Tomb Raider Legend is an exciting adventure starring Lara Croft, it's only downside is it's length.
After three years in development, Crystal Dynamics and Eidos released a fresh new start for Tomb Raider, Tomb Raider Legend. Lara Croft was back, back for good. Crystal Dynamics dropped the grid system, designed a new physics engine, developed Lara’s design and of course, went back to the tombs.
The game starts off with a flashback of Lara and her mother in a plane crash and quickly moves on to the present day where Lara goes climbing up a mountain in search for a artefact related to her past. Very quickly you get used to the controls, the environment, and of course free movement. Lara can go wherever she wants using ledges, ropes and her all new magnetic grapple. Lara continues to have her dual pistols with infinite ammo and can hold another weapon on her back. You immediately feel like you’re playing another great Tomb Raider game. The story progresses and you travel the world to places like Ghana, Japan, Nepal, England and Kazakhstan looking for sword fragments that relates to King Arthur and Lara’s mother. Along the way she meets Rutland, a sarcastic guy also looking for the sword pieces. He travels with a girl named Amanda, who was Lara’s friend in the past, but Lara thought she died. The story is engaging and very exciting and just about everyone should give it a try.
The graphics in the game are outstanding. Even if you don’t have an excellent graphics card, the game will run and look great. But if you are one of those lucky people with Shader Model 3.0 enabled graphics card, you’ll enjoy the Next Generation graphics. The game looks even better and far more realistic with next-gen enabled. However, even with the latest technology, you will struggle to get a playable framerate, but in some cases (her gym is a good one), you will find that you can enjoy next-gen graphics. The sound is amazing in the game. The soundtrack helps give the environment the right kind of feel. But it also shows Lara’s emotion, especially near the end of the game. The acting in the game is brilliant too. Keeley Hawes plays Lara and she does it brilliantly, again, especially near the end. The gameplay is fantastic also. Even if you’re not a Tomb Raider fan, you’ll enjoy it. The controls are easy to learn and the story is just too good to pass up. Plus the game has a good amount of replay. There are tons of secrets to find giving you rewards like costumes, cheats, character bios etc.
Despite the good points about the game, there are some bad points. The length of the game is the main one. The game consists of eight levels plus Croft Manor. The levels can take about 1 hour + depending if you explore the environment. In total, the game lasts around 7-9 hours, but again it depends on how you play. If Crystal Dynamics were to make Tomb Raider 8 (which I’m sure they will), this is a thing they should look at.
However, Tomb Raider Legend is a great game that just about anyone can enjoy. The graphics, sound, acting, game play and replay are excellent and Crystal Dynamics have done an excellent job at giving Tomb Raider a new coat of paint.