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.
Lara still manages to look dangerous and sexy in equal measure
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.
I'm 25 years old and I have been playing video games ever since i was old enough to hold a joystick. I started out with a Commodore 64 and had a variation of systems from the Master system to the snes to gamecube and Playstation2. I love video games in all their forms, if a game entertains me then thats all i want, be it pokemon red or Madden or Killzone. I love games with interesting characters and intriguing stories, so naturally i play a lot of rgps. I have seen gaming come a long way and im very excited about its future. I respect all companies and systems and dont get into fanboy console wars, the games are all that I care about, a Great game is great regardless of the hardware it runs on.
