In late 2008 this Eidos Interactive showpiece was released for the then new gen consoles and also Windows PC. I only managed to get a copy of this when it was bundled up with the other two in the Tomb Raider trilogy in 2011. It is the 9th Tomb Raider release and 3rd installment in the Legend trilogy. I had played Tomb Raider Legend on PC earlier on which we shall talk about one of these days however I would like to take a trip back with you and see some of the amazing stuff this game had to offer briefly focusing on 3 primary aspects which are graphics, gameplay and storyline.
Graphics
First off I played this 10 years ago on my PS3 and recently played it again on Xbox One. Well weirdly it seems to me that on PS3 it looked slightly better than this Xbox version. This is certainly not a hardware issue but probably a variation of game software due to a variety of hardware factors so whether or not you run it on Series X or S no magic is guaranteed at the moment. However I must say the frames seem more stable on the Xbox version than PlayStation and with Series consoles fps boost it will be an added advantage. All Xbox consoles after 360 are basically running this game as a 360 software with its limitations at least that's what I think at best. So it is mostly stable and fine still on Xbox.
So first impressions are good in modern day terms. Its not an old pixelated game but a rather very much presentable game so yes you can go back to it and play. The environment and character model are well done but I cant help but think that you will certainly enjoy this on PC. My reasons are console games are tailored according to the console of that time and only rely on the developer to release a patch or remaster for the superseding console whereas on PC you can you can tweak the game according to your GPU and overall architecture limitations.
This leads me to the following point. It goes without saying that this is probably my favorite character model of the entire series. It is well done. I understand that the modern reboot series was a refresh and as with modern gaming real life actors are used so that alone alters the looks in a significant way. Be that as it may this character model is more synonymous to the Shadow of the Tomb Raider model than any other. Now I noticed something, in shadows she looks much better than when she is within the sunlight in a game scene. It seems as if the pixels are more settled in shadows. This is just my findings from a layman's perspective, my thinking is perhaps this is suggestive of a GPU shader targeting that they did at the time for the hardware of the time of the time not sure but yeah. You character does get wet and dirty which is cool something that started with the likes of Tomb Raider Legend on PC.
Facial expressions
Still on graphics before we move on there's one thing I really like and that's the facial expressions of your character. This to me is important as it indicates your characters involvement to what's happening within their surroundings. A seemingly emotionless character is a turn off for me, it detaches the character from the scene and to add on these expressions are a derivative of what's happening and affecting the character in the scene so having them is good. Eidos and the entire Tomb Raider series have never dropped the ball in this regard as it goes way back before this title so its well executed. Overall the graphics are really good and did stand the test of time.
Gameplay
As with any game this is a make or break. I like the shooting mechanics and how acrobatic your character can be. Its very gamey if I should say i.e unrealistic and fun in that regard. You can jump around spin around bullets and even do some martial arts kicks to your opponents. It is fun in that way. At times though it can be slightly unforgiving but not unbearable. And while we are on this there is one interesting aspect and that has to do with mountain terrain traversal. Its very similar to modern Tomb Raider games but seemingly tailored to make it more fun as you climb. checkout below:
Story
On this regard its an interesting story to an extent but the problem I have with most Tomb Raider titles they seem to approach this aspect on a more of episodic standpoint i.e is no real consistency to the stories in general so sometimes it leaves you wondering as to where its coming from and going. Nonetheless this rendition takes on the Norse Mythology which I found interesting as I am preparing for God of War Ragnarok :). The only complaint I have about it is its very short, It seemed to have more potential to have made it longer. Another thing is lack of variety of enemies, so you have periods of lots of climbing and exploring but without a variety of interesting foes to deal with.
It is very much divorced from the reboot Lara as she has acquired a legendary status and is mature. No more shock, crying and fear as you see in the reboot but more of a typical 007 woman if I should liken.
The story is a bit of a let down to me as its kind of isolates the potential of what the game art style could actually achieve with a well rooted story. With that being mentioned this does not take away a good experience you will have with the game if you still haven't played it. I would really love to have a Lara croft of this nature for future Tomb Raider games and more of a fun gameplay rather than a limited cqc (close quarters hand to hand combat) combat engagement we are seeing more prevalently in modern titles . It really felt good to revisit this classic as it shows you were the series came from and some of the elements it had that are now missing today. Your thoughts are appreciated and thanks for the support.
Comments