Tomb Raider Legend
Graphics
The graphics in the game are truly amazing and in places nothing short of breath-taking. This comes as no surprise seeing as the game has been developed by the same people responsible for the Legacy of Kain series which has always maintained a high level of visual quality. Everything about the game meets a very high graphical standard from the character models to the environments. Lara herself looks incredible and thanks to some great animations , looks very natural while she moves through the environments. I could write an entire review on how good the animations are in this game, Lara has a lot of acrobatic movements in the game as you would expect, and they are all animated superbly and even more impressively Lara always looks graceful, whether she is swinging on a pole or swan diving off a cliff. The only real animation problems crop up in the vehicle levels, in particular the motorcycle levels. It's not that they look awful but the movement does not look as natural and realistic as the rest of the game so it kind of stands out as noticeable. The rest of the character-models look really nice too. There are not many weapon models in the game but the ones that are there look great, one nice little touch is after emptying a few clips from your machine gun or dual pistols a little wisp of smoke emanates from the barrel. It's only a small touch but it is indicative of the great attention to detail in the game.
While all the models and animations are very impressive it's the environments in the game that are the real star. With the exception of the odd one or two the environments are incredibly expansive and hugely detailed. There are two examples in the game in particular that really highlight this, the first is in the Tokyo level where Lara has to climb to the top of some skyscrapers via some scaffolding, and the second is at the beginning of the Ghana level where you begin by swan diving off the top of a waterfall. Not only do these two environments looks awesome but they are incredibly expansive and incredibly immersive and create a great sense of scale and scope. Some of the more action oriented levels have destructible elements to them such as exploding barrels and oil drums, shoot these objects and you will be treated to some great explosion effects. With the next generation of graphics upon us there are still those that believe that graphics are not all that important but this game is a perfect example of how great looking and highly detailed environments can really enhance the gaming experience.
Sound
Not only does the game look great but it sounds awesome too. The return to roots approach of the series is nicely complemented by the original theme from the first game playing at the main menu. Elsewhere the music complements the game nicely, the action sequences like the gunfights and the vehicle levels have your typical up-tempo fast moving tracks and the more exploration based areas of the game have a more relaxed soundtrack. Sound effects are great too and really make the already immersive environments all that more engaging. Take the jungle levels for instance, all through these levels you can hear babbling waterfalls, and sounds from the natural wildlife, create a great atmosphere and being a tomb raider game a lot of time is spent in tombs and caverns and the sound makes these all the more real with nice echoing effects and such.
The Tomb Raider games have always been very story driven so as expected there is a lot of voicework in the game. There are no big names doing the voices but this is not an issue as the voice actors do a great job. Lara herself sounds great and like she should sounds eloquent and dangerous in equal measure. The supporting cast consists of Alistair, The sarcastic history buff who is Lara's research hound, and then Zip who is Lara's communications and equipment expert. Rather than just being present during the story sequences this support team are in constant communication during the levels and have some great ,sometimes even funny, conversations. Other times they can be really informative and interesting while filling in the gaps of the story. The villain's in the game sound great too and unlike some action adventure games are not overly stereotypical, in that they actually have reasons for doing all their nefarious deeds, and are emotionally driven.
Gameplay
They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery, and if that's right then the likes of the Prince of Persia series should be feeling very flattered right now. It's one of the first things you will notice when you start playing the game, that the gameplay feels very familiar and borrows heavily from the pinnacle of the modern action/adventure genre. While this may seem boring and unoriginal at first, the more you play and the further you get into the game you realize that the gameplay has a unique flavour all of its own. The game fuses familiar elements and mechanics, such as swinging on poles, with a fun and intuitive combat engine and throws in some unique gameplay elements of its own and the end result is an incredibly fun, intuitive and very satisfying gameplay experience.
One of the golden rules when making an action adventure game is that the character must be fun to control, and its surprising how many games fail to get this right. This was easily the biggest problem with the previous games but thankfully this is not the case this time around, Lara is an absolute dream to control. Movement is controlled, naturally, with the left analogue stick and medikits and items are mapped to the d-pad. The face buttons are used for the typical actions such as jumping and rolling, and the right analogue stick rotates the camera around Lara. Much of the gameplay feels similar to the likes of the prince of Persia games, in that you will enter an area and have to get from one side to the other using the various movements and actions at your disposal. There is a lot Lara can do here, you can swing on poles, climb vines and ladders, swing on ropes etc. While this part of the game may not feel the most original it's so well executed and the environments are so well designed that it's a lot of fun. The beauty of the gameplay is how it takes familiar mechanics and puts its own spin on them. The best example of this is the grappling hook, while not the most original tool to give a character its the variety of ways it is implemented that stand out here. It can be used to move incredibly large objects for puzzle solving, when jumping a chasm it can be shot out to grab the ceiling and you can then use it to swing yourself across the environment and it can be used to knock enemies off of their feet, one of the really inventive sections of the game involves you on a raft travelling along an underground network of waterways and using the grapple to pull the raft along. These sections are animated and executed so well that it is never boring. The game also makes use of quick time events, i.e. buttons and directions flash up on screen and you have to match them, and again while this is not exactly a new idea it's the execution that makes it so good, It is probably the best use of this mechanic since resident evil 4. A typical example would be the floor under Lara would begin to collapse and you have to quickly enter a series of commands to save her from a fatal plunge. The game successfully captures that feeling that all great action adventure games have, everything feels so natural and intuitive and is rarely boring or repetitive.
Now this being a Tomb Raider game there is a lot of gunplay in the game and like the rest of the game the mechanics of the gunplay are not anything you haven't seen before but it plays so well and is a lot of fun. You lock onto enemies with the Left trigger and use the right analogue stick to cycle targets, the right trigger then fires your selected weapon and while locked on jumping and rolling become tactics for evading enemy fire. There are also two little matrix-style moves you can do in the game, one involves jumping at an enemy and jumping again when you are close to him which causes Lara to somersault over him and the game slows down bullet-time style allowing you to take him out much easier, and the other involves you sliding at an opponent when close to him and Lara kicks the enemy into the air and bullet time again gives you the advantage. These movements are a lot of fun to do but can make the combat somewhat easy. And alas this is the biggest problem with the gunplay and the gameplay in general, it is very, very easy. The enemies typically stay in the one spot and don't take many shots to go down, and some levels have an abundance of explosive objects which can be used to clear several guys in one go and the game gives you a healthy supply of grenades. Another problem is that after every gun fight the area will be littered with medipacks, gun-clips and grenades, so you never really have to worry about conserving ammo or health packs. The game also does not have many weapons apart from the pistols and machine guns, the likes of shotguns and uzis are either non-existent or very hard to come by.
The final piece of the gameplay puzzle is the driving missions, which typically involve Lara on a motorcycle chasing after somebody or something, while trying to fend off chasing enemies with her trusty pistols. These sections are fun but are quite short in places and pretty easy to get through, plus the handling of the vehicles does not feel all that great and they tend to snake around a lot. Now as we all know camera control is a big deal with a game like this and far the most part its never an issue albeit the game is missing the now expected function of resetting the camera to behind the character with a single press of a button . It's a feature we have come to expect and I'm surprised at its omission. Like any action/adventure game the game has its share of boss battles and most of these are not bad per-say they are just not as much fun as the rest of the game. They pretty much stick to the variety of evading the enemies special attack and returning fire and repeat. One or two of the battles are memorable but most aren't.
Lifespan/Story
Unfortunately it is these areas of the game that let the game down and for me is all that's stopping the game from being truly "Legendary". Not only is the game very easy but it is also very short. If you play a lot of these games you can easily get through the game in around 8 hours. Now action adventure games don't tend to be the longest of games but this one is especially shorter than most. The story in the game is extremely well written and very engaging but follows a trend in games today that annoys me, put simply the story does not have enough closure and seems more focused on setting the scene for the next installment. If you are one of those people that was annoyed at how Halo 2 ended, then you will probably be just as miffed here. Now there is nothing wrong with spanning a story across multiple titles but games like the Prince of Persia trilogy manage to do this while still bringing each individual chapter to some sort of satisfying conclusion. It is a real shame here because the story is deep and engaging with so many different angles that it just leaves you wanting so much more.
The game starts off with a flashback to Lara's past and shows a young Lara on a flight with her family and their plane crashing into a remote mountain range and then switches to today with Lara exploring some ruins in Bolivia looking for her latest trinket and encounters a billionaire named James Rutland who has beaten her to it and it comes to light that he is working with a woman named Amanda from Lara's past that was believed dead, and they are trying to find all the pieces of a mythical sword, and we also learn early on for the first time in the series how exactly Lara's mother lost her life in the mountains they crash landed in. Lara hates being bested and loves to dig up the past so she makes it her mission to find the sword fragments first. The story then proceeds to explain how this woman is alive and her relation to Lara, what is so important about this sword and how this all ties into Lara's past and the death of her mother. The story gets really interesting towards the end and the game hands on such a critical note that knowing it will be a long time before the next installment is very frustrating. Thankfully there are some decent extras in the game, which are unlocked by collecting hidden items throughout the levels, the extras include unlockable costumes and upgrades for your pistols, so there is definite incentive to play through at least a second time. Lara's mansion also doubles up as another level within itself containing hidden items and areas and its own environmental puzzles.
Conclusion/ Closing Comments
Tomb Raider Legend is a great game and is a triumphant return to form for the series. The Gameplay is a perfect balance of action and exploring/puzzle solving and executes familiar elements with its own spin to make the game immensely fun to play. The graphics are great and has some truly outstanding environments and the sound, in particular the voice-work is top notch. There is some decent replay value to the game and the story while left on a cliff hanger is terribly engaging and interesting. Apart from the ending, or lack therof, to the story it's only the games length that drags the score down. If you are a fan of the original games or action/adventure games than you should give the game a try and if you have never played an action/adventure game then this is a great place to start. And to Eidos I would like to say, don't mess up this series again, because you won't get a third chance
