Tomb Raider Legend Review

Tomb Raider – Legend, or maybe we should call it Princess of Persia – The Tombs Beneath. Here is a two-line review upfront. If you are a console owner than chances are that you will like the new console style game-play and boss fights. If you are a PC owner you will be downright disappointed by this game, it is soooo bad.

The main points of the game: Lara and other game objects are no longer bound to an invisible grid. Meaning you can push/pull things at any angle instead of strict right angles as in previous episodes. Lara has a personal flashlight and a device like a grappling hook. She also has two sidekicks whose only role is to pass comments from the background.

Graphically, the game is not as impressive as current technology demands. Despite all the advantages of modern display chips the game simply fails to make an impression.

The audio component is all right but the music is not really that outstanding.

However, it is when you consider game-play and controls that you realise that this game was never meant for the PC but for consoles only. This point will be driven home again and again throughout the game until you will be quite fed up of the whole thing.

First, unlike its predecessors, Legend does not allow you to save when you want; it makes use of checkpoints. While in a game like Halo or Prince of Persia this is more or less tolerable in Legend it is highly frustrating. Having to listen to the same stupid conversation again and again, watching the same animations again and again it makes you wonder what the game designers were thinking unleashing such a hash for the PC. This one single departure from a 6 episode long legacy is in itself very bad for the Tomb Raider series.

Next are the 3d platform puzzles. Believe it or not, if you have played Prince of Persia then you will be left wondering if the makers of Legend didn’t simply pick up the kind of tricks and tips that are utilised by the Prince. Multiple pole swings, back jumps from icicles, grappling hook instead of the Dark Prince’s chain? It is almost like playing Princess of Persia in a modern setting.

Apart from the above puzzles, the other challenges of the game are deathly boring. There is a certain school of thought that claims that this is what was missing from all previous 6 Tomb Raider games but I disagree. The level design is atrocious and unimaginative. It is more boring and frustrating rather than challenging or entertaining.

At some times the game goes into a special action mode. If you have played Indigo Prophecy and endured the multiple click sequences then imagine doing that in slow motion with only one key to press at a time. Very nice, but what exactly is the purpose being served here?

The use of flares as in previous games is now replaced with a personal electronic light. Nice, but sadly, you cannot throw the light so that if you want to see something more than 3 meters away you must walk over there, probably into a trap. Not so nice.

Then there are the two sidekicks that Lara has. I honestly did not understand what their role is in this game. They are hooked up by video/audio to Lara so when Lara is about to run over something that is likely to collapse there will be a shout “Run Lara!” Sadly, the shout is always late enough for you to realise that a reload will now take place. As many times as you reload you will hear the same shout until you want to shout back and tell the idiot to shut up. Lara’s binoculars can now distinguish objects as in fragile, mechanism, etc. Almost like the tricorder from Star Trek Elite Force 2.

I tell you there is not a single concept in the entire game that has not been blatantly copied over from other games.

When the first Tomb Raider was released it was a simple game with tight controls and a good story line. The only improvement in the 7th episode is that Lara’s breasts are no longer pyramid shaped with 4 polygons but actually look well rounded. You will know when you play the Tokyo levels. The designers have made sure you will see Lara from anywhere but you can’t see the game world from anywhere. The free-look option is absent. There is no pressing the insert key to make Lara go invisible so you can have a look around. No sir, you are stuck with whatever the console style camera wants to show you.

Tomb Raider Legend is probably one of the worst entries in the series. Go play the original Tomb Raider or Tomb Raider Last Revelation. There might be an invisible grid, no personal light, no grappling hook, no audio/video link to civilisation, no sidekicks – but at least there is a good story line and great entertaining game-play.