Tomb Raider: Legend
For 10 years, Eidos Interactive has been releasing Tomb Raider games to the world on all gaming platforms. During which Lara Coft has become a video gaming icon as well as the main character of two feature films. As a Tomb Raider virgin, I wasn’t sure what to expect. With all this success under their belt, can Eidos continue with TR: Legend?
First off, I have to say that the narrative is somewhat inventive. While I won’t spoil the tale they tell, its an interesting mix of character history and a unique twist on a old story.
One complaint is some of the game-play. There are a lot of times in the game where you left thinking “what am I supposed to do now?”. While I don’t want to be handheld thru the game, the story or dialogue should’ve at least given you a more of clue as to what your objective is. Instead, the chatter with your comrades is pretty much just that, chatter. The are various cinematic moments in the game where you’re prompted with a key to press or else our Lady Lara eats it.
Which brings me to my next complaint. One thing that also seemed last generation was the loading time. When dying while trying to get thru the difficult parts, you’re left to wait to load the same area you were just in. These loading times tended to seemed anywhere from 45 seconds to 1 minute. You think after 10 years, they’d overcome this.
When it comes to sound, this game performed great. With the right surround system, you could find yourself checking to see if it was a real or just from the game. Surprisingly, the music was impressive for a video game since it sounded as if it was from an upcoming TR feature film. While the voice acting was nothing to write home about, it was decent and not so bad as to distract from the cut scenes.
Now, graphicly I was a tad bit disappointed. Played on an Xbox360, I was impressed by the enviorments and how real they looked. However, the characters seemed to be the same design as any of the past few games. While understanding theres a look to maintain, the difference between the characters and the environment is pretty great. It just seems like I was looking at last generation’s Lara Croft and next-gen environments.
In terms of extras, the game has, what I consider, a lame multitude of extras. As you play the game you unlock things like outfits and character bios. After finishing the game (which seemed a bit too easy on the medium difficulty), you unlock a cheat code to play the game with out textures (why??). To unlock the rest you have to play the game again against the clock. While this does add some replay value to the game, it just seems to repetitive. In addition, the Extras menu is fairly dark. When you view the outfits you’ve unlocked, its hard to see them. There’s an extra showing all the negative outcomes of those cinematic moments you had to hit a button, but chances are you already saw them all as you played the game.
Honestly, I think this game is only gonna be for the fan boys of Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider series. With terrible loading times, to the occasional fight with the camera, I can’t even give the game a low 3. To me, it’s a high 2.
