rewards", or collectibles, which are usually somewhat hidden or difficult to reach.

    Every map has some enemies - typically mercenaries hired by one of Lara's rivals. Some levels have quite a bit of combat, while others have very little. In addition to exploration and combat, some levels have boss fights, and a couple of them include high-speed motorcycle chases where Lara must drive with one hand and shoot enemies with the other.

    Each map has four difficulty settings: easy, medium, hard, and time trial. Medium difficulty is pretty easy, and I never played easy difficulty. On hard, Lara takes damage faster, and the enemies and bosses take it more slowly. This only affects combat situations; there is no difference in exploration or puzzle-solving. The combat, especially some of the boss fights, can be hard in hard mode. In time trial mode, you have to complete the map within a certain time limit. Assuming you know the map well, time trial difficulty is not especially hard; you can make a few mistakes here and there and still succeed.

    There is also a special map - Croft Manor - that is accessed via the main menu, apart from the story missions. This map has its own set of puzzles and rewards, and it gives you a chance to do things like try on outfits or practice diving or rolling without having to load up a mission.

    Exploration is the core of the game, and I enjoyed it very much. Lara travels light, with only a grapple, a flashlight, binoculars, and a small number of weapons at her disposal. Every puzzle must be solved Using only these tools, Lara's own considerable acrobatic skill, and whatever else you can find in the area. There is usually only one way to do it right, so the emphasis is on linear problem-solving rather than creativity. Still, I thought that the puzzles and maps were well-designed and entertaining.

    In contrast with exploration, combat encounters are brief and unchallenging on normal difficulty. Stealth is not an option, and neither is firing from cover, and since the enemies' weapons outrange Lara's pistols, combat is usually a brute force matter of locking onto an enemy, charging at him, holding down the trigger until he's dead, and then locking onto the next one. Because combat is only a minor part of the game, I didn't mind how untactical it was, except when the boss fights came along. Most of the boss fights were tedious ordeals of wearing down the boss's health bar while you avoid his attacks. And while the motorcycle chase/combat sequences were thrilling, they went on for way too long.

    Another minus to the gameplay, and the main reason I only gave it 3 stars, is that customization is almost nil. While completing missions and collecting rewards does unlock new outfits, concept art, and so forth, the only ingame customization you get, other than skins, is a slight improvement to Lara's pistols. I would have rather had the chance to earn things like faster running speed, an increased health pack carry limit, buffs/debuffs to some of the outfits, or something. Between the very linear story and the lack of customization, once you've beaten the final boss and collected all of the rewards, you don't have any reason to start a new game.


    CONTROLS (4 stars)

    I'm of a mixed mind about the controls. On the one hand, they are very intuitive and easy to learn. Things like leaping up to a bar, twirling over it a couple of times, and flinging Lara up to the next ledge are fluid and fun. On the other hand, things like trying to stand at the edge of a ledge and throw the grapple without simultaneously walking off the ledge were annoying and not fun. Lara is very good at not grabbing onto ledges where she has no reason to be; I only wish she was just as good at not leaping off of ledges where there is nothing to grab onto. I don't mind dying if I do something wrong, like misjudge the timing of a leap, but I felt like I died a lot of times only because I failed to constantly monitor and suppress Lara's suicidal urges.


    VISUALS AND SOUND (5 stars)

    The visuals and sound of Lara Croft: Legend are right up there with any game of its generation. The jungles, mountains, caves, and ruins that make up the majority of the game's scenery are vivid, majestic, and natural-looking. The settings and their beauty speak for themselves, but they are reinforced at times by Lara's own enthusiasm. As she put it at one point after eyeing some ruins, "I'm a very lucky girl."

    The soundtrack is just as excellent as the scenery. Each map has its own music, with cues set to make sure you hear the right parts of the score at the right moments. The music is orchestral, with occasional ethereal female voices added in to impart a haunting mood.


    MULTIPLAYER (N/A)

    There is no multiplayer.


    ESRB RATING: T

    This game is rated T for blood, language, suggestive themes, and violence. There is definitely quite a bit of violence, and some of it is bloody. I don't remember any language, but there could have been some that I overheard. I also don't know what the "suggestive themes" would be, unless it's the simple fact that Lara Croft has a Barbie-doll figure, and some of her outfits show her legs, midriff, and/or cleavage. I don't remember one word or frame of anything actually "suggestive" about it – like Jessica Rabbit, Lara isn’t bad, she’s just drawn that way - but I guess that’s the ESRB’s way of warning us about her.


    ACHIEVEMENTS (3 stars)

    Lara Croft: Legend has 23 achievements worth 1000 G. There are only three things you must do to get all 23: complete each map in hard difficulty, complete all of the time trials, and find most of the rewards (95 out of 115, to be exact). I don't usually say this, but I could have used more variety and/or difficulty with the achievements. Don't get me wrong, I expect there to be achievements for completion, difficulty, and collectibles, but I also like to see a little more of a challenge. Something like "kill 3 enemies with one grenade" or "perform a swan dive from the cliff in Ghana" would have added a little more fun, plus given some incentive to replay the game.

    I should point out that if you intend to get 100 percent completion, this title has two add-ons: Anniversary - Episodes 1 & 2 and Anniversary - Episodes 3 & 4 with 5 achievements each, for a total of 33.


    OVERALL

    I had played one other Tomb Raider game before this one. It was the arcade version, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, which had excellent gameplay, but was short on story and visuals. I was pleased to see so much consistency between the gameplay elements of both games, while also enjoying a more story-oriented experience, and with visuals and sound that are second to none. Lara Croft: Legend was my second Tomb Raider game to play, and it most certainly will not be my last.
    4.0
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