Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend (PS2)

Lara Croft is back in Tomb Raider: Legend (TRL), the seventh game in the highly popular Tomb Raider series. This action adventure game was developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Eidos Interactive. TRL was initially released in Europe April 2006 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC and Xbox 360. Since then the game has been made available for the PSP, Gamecuibe, GameBoy Advance and Nintendo DS formats. Today we will be commenting on the PlayStation2 ...
...a flashback of a young Lara (9) and her mother on board a plane that crashes in the Himalayan Mountains. They both survive, but we later witness the disappearance of Lara's mother when investigating a mysterious sword. Unfortunately, the most logical explanation seems to be that Lady Croft died. Later in life it is Lara's mission to collect pieces of the now broken sword, which can be found in various locations around the world including Bolivia, ... more

Lara Croft is back in Tomb Raider: Legend (TRL), the seventh game in the highly popular Tomb Raider series. This action adventure game was developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Eidos Interactive. TRL was initially released in Europe April 2006 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC and Xbox 360. Since then the game has been made available for the PSP, Gamecuibe, GameBoy Advance and Nintendo DS formats. Today we will be commenting on the PlayStation2 version.

The previous Tomb Raider game, Angel of Darkness, was such an appalling gaming effort. It must have set some sort of world record for the number of bugs in a game; it was literally infested from start to finish. TRL was the game released in the hope of revitalising the series. The main issue we will seek to address is whether this objective was achieved.

--------Storyline--------
The plot in TRL is not bad by any stretch of the imagination, albeit hardly original. The game starts with a flashback of a young Lara (9) and her mother on board a plane that crashes in the Himalayan Mountains. They both survive, but we later witness the disappearance of Lara's mother when investigating a mysterious sword. Unfortunately, the most logical explanation seems to be that Lady Croft died. Later in life it is Lara's mission to collect pieces of the now broken sword, which can be found in various locations around the world including Bolivia, Tokyo and Ghana.

--------Gameplay--------
Being an adventure game, there are many platforming sections to enjoy. As you might expect Lara can perform a vast selection of moves including jumping, swimming, swinging on ropes, climbing, and shimmying across cliffs. A poor control system has been an all too familiar feature in past Tomb Raider games. This time however, Lara controls remarkably well. For instance, no longer do players have to go to the edge of a platform, step back, run up and achieve a precise jump. Such rigidity is gone, and the game is a vast improvement because of this. If you do not jump quite enough when pressing the X button, Lara will grab the ledge with one hand, and players have to quickly press Triangle to make sure she does not fall. It is fantastic how Triangle can also speed Lara up when shimmying and climbing. One moves the more flexible Lara with the left analog stick, whilst the right analog stick rotates the camera. Having pressed L1, a target is locked-on, and R1 will fire your weapon. The weapons in TRL include Lara's traditional dual pistols, as well as shotguns, and grenades that can be thrown with the R2 button. R3 is used for more accurate aiming with an over the shoulder camera perspective. Lara can perform all sorts of acrobatic rolls with the Circle command, a button also used for crouching.

TRL contains an array of melee attacks. One can Slide Attack enemies, Power Kick foes when pressing down L1 and Triangle, or activate slow motion when shooting (Aerial Attack). Players can now use a grappling hook on specific metallic surfaces with the Square button. For example this can be used to swing over deadly spikes, or to pull enemies or objects towards you. Adding some realism to the series, Lara has a limited number of items she can hold at a given time. She can only carry a maximum of three health packs, and two weapons. Additionally the D-Pad has been cleverly implemented in the control system. It is extremely simple to use a health pack by pressing Up, and Down will switch weapons. Left turns on/off Lara's Personal Light Source which is basically a device on Lara to brighten up any dark areas. In order to activate binocular view to take a look at your surroundings, the Right command is pressed. When using binoculars one can press Triangle to scan an environment for clues if you are stuck.

Puzzles provide a decent challenge in TRL. They never involve anything particularly innovative, instead opting for the conventional, such as box pushing and lever pulling. Still, they are not always obvious to solve so players will have to use some brain cells to progress. When completing a puzzle one will feel a sense of achievement, and likely remark, 'of course, now why did I not do that straightaway?'

There are a few other features not seen in previous Tomb Raider games. Reminiscent of Resident Evil 4 there are Quick Time Events (QTEs). This means that during some cut scenes, players have to pay attention and press specific buttons or Lara will face an untimely death scene. QTEs fit the game well, and are well implemented ensuring that they prove to be a welcome gameplay addition. Some levels contain sections where you will have to drive a motorcycle. These involve avoiding obstacles, as well as defeating foes on vehicles by shooting them. On her adventure, hacker Zip, and archaeologist Alister assist Lara via a headset. Primarily they seem to have been included so that Lara does not have to speak to herself.

--------Graphics, Sound and Music--------
The character models in this game are very impressive. You can really see the care the developers took with TRL when observing Lara's ultra smooth, realistic animations. Tombs make a return to the franchise, and look absolutely delightful. Other gorgeous environments include snowy mountaintops and jungles. There are some neat effects such as Lara looking shiny and dripping water after taking a swim.

TRL features sufficient sound effects such as exploding barrels, tumbling rocks and powerful gunshots. With a well-written script it was vital that the voice acting was of high quality. I am happy to report that the voice work is top notch. In the lead role Keeley Hawes excellently voices Lara. She speaks in a sarcastic manner when required to which provides a little comedy to proceedings, and sounds appropriately tough when things get heated between Lara and major adversaries. The music is superb throughout the game. It is fittingly at a higher tempo when confronting hordes of enemies or a boss fight, and more soothing when working your way through a puzzle.

--------Critical comments--------
TRL is a rather short, linear game. It should take between seven and eight hours for most players to complete the main game. After this you can replay the levels to find some hidden artefacts, or participate in some time trials. Doing so will unlock some new outfits, character models, along with game art. Also noteworthy is that Croft Manor (Lara's home) can be explored, and there are some secrets to uncover in this optional level. Nonetheless such extras do not take many more hours to successfully navigate. The developers have focused on ensuring the levels included are free of glitches, as opposed to providing great longevity. In my opinion it is imperative that future games in the Tomb Raider series offer more depth as a way to stand out from the competition.

Moreover TRL's quality is hampered by some significant weaknesses to the combat system. AI is rather lacking, meaning that when fighting enemies it is exceptionally easy to beat them. Aim, lock on to a target, shoot, jump around to avoid incoming bullets, and then they perish. Even the few boss fights feel very similar and short-lived. What's more, in accurate shooting mode, enemies do not react according to where you shoot them. The principal enemies in the game seem to have perfected clone technology, since they all look identical.

In principle including Ducati motorcycle sections sounds like a reasonable idea. However, in practice they are not much fun to partake in. The motorcycle controls terribly, and these sections of the game are far too long. Omitting them, and creating another tomb level would have been a far more rewarding experience.

Furthermore the load times in TRL can be rather annoying. When starting a level or dying during a mission, a loading screen appears. I can recall struggling a little with a fidgety platform section on the last main mission of the game. Having seen the load screen for the fifth time in quick succession I thought to myself, 'I wish there was a Prince of Persia, turn back time feature'. A couple of other complaints would be that there is no multiplayer, and in a couple of levels there are some jaggies.

--------Overall--------
Thankfully TRL does put life back into the Tomb Raider series. Accordingly it is definitely a game worth checking out. Nonetheless due to the game's shortness I would recommend one of the following options: (a) borrowing TRL from a friend for a couple of days; (b) renting the game over the course of a weekend to complete it; or (c) buying it for less than a tenner. Anything over this figure might not represent good value for money. At the time of writing, the cheapest I could find the game online was £13.98 (including delivery) from gamestation.co.uk. Therefore options (a) or (b) might be best, although you could always look on ebay, or the high street for cheaper prices.

>My scores:
- Gameplay: 8/10 - Finally the control system feels modern and responsive, the bugs are gone, and the game is well designed. Crystal Dynamics will hopefully address some of the criticisms we have addressed, and create an even better game come the inevitable sequel.

- Graphics: 8.5/10 - Great visuals add to TRL's overall quality. The Xbox 360 and PC versions may look superior, but the graphics on the PlayStation2 version should still be applauded.

- Storyline: 8/10 - This is a well-developed plot, which provides players with more information over Lara's past. Despite the fact it will not win awards for originality, it will grip you until the very end.

- Sound: 8.5/10 - TRL gets a thumbs up for some fine voice acting, splendid sound effects, and atmospheric music.

- Longevity: 6.5/10 - The game comes to a very abrupt ending, not many hours into the adventure. Extras add a little length to TRL, but I wanted a much greater total playing time.

Final score: 8.3 out of ten

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed.
 

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