PDorr3
04-17-2006, 03:02 AM
I beat Tomba Raider Legend today, so here is my full (and lengthy) review of the game. I hope this will help persuade, or dissuade any of you on the fence of buying/renting the game. I submitted this to the review database as well, so hopefuly it will be up eventualy.
Title: Tomb Raider Legend
NA Release: 2006
Designer: Eidos Interactive, Crystal Dynamics
System: Various
Genre: Adventure
http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/images/2003/all/boxshots2/926821_63463.jpg
(This review is based on the Xbox 360 Version)
Intro
I was really excited to read about a new Tomb Raider game that went back to its roots of actualy exploring Ruins and Tombs, but I was still hoping that it would still feel like the good old tomb raider games where you really had to EXPLORE every little nook and crany to find that one little ledge to the exit. I kept away from gameplay videos ansuch so that going into the game would be a complete suprise.
Graphics:
(Note, I played the 360 version so this section is based on that) The number one problem with games these days is framerate. I am one to complain about it, since to me only certain games suffer from that problem (racing games for example), but in TRL's case it does have some problems where the frame rate is low, not even in crowded areas. Luckily it doesnt take away from the games beauty, and since you are basicaly in enclosed places most of the time, you are never really running around to experience the bad frame rate.
Besides that, the game looks pretty damn awsome in terms of its environments. You go from a ruin in a rainforest to abandoned villages in Peru, and eventualy you are scaling the side of a snowy mountain looking over miles of land. It all looks great, and the tombs have great uses of shadows. The first time you see this HUGE waterfall that takes up the whole screen your jaw will drop as you realize just how real and believable the world setting is.
There are some complaints though. Character moels are not all too refined. For example, all of the characters faces have tons of clipping, such as eyes showing behind their hair, their eyes and eyelashes seem strangely stuck on, and all enemies are exactly alike. Thats right, every bad guy you encounter is wearing the same exact clothes. However, the animations of Lara are dead on, she moves with ease, and long gone are the robotic movements of her PS1 days, its just too bad all enemy models are still horribly stiff.
Story
I have never really cared much about Lara in general, her background never interested me, all I know is she raids tombs, and does a damn good job of it. The game introduces you to a plot that unravels Laras past, showing you her childhood and how she lost her mother, and how this all ties together with some excalibur sword, some wacky friend that she believes got killed long ago, and...bah, I admit I didnt care about the story at all, luckily everything was well acted out, and Lara had personality. It is a pretty weird story that might have you wondering at points "why the hell am I here again, fighting this....thing?", but luckily you dont haveto watch too many cut scenes throughout the game.
Gameplay
There are 7 different levels to play through, each in a new location somewhere else in the world. Anywhere from Tokyo to Africa, Lara is there in this adventure. Each location is littered with some easy (and not so easy) medals to find throughout the adventure, which adds a collection aspect typical of adventure games, which was must needed for the otherwise repetitve gameplay, although I think they could have come up with ore clever hiding spots for the medals, but thats just a minor complaint. First the good things. Exploring the tombs and levels is just fun, and in many cases you willfind yourself hundreds, maybe thousands of feet in the air dangling by one hand, shimmying your way across a 6 inch ledge. Thats what gives this game its fun flavor, is the constant sense of danger. However, once you experience the danger once, it sticks with the game unitl the end. What I mean is this: The game has 5 main elements to it.
1) Climbing- Every level, no matter where will have these painfuly obvious ledges that you use to shimmy across. They are marked by often brighter, colors ar are obvious to see that you must climb them. While this might be good for people who are obviously irritated by not having the game hold their hand, but in a way it takes away from the sense of exploration when the path is laid clearly in front of you. It doesnt help that the camera shifts directly in the direction of the path you must take while climbing, making it very hard not to see the path given to you.
2) Swinging- Mixed in with the climbing are poles that you use to swing from place to place. It might seem cool at first, but once you reach the 3rd level and see those damn poles again, it gets old fast. You know something is wrong when you are at the end of the earth, climbing an ice wall, and suddenly out of nowhere there is this perfect metal pole there for you to swing on, it kinda ruins the experience. Not only that, but swingling on poles is so on rails its not even funny, the game makes it REALLY hard to screw up on a pole jump, because the release point is mapped to one location, so if you press the jump button and you dont jump until 1 second later, it because the game wants you to release at one specific point only, so really there is no challenge to pole jumping.
3) Box pushing- Every level, no matter where, is going to have you in somehow or another psuhing around boxes. Each level in the game usualy has one main puzzle that requires pushing blocks around to different swiches until you guess the right order. You use the boxes in other ways, but not many. Put it this way, once you figure out how to use the boxes for certain puzzles, the rest of the game everytime you see that situation again you know exactly what you must do. Often times the box puzzles can be pretty obvious, but other take some thinking.
4) Grappling- Lara comes equipped with a magnetic grappling hook that lets here get ahold of any metal object, which are clearly marked in the game as more brightly colores objexct, with an obvious shine to them. In a way its helpful, but it points out what parts of the environments you must use so obciously that it basicaly solves the puzzles for you. You walk into a huge room, and in the distance you see a bright shine, so you must know that object is either used to A) swing on or B) move. It does add something new to the game, but truly it doesnt add much value to the gameplay.
5) Shooting- When Lara isnt figuring out puzzles she is gun fighitng with some very generic enemis. There are only two types of enemies in the game (yes, TWO). One is the human, who often stand still and shoot bullets yelling different remarks. They either throw a grenade, shoot a automatic gun, or snipe with laser rifles at close range. The second enemy are cougar/dogs. They are so badly implemented that you would think that they were slapped into the game 2 days before it was released. They have some of the worst AI ever, looking like robots, and they spend more time just running towards you than actualy attacking you, needless to say they are useless, and despite that you encounter maybe 10 10 of them throught the whole game.
Gunplay (luckily) is kept to a minimum, because it is very loose and unsatisfying. You bullets fire extremely slow (from the hand guns) and are very inacurate at medium-long range. It all just feels so loose and unpolished, however it isnt bad enough that it ruins the ame, because like I said, gunplay is kept to a minimum. Perhaps if the aiming and AI had been fixed, and maybe some different enemies, this would have been a shining moment for the game.
Boss battles are one of the best parts of the game, because each one is very fast paced and often requires a few attepmts before you finaly figure out what must be done. However, they dont last long. Once you figure out the solution, it only takes a few hits to finish off the boss. One battle in particular I finished in maybe 2 minutes, an the final battle (while really cool) was so easy that its not even worth worrying about how to stay alive.
Anyway, back to the main aspect of exploring the tombs. Each level takes 30 minitues to 1 and a half hours to complete. Each one has one main puzzle, which usualy takes the longest to figure out. However, they all lack viarety because each one basicaly has you pushing around blocks, or swinging on ropes. Not to say thats all too bad, but it statrs to get old after awhile. Different puzzles should have been used, because after the 3rd level or so, you know all there is to know about the game and will rarely be face with any unique or new challenges.
And just to make things a bit worse for you, the game makes you play two bike chase sequences that are horribly bad, and last about 10 minutes each. The controls are so loose, and all of it seems so out of place in the awhole game. You just escaped a level, and are surrounded by enemies, but suddenly and magicaly there is a motorcycle for you to ride away with, and then you are killing mave after wave of enemeis on motorcycles, with absolutely no depth to it at all. Ride on a straight path, avoid the barrlels, hold the shoot button, and thats it. They luckily only take up about 20 minutes of the game, but for what its worth thats 20 minutes of wasted time.
Sound
I really liked the voice acting, and luckily Lara is played perfectly with the right attitude to make her believable. All other characters also have fitting voice actors, except this one girl (Amanda) who I could swear sounds ike every saturday morning cartoon girl, really annoying voice. Environments all have their little noises, like birds chirping, water running, rocks falling, it all adds to the environment greatly. Too bad the enemies sound totaly generic during battle. The music is also an ambient upbeat soundtrack, fitting the mood of each scene. In a fight sequence its upbeat, and during a raid in a tomb it has different kinds of tribal music.
Control
Luckily the days of the grid based tomb raider games are gone. Everything is now swift and easily controlled. Each one of Laras mechanisms is mapped to the D-Pad, so pressing up uses a health pack, right is your benoculars, left is a light source, and down is the changing of guns. It works out much better than having to access a menu for it all. One of the bigger problems with adventure games is the camera, and luckily TRL does a good job of giving you a free moving camera, but during its tight quarters it kinda steers you in the right direction instead of having to fiddle around with it to see where you must jump to next, but it pays its price as I said earlier by paving the direct road for you through many of its jumping sequences.
Replay Value
Besides the main adventure (which can be beaten in 7-10 hours), you get to explore Laras beatiful (and huge) mansion, littered with some of the games most complex puzzles, and more secrets to find. Speaking of secrets, along your journey of completing levels nad finding medals, you are awarded with weapon upgrades, new costumes, 3D models to look at, and more. None of it is so gratifying that it makes you want to beat the game 100% to get everything, but it is some replay value. There are also time trials which require you to get through each of the levels as fast as you can, so if you are into these types of things they are readily available. Besides all of that, there is really nothing left for you to do, and there is little reason to go back and replay the game more than once.
Overall
Sadly the game did not turn out as well as it could have. Dont get me wrong, I really enjoyed playing the game trough and exploring its tombs and various other locations, however it is very linear , and there is always one path to travel, so really there is little actualy "exploring" involved to find the right path. Solutions are mapped out so obvious, such as the poles, shining objects, and gripping ledges, that you rarely haveto search for your next path. This is also worsened by a camera which zautomaticly moves in the direction of the next jumping platform, so that you basicaly know exactly where to go.
With all of that aside though it was still fun, and is a good sign that the series is back on track. Old Tomb Raider fans will definitly appreciate what TRL brings back to the table, but here are still the fair share amount of problems.
Graphics: 8
Story: 6
Gameplay: 7
Sound: 8
Control: 9
Replay Value: 5
Overall: 7 (not an average)
Title: Tomb Raider Legend
NA Release: 2006
Designer: Eidos Interactive, Crystal Dynamics
System: Various
Genre: Adventure
http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/images/2003/all/boxshots2/926821_63463.jpg
(This review is based on the Xbox 360 Version)
Intro
I was really excited to read about a new Tomb Raider game that went back to its roots of actualy exploring Ruins and Tombs, but I was still hoping that it would still feel like the good old tomb raider games where you really had to EXPLORE every little nook and crany to find that one little ledge to the exit. I kept away from gameplay videos ansuch so that going into the game would be a complete suprise.
Graphics:
(Note, I played the 360 version so this section is based on that) The number one problem with games these days is framerate. I am one to complain about it, since to me only certain games suffer from that problem (racing games for example), but in TRL's case it does have some problems where the frame rate is low, not even in crowded areas. Luckily it doesnt take away from the games beauty, and since you are basicaly in enclosed places most of the time, you are never really running around to experience the bad frame rate.
Besides that, the game looks pretty damn awsome in terms of its environments. You go from a ruin in a rainforest to abandoned villages in Peru, and eventualy you are scaling the side of a snowy mountain looking over miles of land. It all looks great, and the tombs have great uses of shadows. The first time you see this HUGE waterfall that takes up the whole screen your jaw will drop as you realize just how real and believable the world setting is.
There are some complaints though. Character moels are not all too refined. For example, all of the characters faces have tons of clipping, such as eyes showing behind their hair, their eyes and eyelashes seem strangely stuck on, and all enemies are exactly alike. Thats right, every bad guy you encounter is wearing the same exact clothes. However, the animations of Lara are dead on, she moves with ease, and long gone are the robotic movements of her PS1 days, its just too bad all enemy models are still horribly stiff.
Story
I have never really cared much about Lara in general, her background never interested me, all I know is she raids tombs, and does a damn good job of it. The game introduces you to a plot that unravels Laras past, showing you her childhood and how she lost her mother, and how this all ties together with some excalibur sword, some wacky friend that she believes got killed long ago, and...bah, I admit I didnt care about the story at all, luckily everything was well acted out, and Lara had personality. It is a pretty weird story that might have you wondering at points "why the hell am I here again, fighting this....thing?", but luckily you dont haveto watch too many cut scenes throughout the game.
Gameplay
There are 7 different levels to play through, each in a new location somewhere else in the world. Anywhere from Tokyo to Africa, Lara is there in this adventure. Each location is littered with some easy (and not so easy) medals to find throughout the adventure, which adds a collection aspect typical of adventure games, which was must needed for the otherwise repetitve gameplay, although I think they could have come up with ore clever hiding spots for the medals, but thats just a minor complaint. First the good things. Exploring the tombs and levels is just fun, and in many cases you willfind yourself hundreds, maybe thousands of feet in the air dangling by one hand, shimmying your way across a 6 inch ledge. Thats what gives this game its fun flavor, is the constant sense of danger. However, once you experience the danger once, it sticks with the game unitl the end. What I mean is this: The game has 5 main elements to it.
1) Climbing- Every level, no matter where will have these painfuly obvious ledges that you use to shimmy across. They are marked by often brighter, colors ar are obvious to see that you must climb them. While this might be good for people who are obviously irritated by not having the game hold their hand, but in a way it takes away from the sense of exploration when the path is laid clearly in front of you. It doesnt help that the camera shifts directly in the direction of the path you must take while climbing, making it very hard not to see the path given to you.
2) Swinging- Mixed in with the climbing are poles that you use to swing from place to place. It might seem cool at first, but once you reach the 3rd level and see those damn poles again, it gets old fast. You know something is wrong when you are at the end of the earth, climbing an ice wall, and suddenly out of nowhere there is this perfect metal pole there for you to swing on, it kinda ruins the experience. Not only that, but swingling on poles is so on rails its not even funny, the game makes it REALLY hard to screw up on a pole jump, because the release point is mapped to one location, so if you press the jump button and you dont jump until 1 second later, it because the game wants you to release at one specific point only, so really there is no challenge to pole jumping.
3) Box pushing- Every level, no matter where, is going to have you in somehow or another psuhing around boxes. Each level in the game usualy has one main puzzle that requires pushing blocks around to different swiches until you guess the right order. You use the boxes in other ways, but not many. Put it this way, once you figure out how to use the boxes for certain puzzles, the rest of the game everytime you see that situation again you know exactly what you must do. Often times the box puzzles can be pretty obvious, but other take some thinking.
4) Grappling- Lara comes equipped with a magnetic grappling hook that lets here get ahold of any metal object, which are clearly marked in the game as more brightly colores objexct, with an obvious shine to them. In a way its helpful, but it points out what parts of the environments you must use so obciously that it basicaly solves the puzzles for you. You walk into a huge room, and in the distance you see a bright shine, so you must know that object is either used to A) swing on or B) move. It does add something new to the game, but truly it doesnt add much value to the gameplay.
5) Shooting- When Lara isnt figuring out puzzles she is gun fighitng with some very generic enemis. There are only two types of enemies in the game (yes, TWO). One is the human, who often stand still and shoot bullets yelling different remarks. They either throw a grenade, shoot a automatic gun, or snipe with laser rifles at close range. The second enemy are cougar/dogs. They are so badly implemented that you would think that they were slapped into the game 2 days before it was released. They have some of the worst AI ever, looking like robots, and they spend more time just running towards you than actualy attacking you, needless to say they are useless, and despite that you encounter maybe 10 10 of them throught the whole game.
Gunplay (luckily) is kept to a minimum, because it is very loose and unsatisfying. You bullets fire extremely slow (from the hand guns) and are very inacurate at medium-long range. It all just feels so loose and unpolished, however it isnt bad enough that it ruins the ame, because like I said, gunplay is kept to a minimum. Perhaps if the aiming and AI had been fixed, and maybe some different enemies, this would have been a shining moment for the game.
Boss battles are one of the best parts of the game, because each one is very fast paced and often requires a few attepmts before you finaly figure out what must be done. However, they dont last long. Once you figure out the solution, it only takes a few hits to finish off the boss. One battle in particular I finished in maybe 2 minutes, an the final battle (while really cool) was so easy that its not even worth worrying about how to stay alive.
Anyway, back to the main aspect of exploring the tombs. Each level takes 30 minitues to 1 and a half hours to complete. Each one has one main puzzle, which usualy takes the longest to figure out. However, they all lack viarety because each one basicaly has you pushing around blocks, or swinging on ropes. Not to say thats all too bad, but it statrs to get old after awhile. Different puzzles should have been used, because after the 3rd level or so, you know all there is to know about the game and will rarely be face with any unique or new challenges.
And just to make things a bit worse for you, the game makes you play two bike chase sequences that are horribly bad, and last about 10 minutes each. The controls are so loose, and all of it seems so out of place in the awhole game. You just escaped a level, and are surrounded by enemies, but suddenly and magicaly there is a motorcycle for you to ride away with, and then you are killing mave after wave of enemeis on motorcycles, with absolutely no depth to it at all. Ride on a straight path, avoid the barrlels, hold the shoot button, and thats it. They luckily only take up about 20 minutes of the game, but for what its worth thats 20 minutes of wasted time.
Sound
I really liked the voice acting, and luckily Lara is played perfectly with the right attitude to make her believable. All other characters also have fitting voice actors, except this one girl (Amanda) who I could swear sounds ike every saturday morning cartoon girl, really annoying voice. Environments all have their little noises, like birds chirping, water running, rocks falling, it all adds to the environment greatly. Too bad the enemies sound totaly generic during battle. The music is also an ambient upbeat soundtrack, fitting the mood of each scene. In a fight sequence its upbeat, and during a raid in a tomb it has different kinds of tribal music.
Control
Luckily the days of the grid based tomb raider games are gone. Everything is now swift and easily controlled. Each one of Laras mechanisms is mapped to the D-Pad, so pressing up uses a health pack, right is your benoculars, left is a light source, and down is the changing of guns. It works out much better than having to access a menu for it all. One of the bigger problems with adventure games is the camera, and luckily TRL does a good job of giving you a free moving camera, but during its tight quarters it kinda steers you in the right direction instead of having to fiddle around with it to see where you must jump to next, but it pays its price as I said earlier by paving the direct road for you through many of its jumping sequences.
Replay Value
Besides the main adventure (which can be beaten in 7-10 hours), you get to explore Laras beatiful (and huge) mansion, littered with some of the games most complex puzzles, and more secrets to find. Speaking of secrets, along your journey of completing levels nad finding medals, you are awarded with weapon upgrades, new costumes, 3D models to look at, and more. None of it is so gratifying that it makes you want to beat the game 100% to get everything, but it is some replay value. There are also time trials which require you to get through each of the levels as fast as you can, so if you are into these types of things they are readily available. Besides all of that, there is really nothing left for you to do, and there is little reason to go back and replay the game more than once.
Overall
Sadly the game did not turn out as well as it could have. Dont get me wrong, I really enjoyed playing the game trough and exploring its tombs and various other locations, however it is very linear , and there is always one path to travel, so really there is little actualy "exploring" involved to find the right path. Solutions are mapped out so obvious, such as the poles, shining objects, and gripping ledges, that you rarely haveto search for your next path. This is also worsened by a camera which zautomaticly moves in the direction of the next jumping platform, so that you basicaly know exactly where to go.
With all of that aside though it was still fun, and is a good sign that the series is back on track. Old Tomb Raider fans will definitly appreciate what TRL brings back to the table, but here are still the fair share amount of problems.
Graphics: 8
Story: 6
Gameplay: 7
Sound: 8
Control: 9
Replay Value: 5
Overall: 7 (not an average)