'Legend' helps to reinvent TR in a good and bad way
(1 of 1 Found this Helpful)
November 23, 2008
Since the original first few TR games were around at a time when Blocko characters, off kilter controls and sharp angled graphics were in style, it's almost redundant to say we've come a long (and gladly) way since the last time we saw Lara in action. Graphics, sound and playability wise, the game is fantastic. Lara handles superbly. Her motions are fluid and realistic, she moves like a real person, a real woman, and a real athlete. It is great to watch and great to play.
The game is short. Too short. I finished the game in about 5 days and yes, that is short for a TR game. Like other reviewers, I have a problem with the bosses and the general fighting as well. I played on medium "Adventurer" level not hard "Tomb Raider" level and I wonder what would have been the difference. general enemies do have good AI which I think was most evident in the Peru and England levels, but it is still easy to level a room full of bad guys with little effort and without even dying. There is little skill involved, just keep moving and keep shooting. Good rules to live by in any gun battle.
Collecting artifacts to get rewards is okay, and can be tricky and at times tiresome--which brings me to my biggest gripe...The game is fun, it is short thus giving it a pretty high replayability factor, which is why I'm a bit irked by the artifact collecting and the time trials. If you miss any artifacts, especially silver or gold ones you don't get many outfits, which sucks since I like seeing Lara in different clothes. In order to get these outfits the game gives you an opportunity to go back into saved levels you've previously played, collect rewards and save them. Not bad, but a pretty underhanded way to get you to play the game a second, or maybe third time depending on if you can find all the rewards.
Then you have to play the whole darn thing AGAIN in Time Trials to unlock anything else. !?!?!? I don't want to be forced to play it over and over, but I'd like to want to play it over. The only good thing about having to go back in and do this is that the enemies aren't that bad to have to contend with on a 10th time basis in replaying.
Boss battles get tough a couple of times, the Sea Serpents drove me nuts, but in the end getting tips online can help. The locations look great and I love once again having the run of Croft Manor. Very cool, but could use improvements. Further Gripes:
--> No lock on targeting. Lara doesn't automatically lock onto a target like she used too, and it can be frustrating to hold down so many buttons for her to shot, run and dodge at the same time.
--> No back flipping. I really miss just simply back flipping in battle to get distance from enemies. That needs to come back.
--> one button gun drawing. I remember when you could just push the action button and Lara would draw her double guns and hold them at the ready as she explored, no extra button holding needed.
--> no more artifacts to find, just have elaborate puzzles to solve for the purpose of getting out of a room or finding something special for the game advancement.
A Tomb Raider focused more on flash and fun, but what's wrong w/ fun?
(1 of 1 Found this Helpful)
September 8, 2008
For those looking for the "classic" Tomb Raider that requires hours of puzzle solving, Tomb Raider Anniversary is the game for you. "Legend" is less about looking for that missing cog for the giant wheel thing, and more about doing back flips and fast moving rock climbing with punctuated moments of gun fights.
It's a fast moving, "action movie" style Tomb Raider with this game. A solid back story, interesting characters and a quick paced romp though various levels. For perfectionists you can go back and replay levels, find all secrets, finish in certain times etc...
I do realize that there will be many who think this game is too easy and too short. However while some will be spending hours looking for that switch to flip in Tomb Raider Anniversary, others will be happily jumping, swinging and shooting in Tomb Raider Legend.
It's amazing how small things can make 2 drastically different games. TRA can be a read head scratcher and leave the player wondering "how do I make that jump?". TRL tends to show it's solutions rather easily, but this works for the game as it is not designed for pondering and plotting. The game forces you to keep moving, which removes a lot of the difficulty in the TM games, but I believe it ups the fun factor.
Instead of trying a jump 5 times and then realizing you need to flip a switch first, spending another 30 minutes trying to figure out how to flip that switch in TRA, in TRL you jump, jump some more, and keep moving forward.
I personally think it is the best TR since the original PS1 game.
TombRaider: Legend
(2 of 3 Found this Helpful)
September 5, 2008
Don't buy this game! Why? Read my review. I got this game and I was so excited, I played it and replayed it. But then it quickly subsided and I got over it, then I thought back on my experience. What I thought was a great game turned out to be nothing more than a cheap cop out.
First, I'll start with the good.
PROS:
The controls were much improved over previous games, I actually got Lara to do what I wanted her to do most of the time. Unlike TR: Anniversary, Lara went left when I wanted her to go left and she jumped where I wanted her to jump. I had some frustrating bits where she wouldn't do what I wanted, but that's fine. It just says that the controls for this game need a little more tweaking.
The voice acting was superb on all fronts. I especially loved Lara's voice and never got tired of hearing it.
The Camera could have been better. I really wish I could swivel the camera so I could see where Lara was to leap without dying. Sometimes I could this, sometimes I couldn't. I don't want there to be a sometimes. Still, I think the good outweighs the bad.
I loved the headset! The frequent chatter from Zip and Alister was funny and great (except the cussing, which I HATED). Too bad it's not gonna be in the sequal *Sigh*
The graphics were great, even on this system. Not as good as Anniversary in my opinion, but still very good. The environments were, as usual, very beutiful. And that's saying something on this console system. Not that the PS2 is bad, but with the next generation that is PS3 and Xbox 360, the PS2 really has to work hard to impress. And impress me it did, and I don't even own a PS3 (my parents do, though). There are many outfits to unlock and use, some are cool but some I wish were never used (both in game and as unlockables).
Neat! Lara now has a personal light source that you can turn on and off. Somewhat useful, even though I only used it when I had to, which wasn't very much as I could see most of the time. Still, a nice feature. The grapple is back, which I loved in Anniversary. The bonoculars were cool, but see the Cons section for more on this part.
Croft manor is back once again and it's seen some changes. I love playing through this section, it's a nice little distraction.
With that, onto the bad.
While I like Croft Manor, the inability to "replay" the level has been removed, forcing me to start a new game just to play it all over again.
The bonoculars, although cool, were useless. The RAD Mode allowed you to spot objects you could break, move or do something with. Why? The objects themselves could easily be seen without this so it made the Bonoculars pretty much useless in the game and I hardly ever used it aside from the cool factor.
In TR: Anniversary I was fighting against Lions, bears, rats, bats, strange atlantean creatures and even dinosaurs. Your enemies in this game? Only two (with the exception of two bosses). Humans and Leopards. That's it. I was very disappointed with the enemies in this game. Far too many humans and not nearly enough animals, not to mention not enough diversity among the types of enemies you have. Even the human enemies have only two types. What was CD (Crystal Dynamics, easier just to say CD) thinking?! I want variety, not the same exact thing level to level. To add insult to injury, they weren't very challenging, I could easily dispatch a group of enemies, even large groups, while losing very little health. If I had to fight 6-7 enemies at once in Anniversary, I'd sweat a little because the enemies were tougher in that game. They got angry and would charge at you to deliver a good amount of damage on you if you didn't react fast enough. In this one, just too easy and no challenge, thus no fun.
The levels themselves were too obvious. Way to many shiny objects in the game to point out, "move this, move that, activate this, activate that." Which proves my point about the bonoculars. Why have the RAD mode if you can spot a shiny object clear as day? The puzzles were disappointing as they mostly consisted of placing something on pressure plates to get something to open, or simply finding a lever and pulling it to advance further on. Not a lot of imagination was put into these puzzles and I was disappointed again. Not only that, there weren't very many in any one level to begin with (if there was, just shows how terrible they were).
I felt like this game was nothing more than assault courses for Lara to go through. Little challenge and far too much repitition. Nothing brain teasing about the enemies or puzzles. The driving portions were pointless as all you had to do was shoot and drive. Thankfully there is only two in this game. To add yet another insult to injury, the levels themselves were far too short. This coming from me who likes exploring every nook and cranny of every level I go on. And to add double insult to injury, there is only 8 short levels in this game.
The story was good, some bad parts in it, but it was good. However, it left much to be desired, which is why I put it here in the Cons section. The bad far outweighs the good in my opinion. Why? I won't spoil anything for you, so let's just say that it left many questions unanswered and ended way too quickly. Dangling plots unresolved doesn't sit well with me, especially considering that CD could have finished the story all in the same game. And considering how short the game is, it's insulting to us players not to have made more levels to answer these questions.
The Japan level was not needed in this game at all. This is TOMB Raider, not James Bond (and don't even get me started on what she was wearing in that level!). The level where you have to go to a labratory was also not needed, again this is TOMB Raider, not James Bond or True Lies. I want to see Lara exploring Tombs, not going through buildings and on rooftops as if she's some secret agent.
The very last level was not needed as all you do is confront the main boss, you don't get to explore first and conquer puzzles to get to the main boss (like in Anniversary).
Lara herself looks great, but what she wears falls very flat. Why the change from the classic look? And I thought her classic look was too skimpy! This new look for Lara is even skimpier and I HATE it! Uggh. Brown?! Showing off her legs as well as her belly button and to add insult to injury, showing her cleavage?! Doube Uggh! I like women very much, they are beutiful. But when a woman dresses like this, esepcially an "ARCHEOLOGIST", I hate it, I despise it and Crystal Dynamics should know better. I'd understand if Lara was a "Super model" (which she could very easily be if she chose to) but she's not, she's an archeologist. Have some dignity CD, put some actual clothes on her! (Man, am I glad for the outfit option in the game!).
So, if you've read this far into my review, I say again. Don't buy this game. It's not challenging at all, far too much repitition, puzzles are not challenging, enemies are not diverse enough and it's way too short. Save your money for for a better game.
A Tomb Raider even I can play!
(1 of 1 Found this Helpful)
June 16, 2008
Okay, first and foremost, my kids refer to me playfully as being video game challenged. It's not that I can't play them, but that I don't play them constantly, so I'm not going to be the best or fastest player but simply play for the enjoyment of it. I very well remember all the original Tomb Raider games for the PS1. And I also remember how hard some of them were.
Yes, this game does indeed seem shorter than the old TR games, but what is here in Legend is a delight. Gone is the learning curve of trying to manipulate Lara, taking with it the frustration, yet leaving the great sense of challenge and adventure as the beautiful locations are explored.
My family and I absolutely love this game.
A sharp change from previous Tomb Raider games
May 10, 2008
I can give you a little quiz that should tell if you like this game. Did you play any Tomb Raider game from 1 to 5 (we don't talk about TR6 in civilized society) and hate it? You'll probably like this. Played one of those and loved it? You'll probably be disappointed.
New developers have taken over the Tomb Raider legacy and they've changed a lot of the things that us TR fans loved and TR haters couldn't stand. In previous games, the controls had a steep learning curve, but would give you unparalleled control over Lara's movements. Legend has basic mouse + WASD controls now. The puzzles that made TR an action adventure game rather than just an action game have been thrown out. The level design is quite boring and mostly consists of a whole lot of jumping from one place to another. TR used to have quite complex and interesting levels, so I'm rather disappointed by this.
Lara herself is no longer the strong, sophisticated and mysterious character she used to be, but is now a friendly, social, sporty type instead. The secret, mystical locations that filled previous TR games used to fill me with excitement and suspense. The more realistic archaeological environments of Legend are interesting, but certainly not as exhilarating. Zip from TR5 is back, but he is no longer the fun, snarky character he once was.
What Legend definitely did do right was the graphics, which are lovely. I also like that they have a real physics engine, which is new. The AI is excellent, but TR has been ahead of its time on AI for a long time now, so that is nothing new.
This game certainly isn't terrible, it just doesn't have any of the things that made Tomb Raider great. The Tomb Raider fan base is going to experience a dramatic shift since these new developers took over. There are better games out there, but there are definitely a lot worse games out there, too.
