Eidos' iconic Lara Croft marks a
triumphant return to form with the excellent Tomb Raider Legend on Xbox
360. The game resurrects the classic series formula with brain-teasing
puzzles, dazzling acrobatic moves and an engrossing storyline that sucks
you right in. Tomb Raider Legend also features some of the best controls
in the series to date, and players should have no problem making Lara
perform her special moves. There are a few mis-steps, such as the
disappointing motorcycle levels and some problems with aiming your guns,
but these are minor when compared to what's gone right. Tomb Raider Legend
is highly polished title that succeeds in re-establishing the series'
credentials.
After many years of disappointing games
that have fallen short of the mark, Eidos has finally done right by their
heroine with the release of Lara Croft Tomb Raider Legend. The new game
instantly establishes a mythical storyline for the character, lending her
a personality and mystique that's been largely absent for the past few
years. The game's backstory is believable in some degree and fits the
action perfectly. The biggest change this time around are the controls,
which are smooth and intuitive, while offering players a much better sense
of freedom and movement than before. This added flexibility makes
performing jumps, hanging off ledges and somersaults much easier. Lara has
a number of cool new moves as well, such as the ability to use her
rappelling line to glide through areas. She can run, jump, climb and swing
through levels with a much greater fluidity in the new game, which
improves the game's flow substantially. Most of the levels in the game
seem to have been designed with these moves in mind, and progression is
far less frustrating than before. You'll spend a lot less time
backtracking through levels and perfoming the same stunts repeatedly than
before. This makes the game less frustrating and more enjoyable than
before. The developers at Crystal Dynamics have also improved her
acrobatic abilities, allowing you to swing from bars, jump on ropes and
hang onto ledges with a much greater sense of predictability. Lara's
weapons are still quite useful as well, and the system has been enhanced
with an auto-target system that makes it much easier to target enemies.
Tomb Raider Legend's overall feel is thus vastly improved and shows a
great attention to detail that makes the game feel fresh and vibrant, with
the character given a new feel that retains the best of the old, while
opening up the player's sense of control.
From
a level design standpoint, Tomb Raider Legend offers plenty of variety and
challenge for players. There's a predominance of traditional tomb
exploration levels, which follows the classic Lara formula of jumping and
solving puzzles, along with the occasional confrontation with a beast or
animal. There are vast levels requiring players to jump through multiple
gaps, climb across ledges and swing from vines and ropes to get from one
point to another. There are also more traditional battles with bad guys,
where the player has to defeat multiple opponents at once, which isn't as
easy as it sounds. With multiple attackers, you can use Lara's lock on to
target your fire at an opponent, though this can be annoying at some
times. The game's stunts system is somewhat reminiscent of Prince of
Persia in certain aspects, particularly the pole climbing and bar swinging
portions. They might be derivative, but they're well-done and add a new
dimension to the gameplay. The majority of the game is quite linear
however, and there's little motivation to play through the game once
you've completed a level, save for the occasional artifiact. The main
quest unfolds at a good pace throughout and takes players to a variety of
locations, ranging from dense forests, to the occasional urban location.
As you'd expect, Lara has a number of cool outfits she can wear for each
mission, with additional items able to be unlocked as you progress through
the game. Tomb Raider Legend's overall pacing and flow is superb for the
most part and the game is generally excellent throughout, but there are a
few areas that could have used work.
While the majority of the levels stay
true to the Tomb Raider aesthetic, the game's motorcycle levels aren't as
polished or intense as the rest of the game. The slippery controls,
simplistic action and frustrating levels make these an annoying side-story
that doesn't quite fit in with the rest of the action. Fortunately, these
areas are relatively short and most players should be able to progress
through them with little effort. There are also several sequences which
take place in Lara's home base, Croft Manor. These are fun for awhile, but
they seem rather constrained and seem to lack the sense of urgency that
propels the rest of the game. While the series' trademark underwater areas
make a return as well, the design here is still a bit lacking. It's much
too difficult to find a sense of direction, which makes controlling Lara
in these sequences more a product of trial and error than skill. This
means you'll frequently run out of air, requiring you to replay the entire
level from the start, which can be quite frustrating. The game's other
major problem lies in some of its puzzles. Most of these are fairly
interesting, though some of them still have tendency to devolve into
mindless block pushing, at one extreme, or become impossibly oblique at
the other. However, these problems don't completely overwhelm the design's
good points and while frustrating, shouldn't dissuade players from
purchasing this excellent game.
One
of the key appeals of the series is obviously; Lara herself and the
developers seem to have recognized the fact that an appealing protagonist
makes the game even better. While the voice acting in previous game has
been iffy, here the actors are given more meat to chew on. There is some
character development, with certain events showing Lara's vulnerability.
Instead of making her seem wimpy, these are effective and serve to
humanize the character and give players an even stronger identification.
The game's story moves at a brisk pace throughout and maintains a level of
excitement that gives Tomb Raider a strong sense of momentum.
Unfortunately, this seems to have been cut a bit short, and the storyline
seems to end prematurely at the end, which is disappointing. The game's
strong plotlines are further enhanced by the game's incredible visuals,
which fully exploit the next-generation powers of the Xbox 360. Lara
herself has never looked better, and she moves with a grace and fluidity
that's simply astonishing. Tomb Raider Legend's levels are quite diverse,
and each is brought vividly to life with extensive light sourcing,
detailed texture and bump mapping and other special effects. The game's
engine allows for massive levels with impressive environmental vistas and
breathtaking views, while the intuitive camera system makes it easy to see
where you stand. Its music and soundtrack are superbly realized as well,
and fit the game's atmosphere perfectly. Overall, the presentation is
excellent throughout, making this one of the most impressive 360 games to
date from a visual standpoint.
Tomb Raider Legend isn't without its
faults, the game never really falls into the trap of mediocrity and
indifference that ensnared some of the more recent installments. The
improved controls make maneuvering Lara much easier and simpler than
before, allowing players to concentrate on the bigger picture. Instead of
fiddling with the controls, you can actually enjoy the storyline and
gameplay. The game's mix of strategy and action nicely parallels the best
parts of Tomb Raider, while adding a few twists to the action. Some of
these risks don't pay off - the driving sequences fall a bit flat, but
Tomb Raider Legend succeeds more often than not. While this isn't a
flawless title, it's still the best adventure Lara has encountered in
quite some time, making for a solid recommendation, and should appeal even
to those gamers who might have given up on the series.
Grade: B+
