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Posted on August 6th, 2007 - 1443 Reads

Rated Teen Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend GameCube Review Bronze Award

-- Written by Clark Nielsen



 Lara Croft may be an archaeologist, but her day-to-day life rarely includes brushing fossils and analyzing data on a computer. This is a video game, after all. Lara Croft tends to explore exotic and dangerous locations that require plenty of tricky jumping, ledge grabbing, vine swinging, and trap dodging. Think of her as a Mario you can say you have a crush on and not feel stupid about (or... maybe you should). I say this, because Tomb Raider is more about the jumping than the fighting. Whether you are in the dark recesses of a snowy crevasse or an abandoned King Arthur attraction, it's usually just you.

It's not so bad being alone, though. For one, it creates a very realistic and eerie atmosphere. It's also nice to be able to focus on scaling a crumbling brick wall or solving a "how do I open the damn door" puzzle without being bombarded by ne're-do-wellers. To aid in these sequences, you can push conveniently-present boxes around or shoot hot spots to release tied-up equipment. At one point, there is even a drivable fork lift! Lara's best resource, though, is her magnetic grapple. To no surprise, this can attach to overhanging metal objects, allowing you to swing across chasms. But the grapple is further used to pull objects towards you or pull yourself towards stationary fixtures. There are some very creative puzzles surrounding the grapple, and using it is a lot of fun.

These adventures seldom go uninterrupted, however. Lara isn't the only one after a series of magical, ancient sword fragments, and you'll be forced to deal with gun-toting thugs in every level. These confrontations aren't as played up as the platforming, which is a huge relief. Platforming is considerably more fun not only because it's done well but because combat is done poorly. Combat can be summed up as locking onto the nearest target and holding the fire button down until he (or it; it's hard to tell with animals) is dead. It's possible to duck and cover or shoot nearby explosive barrels to take out bad guys, but it's just as easy to stand in the middle of the room, twirl around, and pin them off one by one. I like that there are action sequences to break up the normal pace of the game, but it ends up being a bore.

The only challenging thing about shooting bad guys is dealing with the camera. I'm pretty sure this camera has a crush on Lara, because it likes to snuggle right up next to her. Good news for you if you like looking down her shirt while she climbs a ladder, but bad news when it comes time to scope out the next ledge to grab. There will be a couple times when you die by falling too far, because you weren't sure where you were jumping. Luckily, dying isn't a huge setback. You are only sent to the last checkpoint, and checkpoints usually pop up every time you enter a new room or reach a safe ledge.

Given that, it's fairly easy to make your way through the game. In fact, the adventure/story mode can be beaten in seven hours, if not less. But then there's the Croft Manor, which is a level itself, and probably the one you will spend the most time on if you absolutely have to find every last artifact. By collecting artifacts or completing time trials, you can open new costumes for Lara, concept art, and character profiles. Okay, seriously, why do game developers continue to think concept art is such a great prize? None of this creates much incentive to do levels over again-- unless your life just won't feel complete until you've played as Lara Croft in a bikini.

On second thought... this is the best-looking version of Lara yet. She's more human and less grotesquely cartoony. The rest of the game looks good, too. It's nothing spectacular, but the environments do feel genuine and distinct from one another. One thing they share in common, though, is little lighting. You will constantly have to rely on Lara's flashlight to see, which is both fitting and a tad annoying. Lara also talks a lot and spouts off cheesy one-liners when she's not calling on her teammates for advice via headset. Her two friends are in constant chatter, but it's not as bad as it sounds (heh... sounds). Listening to them argue while you maneuver across a pit of fire is actually quite amusing.

Final Comments:
Lara Croft carries with her a pair of guns at all times. You know, just in case. But it's when she doesn't have to use them that Tomb Raider really shines. This isn't revolutionary platforming; it just happens to be a lot of fun and feels like part of an authentic, archaeological adventure. It's a series of smaller qualms, though, that add up to keep this from being as good as similar games like the Legend of Zelda, Ico, or even Pitfall: The Lost Expedition. But if platforming and adventuring are your thing, you'll find "something" to like about Lara.

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