Back when gaming in three dimensions was still being figured out, I played the first Tomb Raider on PlayStation and loved it. It's aged rather poorly since, but the "Prince of Persia in 3D" gameplay and the sense of exploration was new and exciting. Sure, the combat was mediocre and "the female Indiana Jones" story was over the top, even compared to Crystal Skulls' standards; the gymnastic feats you could pull off while playing as Laura Croft kicked ass!
The inevitable sequels seemed to focus more on making Laura Croft the sex symbol of gaming. Missing what made the first game fun, they devolved into Dragon's Lair style trial-and-error affairs. The third game (what little I played of it) was an exercise in frustration and I wrote off the Tomb Raider series soon after—deciding to take the mixed reviews of the yearly sequels at their word.
For Tomb Raider Legend, a new developer was brought in to revive the series, and the final product was well received by the gaming press and the public. An updated port was released on the Xbox 360 soon after. After seeing the water effects in a store kiosk demo, I resolved to purchase it once I got the system (over a year later).
Legend is a return to form for the series, updating the graphics and gameplay for a more nuanced and immersive experience. The original game was a nice mix of exploration, puzzle solving and acrobatic platforming, with some clunky gunplay fights thrown in. This installment mostly sticks to that template, but adds improved combat, several driving sequences and the occasional Quick Time Event to keep you on your toes. Like the original game, the focus is wisely not on Laura but the tombs themselves. The varied and well designed environmental puzzles are top notch.
Another addition is the greater emphasis on story. The cut scenes move beyond being "simply glue" to link the levels together and do a good job of revealing some of Laura's past, setting up the next game, and still offering a satisfying ending. The voice acting is well done and the musical score is fantastic.
On the downside, the experience suffers a bit when compared to the better 360 games available. You can tell it is an Xbox game that was "ported up"; the character models other than Laura are a bit lo-fi and some of the level designs can be a bit geometric compared to modern games (particularly the boss fight areas).
Still, this is a well designed and fun game. If you are like me and fondly remember the first Tomb Raider, you really owe it to yourself to give Legend a try.
2011 ben langberg, all rights reserved.