Tomb Raider Legend! Well... it is a LEGEND,.
First of all let's just say that if you have a medium video card you will be happy with the graphics in this game. If you own a high end one you are in for a real treat. One of the things that they did with this Tomb Raider is allowed the user to either run it normally or with what is known as Next Gen Graphics. What are Next Gen Graphics... simply the most realistic looking graphics to come out in along time! In normal graphics mode... Lara still has that cartoonish type of look to her... but does look alot better than she did in the previous games. If you can engage the Next Gen Graphics then it looks like she is just about to step out of the monitor and come into your living room and have a cup of coffee with you! I recently put in a EVGA 8800 GT Super Overclocked PCI - X 512 Meg Video Card and with it you can see the skin blemishes in her face she looks so real! Texture and Lighting have an entirely new look to them. The water effects are just off the hook as they look so real. You can literally see the dirt from the edges as she shimmy's across them crumbling off! It is just simply amazing!
If you have a Surround Sound System... then it just keeps getting better. The caverns have beautiful ring sound to them and the jungles are just alive with all sorts of creature sounds. You literlally will think you are there if you just close your eyes and let the sounds take you away! There is not alot of music to the game but the parts that are there are not overbearing... just very well orchestrated. Kind of like pace music when you are on the motorcycle or going thru certain trap scenario's.
They did very well with the camera angles in this version of Tomb Raider even though there are times where it it can become confusing when you are pushing or pulling an item to use. Some outside of the box thinking is required. The puzzles are not terribly difficult in this game. You pretty much spend your time going from place to place... defending yourself against the enemy. When you do come across a puzzle, it ususally is all in one room and the objective is pretty straight forward. It just takes using common logic to figure out the solution.
My only real complaint about this game is that it is very short. The average user can complete it in an afternoon if they really put their mind to it! I would say on the average, each level is only about 15 minutes worth of gameplay, but some of the later ones become longer... but not by much! They can be longer if you spend the extra time looking for all the artifacts in each level... and that has a great payoff as well. If you find some or all of them in each level... you will unlock different things... and there is alot of different things to unlock in the game. Outfits, other areas of the house to explore and a great many other things await in this game for you to find! Lara's Mansion is in itself a great level as you will slowly unlock areas in it as you play the game. You can play the house sometimes or play levels... or do different challenges... the choice is up to you!
In conclusion... this game is in itself a great addition to the Tomb Raider series. Great graphics, storyline, new moves, and tons to play with... really make this one to add to your collection and play time and time again!